Has Lawsonia become "Overhyped?"

[Mike Bodo]

I've yet to play Lawsonia, but from photos I've seen and reviews I've read the course appears to share a lot of the same attributes as the Langford/Moreau 9 at Marquette Golf Club. The green complexes of those holes, and the land forms they were built on are some of the most beautiful and dramatic I've seen. Yet, when comparing them to the otherworldly Greywalls adjacent to it they come off somewhat old and dated to many retail golfers, who can't appreciate the beauty that lies within and strategy required to play them well. Greywalls is the shiny new toy, whereas the Langford 9 (part of the Heritage course at MGC) is the type of course grandpa played growing up. I hate to say it, but that's the mentality of many younger generation golfers who would rather be oooo'd and ahhh'd then have to strain their brain making sense of the complexities and nuances that make courses like Lawsonia a treat to play. We here get it. Problem is many retail golfers don't. If they play Lawsonia after having golfed Sand Valley, Whistling Straits, Erin Hills, etc. they don't understand what the big deal is about it, because it doesn't overwhelm their senses.


If you're a Golden Age guy like me you seek out courses like Lawsonia, as you understand what makes them truly special and praise-worthy. But I can see how some would find Lawsonia uninspiring if their idea of a great golf course is one that looks unlike anything they've ever seen and is both big in scale and "Wow" factor.

[Tim_Weiman]

Some here may recall that the earliest supporter of Lawsonia at GolfClubAtlas was Dick Daley. Not to trying to hijack the thread but has anyone heard how he is doing?


Thanks.

[Jeff Schley]

As some would say, "Overhyped yes, and deservedly so."

[Jason Thurman]

Bodo, I pick up some of what you're stepping in. I'd note though, that based on dozens of firsthand conversations with retail golfers in the area who couldn't tell a redan from a niblick, retail golfers 100% "get Lawsonia."


Almost everybody I've ever talked golf with "gets Lawsonia." The list of guys I know who don't care for it is basically John and this group that prompted this thread. That's a pretty good batting average considering that we can find around 800 people on this site alone who will tell you that Pebble Beach and Whistling Straits are overhyped.


Is it possible that it's not Lawsonia that retail golfers "don't get," but rather that it's Erin Hills, The Straits, and Mammoth Dunes? Because while I like all three of those courses very much, I also recognize that they have some drawbacks that would keep them from being my first choice to play every day. I never tire of playing Lawsonia. Most retail golfers I've met would say the same. But they might then say "But Erin Hills is a better course" on the grounds that it's harder and has hosted big championships, ignoring the part where they'd be ready to switch to TopGolf three rounds into a membership there.

[Richard Hetzel]

I'll let you know after I play it come May!

[Chris_Blakely]

I have long been a bit of a cheerleader for the Links Course at Lawsonia.

To mention just one of the features that JK misses in his dismissive comments on Lawsonia, which he's been trotting out every time Lawsonia comes up for at least 15 years :-), note that from hole #4 through #15 par is: 3,5,4,3,4,5,3,5,3,5,3,4.  Borrowing Doak's punctuation for several of these holes--!!  John dissing this course on the basis of one play, John--c'mon man!!

Eric,

I played Lawsonia on a destination trip to Erin Hills which is only 74 miles away. Were you at Erin Hills with me? I don't like Lawsonia party because it is an exact replica of the course I am currently looking out at from my kitchen window in Indiana. It's just meh. It also would be great under fantasy budgets and unicorn weather.

There is no way I would juxtapose the CC of Old Vincennes to Lawsonia Links and say they are exact replicas. For Starters, obviously L&M only did 9 holes at CCOOV and 18 at Lawsonia.  Additionally, several of the greens / locations in and around the valleys and ravines were perfectly located and not like other L&M courses.


Chris