Group PHOTO |13 Sept 2020 Midwest Mashie - Lawsonia

[Peter Flory]

Jason is very humble and didn't mention his epic comeback against me yesterday.  He was 5 down with 5 to play and halved the match! 

[John McCarthy]

1.  Many  thanks to Vaughn and Jason for putting this thing together. 


2.  Who won?  I had to leave for fear of falling asleep before I got home.  I have not walked and carried 36 in 20 years. 


3.  Vaughn: can I ask you for John Buckley's email?  I left without saying goodbye (see 2. above).


On edit 4.  Pam is my hero.  9 days of crossing the country playing golf, stopping in on golden age courses she lacks the time to play but wants to see, turning down an invite to Carnago to keep a promise to play somewhere else and all around proving our disease does not solely inhabit the Y chromosome...godspeed Pam.

[V_Halyard]

1.  Many  thanks to Vaughn and Jason for putting this thing together. 


2.  Who won?  I had to leave for fear of falling asleep before I got home.  I have not walked and carried 36 in 20 years. 


3.  Vaughn: can I ask you for John Buckley's email?  I left without saying goodbye (see 2. above).


On edit 4.  Pam is my hero.  9 days of crossing the country playing golf, stopping in on golden age courses she lacks the time to play but wants to see, turning down an invite to Carnago to keep a promise to play somewhere else and all around proving our disease does not solely inhabit the Y chromosome...godspeed Pam.

1: You're welcome and the true thanks goes to Freeman and Haltom. See the Top of the thread for a full update.
2: Tie ball game! Nice that you took the walk however based on your stellar performance, Thurman has slapped you with a GHIN handicap review.
3: See email
4: Pam Allen is one of golf's true warrior queens.

[Jason Thurman]

Yes, major thanks to Craig and George. And also to Vaughn for his help navigating things on Thursday. It's hard to think about how close we came to this event blowing up.


Really, thanks to everybody who came. Complications around the planet made flexibility such an important component of this year's Mashie, and I appreciate everyone's willingness to adjust to changing tee times and funky match formats. I love the turnout we get for this event, I love seeing the familiar faces that have become friends and the new faces that I'll look forward to seeing again next year, and if there was a downside to this year's event it's that the 36-hole-day nature of it meant that we couldn't do as much mixing up of playing partners and commiserating over drinks and dinners and around fire pits and all that kind of stuff. I'll quote my friend Dick Daley: Sunday was good for the soul.

[pam allen]

Thank you to Craig, George, Jason and Vaughn for arranging such a terrific day!
I really enjoyed meeting all of you while playing such a fabulous course.

[Jason Thurman]

Miscellaneous pics of courses played:


Mammoth Dunes:


4th hole



5th hole:



6th hole:



2nd shot on 7:



10th hole:



11th hole:



13



14 - my group had two looks at eagle inside 20 feet. And technically, my 130 foot putt probably counted as a third even if it never made it to within 30 feet of the hole.



15







Sand Valley


2nd shot at 4



5



5 tee, looking out across the landscape to 6



Pine Hills Country Club was the revelation of the trip. It was drizzly and I only caught a couple pics right around the clubhouse, but I can't believe how much I thoroughly enjoyed this golf course.


Behind the pro shop, with 8 playing toward us down the right side, and 10 playing away down the left. Photos flatten things, but this at least gives some sense of the exceptional land movement and natural features on the property. It's a hilly but very rewarding walk.



9 green - maybe this gives SOME sense of just how excellent a set of greens Pine Hills has. Again, photos flatten things. My best two-putt of the week came from above this hole, while a playing partner had two shots hit the front portion of the green only to watch the ball feed back and into a fronting bunker.



Blackwolf Run Meadow Valleys


Approach to 13... such a cool little par 4



Approach to 14... such a cool big-ass tough-as-hell par 4



16 approach



Lawsonia Links


6th approach. Why do we love the holes that hurt us?



An unmemorable hole that I doubt anyone has ever seen a photo of



Looking out across the back 9 from 11 tee - 11 down the left, 13 coming back at us down the right



Slowly but surely making our way to 16 green



Approach to 17



Looking across the back 9 while making the way up 16 - a beautiful view brings on the melancholy feeling of realizing that a day at Lawsonia never lasts forever

[PCCraig]

Looks like you guys had an awesome weekend, Jason. Sorry to miss it.


Hope to see everyone next year!!!


Pat

[Buck Wolter]

I had played Lawsonia once a couple years ago playing fast in twilight and while I enjoyed it, it is much better than I had remembered. Would love to give Ron Forse an unlimited budget to expand fairways and get some bunker work (Esp drainage) done. Even with its new found popularity I think it is still underrated. There may be some sameness in the elevated greens with deep bunkers but the greens themselves were as good as I've played. I found it unrelenting but in a good way -- I can't think of a ho hum shot on the course.


Thanks again to all involved for making this happen and to all the road warriors for making the trip.

[Evan Fleisher]

Man! Seeing these photos makes me wish I could have arranged it to be there. Glad you all made it happen!!!

[John Mayhugh]

Thanks to all for arranging a fun weekend. I've been to Lawsonia several times, and it just keeps getting better.

[V_Halyard]

Bumping to the Group Photo now atop the thread.

[Criss Titschinger]

Reflecting on my three days in Wisconsin...

Played West Bend as a solo on my first day. Got paired with a couple of members who could not have been more accommodating. L&M at their best is some of my favorite golf I've played. Things like 2's green area, 3's nose-like green, the entire 7th hole. Just jaw dropping gorgeous. Ran's review does a better job of articulating West Bend, so I'll just refer to his write-up.

Met up with GCAers to play Pine Hills. That went from a course I'd never heard of to very high on my list of favorites. Great greens and a lot of great holes out their as well. Can't wait to come back and see 18 when it's renovated.

Afterwards, a couple of us went to check out Blackwolf Run. Only people like me would be so absurd as to pay what we paid to play 9 holes of the back 9 of Meadow Valley (half of the original composite course). My request was granted by the pros, but no one told the ranger/gatekeeper. After (allegedly) playing tee shots from the wrong tee box (whoops/wink), we were intercepted by said gatekeeper. All-in-all, we made peace, and he escorted out to number 12, played through 18, then the new 10 (blerg) and 11th. We probably could have played more, and perhaps in hindsight we should have. My tired body/mind forgot the first three of River was part of the composite as well. Instead, we paid a crap ton of money for 9 holes. Playing it by myself would have been absurd. Sharing that moment with like-minded people I consider friends; priceless.

Lawsonia was unfortunately a bit wet when we played, but it hasn't ceased to astound me. What a pleasure it was to walk a few holes with Ron Forse, and hear him talk about all the improvements that could still be made to the Links course. I hadn't noticed those during my first playthrough last year, but after hearing Ron talk, they totally make sense. I'm pretty sure talking with Ron took me out of my fourball match, and I needed a courageous partner (Thanks Frank!) to bail me out to salvage a halved match. But who cares! I can't have I'd had the opportunity to walk a great course with a great architect and pick his brain.

I still don't know what happened in the afternoon. I played this guy whose face I recognized, but whose game I didn't. After he won the match, he immediately reverted into the golfer I was more familiar with. Isn't that the way it works sometimes?

Big thanks for those who set this up. Albeit brief, it was good to see old faces and new.

[Pete_Pittock]

I don't recognize the one person wearing a mask

[Criss Titschinger]

I don't recognize the one person wearing a mask

That would be me.