The Fried Egg's Spring Steam Shovel @ Lawsonia this May

[PCCraig]

Anyone else going? May 4th at Lawsonia Links:


https://thefriedegg.com/inaugural-spring-steam-shovel-event/

[John Kavanaugh]

What a great time to be a young golfer with wings. The RIINGER is early April. I wish these types of celebrity outings were all the rage when I was just starting.

[PCCraig]

What a great time to be a young golfer with wings. The RIINGER is early April. I wish these types of celebrity outings were all the rage when I was just starting.

Ha - I'm not sure if I would consider this a celebrity outing in the same way the ringer was (is?). As many on here experienced in the past at the 2nd Midwest Mashie, Lawsonia is a perfect host site for an event like this. Hard to turn down an opportunity to tee it up and have the run of the place for a couple of days.

[John Kavanaugh]

I read it as a one day tournament. Can an 18 hole shotgun get done with 36 holes? I do like the format.

[PCCraig]

I read it as a one day tournament. Can an 18 hole shotgun get done with 36 holes? I do like the format.

Well, I'm going for Friday/Saturday. I would assume that an afternoon alternate shot round would get around the course pretty quickly?

[John Kavanaugh]

Only as quick as the slowest golfer allows. Do modern drones come with loudspeakers? Giddyup city.

[Mark Pritchett]

A friend of mine just described these events as "Millennial Member-Guests". 

[Tim Gavrich]

May the Fourth bring average temperatures or better to Green Lake.

[Peter Flory]

I would generally sign up for anything at Lawsonia.  Unfortunately I'm going to be on a golf trip.

[Sven Nilsen]

May the Fourth bring average temperatures or better to Green Lake.

I see what you did there.

[PCCraig]

Lots of fun was had yesterday at the Steam Shovel event at Lawsonia. The event was sold out with 88 folks playing 36 holes yesterday.


We had perfect weather and the golf course was in terrific condition, especially for May 4th.


We played best ball in the morning and alternate shot in the afternoon. Andy set the pin & tee locations for the day and Lawsonia was nice enough to change the hole locations at lunch which was cool. Made for some really interesting, and in some cases, tricky pins.


Since the course was effectively rented out for the day, we were able to head back out for a few more holes at twilight which is always a treat to see the shadows move across that landscape.


As many of us know on here thanks to the 2011 Mashie, Lawsonia couldn't have been a better host.


The golf course there just keeps better. More tree removal, especially around 10-13-14 has given the course an even grander scale with the entire back nine visible to each other. There also appears to be some green expansion work done recently and while it was an issue when I first started visiting 10+ years ago, the conditioning is consistently great.


All in all, it was a fun time with a good group of folks (plenty of GCAers thrown in).

[Jason Topp]

It was a terrific event.  I thought the first round was moving slowly but checked my watch and we finished in under 4 hours.  During the second round we played alternate shots in groups of 6 and it seemed quicker.


Langford's artificial slopes might be my favorite.  Those bunkers with big mounds in front present a severe hazard but one never spends time marching around looking for a ball. 


The greens look very artificial but strike the right balance to present a significant challenge to touch and green reading skill without getting silly. 


For some reason the look of his shaping really fits my eye.

[PCCraig]

I read it as a one day tournament. Can an 18 hole shotgun get done with 36 holes? I do like the format.

Forgot this comment, but thought I would come back and note that it took 8 hours for 88 players to play 36 holes. The first round of best ball took roughly 4hr 15min. The alternate shot took about 3hr 20min in a three-ball. Enough time to come in for a couple beers then back out for a few holes at twilight.


As Jason noted, the course was in optimal shape to be played somewhat quickly though. The high rough was still cut down short, and while the sharp slopes are hazards, they allow for a quick find and hit. The pins were in some interesting spots, though, and some folks got a little grindy on the putting greens in the first round. 

[Andy Johnson]

Was a really fun day with a great collection of people. The novice Tournament director might have had a few USGA moments with pin selection especially as the course got quite firm in the afternoon. Course is so fun to setup with those big greens, really showcases Langford's eye for strategy. A shift in pin on most holes changes the line of charm significantly. Lawsonia keeps getting better, Craig Haltom and Oliphant Golf are doing a great job providing a great golf experience at an affordable price. Thanks to all who came out.

[Emile Bonfiglio]

Was a really fun day with a great collection of people. The novice Tournament director might have had a few USGA moments with pin selection especially as the course got quite firm in the afternoon. Course is so fun to setup with those big greens, really showcases Langford's eye for strategy. A shift in pin on most holes changes the line of charm significantly. Lawsonia keeps getting better, Craig Haltom and Oliphant Golf are doing a great job providing a great golf experience at an affordable price. Thanks to all who came out.

Time for the squeal! Get Porath out there next time.

[John Kavanaugh]

I read it as a one day tournament. Can an 18 hole shotgun get done with 36 holes? I do like the format.

Forgot this comment, but thought I would come back and note that it took 8 hours for 88 players to play 36 holes. The first round of best ball took roughly 4hr 15min. The alternate shot took about 3hr 20min in a three-ball. Enough time to come in for a couple beers then back out for a few holes at twilight.


As Jason noted, the course was in optimal shape to be played somewhat quickly though. The high rough was still cut down short, and while the sharp slopes are hazards, they allow for a quick find and hit. The pins were in some interesting spots, though, and some folks got a little grindy on the putting greens in the first round. 

I'm glad it went so well. As many of you may know I have gotten more woke since March.