Woodlands at Lawsonia Golf Course

The Woodlands course is in great shape for this early in the season. Player beware! The rough is longish and thick. The greens are large and currently playing slow but will speed up as the season allows closer cuts. The layout requires some tactical play with several bomber holes. Bring your bunker skills as many greens are protected by sand. Enjoy! The service personnel "went the extra mile" to provide assistance. Outstanding young people work at this golf course. The pub/restaurant is well designed to promote story telling after and before your round. They have great food and a well stocked bar. Nice experience.

Woodlands was in very good shape and cleaned up/renovated a bit from my last play at least 3 years ago now. Has some really nice challenges.....many approach shots require at least a club or two extra....numerous uphill approach shots. With the famous Links course next door many don't even bother to get a round in on Woodlands. They are really missing out.....Woodlands is so different it makes for a great 36 hole day - recommend playing here in the morning/have lunch/a couple Spotted Cows on draft in the clubhouse....then go tackle the Links. Woodlands is a really solid tree lined golf course overshadowed by Links old school perfection. The 2nd quarry hole - what would be the right part of a larger second green still is growing in...they really should consider posting a sign on the tee box informing that you should play as far as you dare down the right side of the fairway left of the quarry as any ball that's left off the tee or short in the fairway will be blocked by a large tree left....you have to hit under it...so large and obtrusive of a tree near the left side of the green - any short iron shot will go right into its canopy and likely kick into penalty shot trouble. Par 5 18th still has the original green in play which is a ridiculous two tier with way too much slope to it - 3 and 4 putts galore. When they open the new 18th green appears the finishing hole will be shortened considerably eliminating the hard right uphill dogleg 3rd shot to the green. I'll probably be really disappointed. What they should do and strongly recommend is open the new green up and then renovate and redesign the current 18th green site and put a fair slope on it. The slope of 17th green is pretty out of hand as well. 4 stars. Recommend play wholeheartedly - definitely make the time to play Woodlands when you visit Lawsonia.

I last reviewed The Woodlands Course at Lawsonia in 2019. Since that time, the course has undergone significant changes, which includes filling in bunkers, removing trees, and cleaning out underbrush. Soon there will be a new 18th green too!

The updated Woodlands is so much better now, and I highly recommend it! The layout is much more playable, while still presenting a challenge and a beautiful setting with views of Green Lake. It will only get better when the new 18th green opens up.

The Woodlands course is never going to be the superstar at Lawsonia. It's sister-course, The Links, is one of the best courses you'll find anywhere. But, with the updates, The Woodlands is now a great Robin to The Links Batman, and is definitely a must-play in Wisconsin!

Not worth the price they charge, Definitely not even close to number 4 Wisconsin rated golf courses. Construction going on on almost all the Woodlands course greens bunkers rock hard, don’t buy into the hype here. Very average at best

Fairly tight course, but playable. Links course is maintained better.

I was a 45 minute drive away and had a morning to kill so booked a single round on the Woodlands course. Great feel to the venue, very welcoming and helpful staff and somewhere i would return. I kept getting glimpses of the Links course as i made my way around the Woodlands. It was a windy day so i was grateful for the tree shelter but the Links course looked great and gives me reason to come back for a 36-hole, day-long, two-course outing. The Woodlands course was in good shape (yes a couple of the bunkers need a bit more sand) and makes you think your way around with some interesting risk-reward holes.

You pay the same for the links and woodlands. So you would think the courses would be in similar shape. But they aren't. The woodlands is in rough shape. Tee boxes are beaten up. They are removing some bunkers, but the existing bunkers had big rocks in them and were unraked prior to my 9am round. On a couple of the greens I had to pull up some smaller rocks that were ingrained in the green. Obviously, golf the links if you have the choice. Woodlands should be at least half off.

The Woodlands course definitely plays second fiddle to the Links course at Lawsonia. With that being said it is not a bad course by any means. The course has a few very dramatic and demanding holes along with several that are very awkward and not in the best way. The course is also in the process of grassing in just about every fairway bunker on the course because they have been difficult to maintain over the years. I believe this will help the course overall as it still contains enough intrigue with sharp doglegs to maintain interest throughout the round. I always tell people that it would probably have a better reputation if it didn't have the Links course right next door, but alas it does and often gets overlooked. I do think it's a bit overpriced if you play a stand alone round, but you can find rates to make the cost more manageable through GolfNow. It's worth the play if you live in the area, but if you are traveling from somewhere else, I would advise sticking to the Links course.

I’d like to start off by saying I believe this is a top 5 36 hole facility in Wisconsin. I was very disappointed with my last round here. As a nice quality course, I believe it’s your responsibility to make sure people are abiding by pace of play. We were stuck behind a group of drunk people who were absolutely pitiful( I can guarantee you no one in the group shot under a 110) not only were they screaming every swear you could think of on every (yea, not just 1.. this was an every hole thing and I mean screaming) hole they also left clubs behind more than 4 times and would not let us play through. It honestly wrecked one of my more enjoyable rounds typically. Also, I’m not sure what’s going on with the bunkers but they were in awful shape. More mud than bunker and it seemed like they’re getting rid of a lot of them? Overall a great facility but that was unacceptable imo and if I experience it again I will not be going back. There are plenty of other courses that are high quality and low on shenanigans.

Woodlands course was undergoing renavations of all bunkers. No sand. Should have reduced Green Fees.

Aside from that course was in great shape and staff extremely friendly!

The Woodlands is an awesome course and is in excellent condition. The staff is very nice. I can’t wait to go back again.

It’s been 15 years since I last played. And 15 years ago, the course was unbelievable and I had always wanted to come back. Today, I was impressed with some holes on the woodlands but some tee boxes were rough, and the sand traps, thankfully I didn’t see many, were poorly maintained. For what I am paying, I’d expect more. I was not impressed with the driving range at all. The clubhouse was fully stocked and the staff was incredibly helpful and very kind.

The Woodlands at Lawsonia is the lesser known sister course to Lawsonia Links. While it plays 2nd fiddle to the classic Lawsonia Links, the Woodlands is a worthy addition to the Lawsonia property. The Woodlands is a traditional Midwest parkland style course with some tight corridors, and a few water hazards and many bunkers sprinkled throughout. Overall our group found the Woodlands to be a tough, but fair test of golf.

The Good:
The Woodlands has some of the best views you'll find at Lawsonia. There are a handful of great views of Green Lake, especially hole #5 (pictured). In contrast to the Links course, the treen lined fairways remind you that you are, indeed, in the United States.

The Average:
It's not fair, but when compared to the Links course, the layout of the Woodlands course is just average. It feels very much like a course you will find at any number of lakeside resorts in the Midwest.

The Not So Good:
The conditions are really good, but not immaculate, and numerous bunkers need sand to improve overall consistency of play. I've spoken with others who have played the Woodlands and they had the same complaint about the bunkers, so it seems to be a persistent problem.

My favorite hole is #2 (pictured). The fairway splits off the tee. The further right you can get on the split fairway, the better look you have at the green. Plus it has the bell tower in the distance, which has wonderful music every hour.

The golf course was in decent condition, a couple of dry spots along the Fairway on several holes, overall compared to other courses with lack of rain not a bad course.
I would say the biggest problem on the course are the sand traps. The sand traps need a lot of help. I putted several balls towards the hole and they took a quick left or right turn because of a pebble from the sand traps. The sand traps are filled with rocks.
I had a good breakfast, the staff was friendly helpful and very pleasant.

Laswonia is a great golf course. I play it a few times a year with a friend who is a member so we usually play all day and get in 54 holes. We play both courses (Links and Woodlands). Two completely different courses but both are top notch. Greens are to die for on either course. Awesome staff. Just do it and enjoy!

So, I played both courses at Lawsonia the same weekend for the past three years and they are really amazing from a design perspective. However, it appears that they are making investment decisions that are affecting the playability of these golf courses. The bunkers at Lawsonia are inconsistent, some are ok, others have no sand at all, some only have weeds growing in them. The Links traps are better than the Woodlands. I asked one of the dudes working around the place what the deal was? He intimated that the owners of this place, he called them the Baptists, choose not to invest in sand. Now I know renovating bunkers is a pricey task, but these golf courses demand a pricey fee to play them. Look guys, if you aren't sand buyers then get some grass seed and make them grass bunkers. Otherwise, right now these courses are in good shape, they're mowing, which is a good thing and the greens are all good! To tie this up in a neat little bow, I can see how this place gets so highly rated, but am frustrated that every year the bunkers are the same, not top 100 quality.