[David Schofield]

I had the good fortune to play Lawsonia (Links) on Friday afternoon.   While we've had a fairly dry spring, I was still surprised to find the conditions firm & fast.  I've only played it a handful of times previously, and all were in the heart of the summer when firm & fast conditions were far more expected.  We played the Woodlands on Saturday and the conditions were vastly different.  What does (or doesn't) Lawsonia do to keep the conditions firm & fast in the absence of summer heat waves?  Would it be overly simplistic to attribute most of it to the windswept nature of the course speeding drying?

On a related note, does anyone have any pictures of the course prior to the restoration by Mr. Forse?

Finally, I can't help but brag that I got around in 2 hours and 19 minutes.   

[Dan Herrmann]

2:19.  2:19!  2:19? 

David, my club went from wet and slow to firm and fast in the period of one week last week.  After 2+ weeks of cutoff low cold and rain, we went to breezy and sunny with temps in the upper 70's today.  Due to the good watering philosophy (essentially, no watering in the spring), the course dried quickly and recovered in record speed.

A properly maintained course can make that happen very quickly.

(only issue is that the increase of fairway roll has resulted in more balls rolling into the rough)

[David Schofield]

Front was 1:05, the back was slower but 3 groups all kindly let me play through immediately when I caught them.  It might have been even faster had the group I caught on 18 let me play through (particularly when they lost several balls in the right rough), but I can't complain.

[K. Krahenbuhl]

I had the good fortune to play Lawsonia (Links) on Friday afternoon.   While we've had a fairly dry spring, I was still surprised to find the conditions firm & fast.  I've only played it a handful of times previously, and all were in the heart of the summer when firm & fast conditions were far more expected.  We played the Woodlands on Saturday and the conditions were vastly different.  What does (or doesn't) Lawsonia do to keep the conditions firm & fast in the absence of summer heat waves?  Would it be overly simplistic to attribute most of it to the windswept nature of the course speeding drying?

On a related note, does anyone have any pictures of the course prior to the restoration by Mr. Forse?

Finally, I can't help but brag that I got around in 2 hours and 19 minutes.   

After playing today I will give you that it wasn't playing slow, but I wouldn't call that firm and fast.  Maybe they got some rain between our rounds?

[David Schofield]

I will readily concede the fact that I am not an expert on firm & fast.  I may be biased in my opinion, to be fair, as my home course might as well be a bog most of the year.  My opinion was based upon my observation that a 100-yard bump and run was a reasonable option on most holes. 

[C. Squier]

Played with Kyle today and I agree with his assessment.  Although, driving up to Madison last night we got stuck in a nasty thunderstorm that dropped a ton of rain on us.  I'm guessing it was a bit slower than when you played David.  First time at Lawsonia and had a great time.  Definitely one of the best values in golf I've played so far.

[Brad Swanson]

I played there this afternoon and was concerned with the firm conditions.  Frankly, this spring has not been the best for growing grass it seems (preceded by a really cold and record-braking snowfall winter), and May has been very dry.  For the course to be as dry as it was this early made me concerned for its health the rest of the season.  Midday syringing of greens and tees in May in central Wisconsin is something I never thought I'd see until I saw it with my own eyes today.  The tinges of brown seen on the Links course today are usually not seen until the deep summer from my recollection. 

Kyle, my afternoon round in steady 20+ MPH winds was pretty firm, but if they tried to get it firm and fast within the 1st month of the season there they'd be in a heap of trouble in a few months IMHO.  Lawsonia shines in the fall when the greens get far quicker and the course does actually start to take on a firm and fast personality.

On a positive note, I was excited to see the continued effort to push the putting surfaces out to their original dimensions on several of the greens.  Let's hope that mother nature stops behaving like a crack whore and gives us some decent/consistent weather here in WI so the courses can get in their best shape for the season.

Cheers,
Brad

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