Mike, I actually think you’re dead on with this one. It strikes me that building a strategic course shouldn’t be all that difficult. It’s simply a matter of making the riskiest lines off the tee the ones that pay the highest dividends when successfully executed, and building features that place a real premium on choosing those lines. There is certainly no course I’ve played that does this the way Lawsonia does, and with the variety of strategies it employs.
I hit it a bit longer than you, but I also suspect you also played a tee ahead of the one I play on my visits there. For me, it’s one of the most consistently engaging courses I’ve played. In particular, each tee shot asks me to wager a stroke against my ability to reach Position A. The way those wagers take shape varies from hole to hole.
On many holes, skirting a bunker (or grass “cop bunker”) off the tee sets up a better approach angle: 1, 11, 16, and 18 (on the second shot)
On other holes, making an aggressive carry sets up the ideal approach: 3, 9, and 13
Still others tempt a big hit to set up birdie on a shot with a high penalty for a ball sent offline: 5 and 15
And yet, for my money the best holes are the ones where the ideal placement for a drive could vary tremendously from player to player and day to day: 2, 6, and 8
It always presents some safe option for the weak or conservative player (aside from the two shortest par 3s), which is probably why it’s still my mother’s second-favorite course. And yet, it constantly presents big, tempting carries and aggressive play for the stronger player. Even true bombers have to pay attention to their choices on holes like 6, 8, 9, 13, and 16. The course really encourages players to “swing from the heels” with its open presentation, and it’s often surprising just how much danger lurks as soon as a shot is missed by just a hair.