I had the distinct pleasure of playing West Bend CC with Mike McGuire this past Sunday, which helped drown my sorrows at not making the Creek outing.
The course has 9 stunning holes by William Langford, created in 1930, and an additional 9 done by David Gill around 1960.
I think the land is better than Lawsonia, with a lot of large hills but also terrific little rolls that give uneven lies in the fairway. Langford made great use of it by giving options off the tee to play safe and shorter to flat spots, or try to rip it and catch turbo-boosts down hills. In a few spots you can play off side hills down to flat spots in the fairway. Most noticeable in this way was the 9th hole, a terrific long par 4 (which plays as a par 5 from the regular tees).
The greens are similar in style to Lawsonia, many "cake tops" with large falloffs on 3 sides, but I think with a little less contour and slope (not to say flat at all), which fits with the better land. There are also a bunch of cross bunkers with high faces, which make excellent driving hazards and give the course a dramatic look.
Possibly the best hole was the short par-4 7th with a hugely elevated green, and you really have to decide whether to play safe or take a big, big chance on your approach.
The only negative is the fact that (surprise!) over the years trees have encroached on lines of play and the place doesn't not play as wide as originally designed.
Mike is very very knowledgeable, and talked at length about doing some work to restore these 9 holes (there was a fairway or 2 moved over, and I think 1 green redone). If this 9 is restored, it might be hard to say that Lawsonia is superior.
I know that Mike has Langford's original plans for the back 9, and what a dream it would be to get it built - a true resurrection! We should all wish him godspeed in his efforts on the original 9, and look forward to a day when West Bend has an 18 hole Langford layout.
Jeff Goldman