Lawsonia vs Sand Valley?

[DFarron]

Heading to Wisconsin for a tournament at the end of May and will have an extra day to play.


If you had a choice between the Links of Lawsonia and any course at Sand Valley which would you play?


Has anyone played the Lido? If so, does it live up to the hype ?


Not really concerned with the cost factor, I rarely get to Wisconsin, mainly looking for a pure golf experience.


As always thanks for your comments …..

[Cal Carlisle]

Isn't it more a function of where you can get a tee time, or are there openings?

[DFarron]

Not really as a single getting on should be easy.

[Peter Flory]

The Lido will take a couple years to really fill out in the waste areas, but the conditioning for the in-play areas should be fine by late May. 


Can't go wrong with any of them though.  I wish Lawsonia was 5 minutes from the resort. 

[Blake Conant]

Lawsonia is still the best course in Wisconsin until The Lido opens.

[Max Prokopy]

The best experience I had at any of them was the Sandbox.  That's a par 3 course and if you pair it with Mammoth Dunes, you'll have one heck of a great day. 


I try to opt for the most "memorable" and that combo is hard to beat. 

[astavrides]

1. sand valley, 2. mammoth, 3. lawsonia, 4. sandbox (it was fine once, but I have no desire to play sandbox again)

[Jason Thurman]

It's a question of taste and what you're looking to see. Lawsonia is vintage farmland links excellence. Very funky old school feel in a charming location. Sand Valley is a very good naturalistic modern course traversing much more varied settings in a rugged environment. Mammoth Dunes might be the best option for pure fun factor.


You'll enjoy any of them and your goal should be to return to Wisconsin for many more rounds to widen your sample.

[DFarron]

It's a question of taste and what you're looking to see. Lawsonia is vintage farmland links excellence. Very funky old school feel in a charming location. Sand Valley is a very good naturalistic modern course traversing much more varied settings in a rugged environment. Mammoth Dunes might be the best option for pure fun factor.


You'll enjoy any of them and your goal should be to return to Wisconsin for many more rounds to widen your sample.

I agree, I need to spend at least a full week in Wisconsin.


Heard back from Sand Valley, Mammoth Dunes is available …:choices

[Ronald Montesano]

We did a tour in 2021, for the "Year of Kevin," celebrating Kevin Lynch's delayed 50th birthday. If you don't know Kevin, it doesn't really matter.

What does matter is this: we played all of the courses that you mentioned, and we toured Lido during its build stage. Here are my thoughts.

If you are only going to play one course in your life in Wisconsin, flip a coin between Lawsonia Links and Lido, and never look back. You won't turn to salt.

I loved Sand Valley and Mammoth Dunes. I enjoyed Sandbox and cannot wait for Sedge Valley and whatever else may come to the resort. There's not a bad time to be had on property.

LL and L are the stuff of Dreams. As you go up the 18th at LL, you look to the left and see the entire back nine, and you want to get right back out there. It will be the same with Lido.

[Max Prokopy]

Isn't Lido fully private?

[PCCraig]

Lawsonia is the best golf course in Wisconsin, currently.


If amenities are your thing, you might enjoy Sand Valley more. But if GCA is your thing it's hard to beat.

[Jerry Kluger]

Here the question is if you have played a number of C & C courses as Sand Valley is a really solid course and very well represents their minimalist style of architecture so If you haven't played any of their courses then it is a must play.  I understand that Lawsonia has rebuilt their bunkers which is great to hear and it is a very special and unique course which flies under the radar of most golfers.  Mammoth Dunes is also special as I understand it David McLay Kidd was instructed to build a course which is fun for all golfers and not just for the very best players and he did that and more as it is so big and wide that most players will be able to get around while the best players will be challenged by the green complexes and the angles to those greens.  I don't know if the Lido will be available for you to play and I believe the plan is to make it private so you should play it if you can. 


Conclusion: You cannot go wrong with any of them!

[Pete Lavallee]

I thought Resort guests would be allowed one play at Lido; am I correct?

[DFarron]

Lawsonia is the best golf course in Wisconsin, currently.

But if GCA is your thing it's hard to beat.

That settles it……Lawsonia it is !

[John Kavanaugh]

Lawsonia will justify your intellect while Sand Valley tickles your fancy.

[Tom_Doak]

I thought Resort guests would be allowed one play at Lido; am I correct?

In limited numbers, Monday-Thursday only, so not everyone who stays there will get to play across the road.

[Jay Mickle]

Late to the discussion but pleased that you picked Lawsonia. I don't know how it will strike you as expectations will be high. I did Erin Hills and Kohler before hitting Lawsonia on the way to Sand Valley and with minimal expectations was blown away. No loss of love after SandValley either.

[Buck Wolter]

This is pretty cool -- two GCA'ers involved.

https://www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/content/craig-haltom-restores-original-design-intent-to-bunkers-at-lawsonia-links

[Jason Topp]

I would chose Lawsonia.  I like the course better than the ones at Sand Valley.  It is pretty close to my ideal of posing an interesting challenge for all levels of play while allowing everyone to get around the course without being brutalized by ball searches, water hazards and out of bounds.  The shaping is dramatic and starkly artificial but for me it fits my eye.  From a non architecture perspective the place has everything I want at a course without a bunch of extras that I don't want. 


I don't have the same affection for the Sand Valley courses I have played but that may be due more to the logistics of the place than the quality of the golf.  Who knows how much price, paying for caddies and the feeling you are at a golf factory affects one's emotional response to a golf experience?  The experience at Sand Valley is similar to Bandon Dunes or Streamsong.  Nothing wrong with it but the Lawsonia experience speaks to me more forcefully. 

[DFarron]

I would chose Lawsonia.  I like the course better than the ones at Sand Valley.  It is pretty close to my ideal of posing an interesting challenge for all levels of play while allowing everyone to get around the course without being brutalized by ball searches, water hazards and out of bounds.  The shaping is dramatic and starkly artificial but for me it fits my eye.  From a non architecture perspective the place has everything I want at a course without a bunch of extras that I don't want. 


I don't have the same affection for the Sand Valley courses I have played but that may be due more to the logistics of the place than the quality of the golf.  Who knows how much price, paying for caddies and the feeling you are at a golf factory affects one's emotional response to a golf experience?  The experience at Sand Valley is similar to Bandon Dunes or Streamsong.  Nothing wrong with it but the Lawsonia experience speaks to me more forcefully.

Interesting ….I recently went to Streamsong and while I enjoyed the course I found the experience and bit contrived and factory like. It’s unlikely I’ll ever return.

[Tim Martin]

Where do Blue Mound and Milwaukee CC stack up against Lawsonia and the Sand Valley courses not including Lido?

[Mike Hendren]

Greetings Tim.  Blue Mound is a treasure trove of Raynor greens - he pulled out all the stops.  He needed to however as the site is uninspiring though intimate.   That’s where Lawsonia shines in spades.  The routing uses the topography brilliantly and the pushed up greens blend in visually.  We all have an idea of what our ideal golf course looks like - for me it’s Lawsonia.  It’s an 8, but dead solid perfect.


Haven’t seen Milwaukee CC and Sand Valley didn’t excite me, except for the Sand Box which I absolutely loved. I prefer Blue Mound over SV.  Only the former reflects true genius.

[Tim Martin]

Greetings Tim.  Blue Mound is a treasure trove of Raynor greens - he pulled out all the stops.  He needed to however as the site is uninspiring though intimate.   That’s where Lawsonia shines in spades.  The routing uses the topography brilliantly and the pushed up greens blend in visually.  We all have an idea of what our ideal golf course looks like - for me it’s Lawsonia.  It’s an 8, but dead solid perfect.


Haven’t seen Milwaukee CC and Sand Valley didn’t excite me, except for the Sand Box which I absolutely loved. I prefer Blue Mound over SV.  Only the former reflects true genius.

Mike-Thanks for the reply and I hope all is well. I thought Glens Falls was your ideal golf course!

[Brett Meyer]

I'd also vote for Lawsonia because it's a lot cheaper than Sand Valley and because it's the best public course in Wisconsin for reasons that have been discussed thoroughly over many threads.

But I also think that Sand Valley is becoming an underrated course. I didn't think that there was much separating it from the Cabot courses, yet both of those make top 100 world lists and I think Sand Valley has been struggling to make some of the top 100 US lists. I thought that it was the second best public course in Wisconsin. There are several great holes and the landscape itself is just great--it's nice to see the effort that they've put into environmental restoration around the course and it's really cool to see some unusual native plants that had been crowded out by the timber plantations, like prickly pear cactus and beach heather.