(January 14, 2022) – New Haven Country Club, Ridgewood Country Club, Tashua Knolls Golf Course, the Country Club of New Canaan, are all part of a strong list of host courses on the 2022 CSGA Championship schedule.
“We have a really exciting slate of venues in 2022,” said Director of Operations, Rules & Competitions Ryan Hoffman. “2022 will feature some repeat venues, some new venues but overall a really solid test of championship golf.”
Major season play will begin on May 16-17th with the 19th playing of the Russell C. Palmer Cup presented by Chris Cote’s Golf Shop. This year the CSGA’s premier stroke play event will be contested for the first time at Wampanoag Country Club. “We are honored to be hosting the Palmer Cup this season,” said head professional Donny Kirkpatrick. “We hope to live up to the expectations that surround this exceptional tournament.”
Although not a lengthy layout, the par-72 Donald Ross designed course still offers plenty of challenges. Position off the tee will be crucial but not nearly as important as placement on and around the greens, the primary defense of the 1924 layout. “The winner will have to have a great week putting,” said Kirkpatrick.
From May 31-June 3rd the CSGA will head to Madison Country Club for the 16th Senior Match Play presented by Middlesex Health. “We are eagerly looking forward to hosting the 2022 Senior Match Play,” said head professional Frank Carta. “This is a great opportunity for us to showcase our most recent golf course renovations which will further enhance course playability and course conditions.”
The seaside course will challenge the field in a number of ways but the biggest challenge will be the wind. “May is traditionally one of the windier months for coastal Connecticut,” explained Carta. “With the combination of wind, tight turf conditions, and strategically placed fescue, the players will be in for quite the challenge.”
The following week, on June 6-7, the 23rd Connecticut Women’s Open will be held at Hop Meadow Country Club where the primary challenge the field will face is distance control on their approach shots into sloping greens. If players do miss the green it will be important to avoid short-siding themselves.
“We are very excited to host the 2022 Connecticut Women’s Open and consider it an honor to be able to host another prestigious CSGA Championship,” said PGA Director of Operations Joe Cordani, Jr. “We are all looking forward to seeing how the players fare and we hope they enjoy themselves as much as we will.”
The player who wins the Connecticut Women’s Open at Hop Meadow CC will need to find their birdies early and then late. There are birdie chances on Nos. 2, 3, 5, and 6 before finishing their round with consecutive par-5s.
Two years after hosting the Connecticut Open the Connecticut Amateur heads to Ridgewood Country Club from June 20-24 for the 120th edition. The field will face a stiff challenge on a course that only yielded two under-par scores at the 2020 Connecticut Open.
“The golf course is not particularly long but the greens present a tremendous challenge, independent of the hole locations,” said head professional Justin Foster whose course will be hosting the Connecticut Amateur for a fourth time. “Hitting the correct quadrant of the green is paramount and anything less than a warm putter will leave you scratching your head. Many would call it a second shot golf course but it’s not smooth sailing off of the tee either with narrow, tree-lined fairways that can pinch and turn at critical spots. The golf requires and inspires creativity with shot-making that makes it an engaging round of golf, every time you play.”
The biggest question heading into the 2022 Connecticut Amateur is will Chris Fosdick and Cody Paladino meet for a third straight time in the championship match?
A busy month of July will begin with the 57th Connecticut Women’s Amateur being played at Tashua Knolls Golf Course on July 6-7. Tashua became the first public course to host the Connecticut Amateur in 2017 and now it will welcome the Women’s Amateur for the first time. The winner of the 2021 Distinguished Club Award has always been focused on growing the game and this will present another opportunity for the club says PGA Director of Golf, Bobby Brown, “This is a great opportunity to further our continued support of women’s golf on the grandest stage. Once the tournament arrives the biggest challenge the players will face will be the rough around the greens and the subtle breaks in our greens. The golf course will reward players who drive the ball in the fairways and keep their golf ball below the flags on many holes.”
The month will conclude at the 88th Connecticut Open hosted by New Haven Country Club set to be contested from July 25-27. This year will mark the ninth time that New Haven CC has hosted the Connecticut Open, first hosting the event in 1934 and then most recently in 2018.
New Haven CC, a Willie Park, Jr. design, opened in 1898 and is one of the oldest clubs in the state. When the Connecticut Open was last played at New Haven CC John VanDerLaan, now on the Korn Ferry Tour, set the tournament’s 54-hole scoring record with a 16-under-par, 194 total. He combined rounds of 66-62-66 on his way to a two-stroke victory.
“With the amount of great players at the club, the membership is excited to see how they will rank among the best in the state,” said head professional Bill Wallis. “The club is always happy to showcase how great the golf course plays.”
Players will have to navigate large undulating greens and the winner will likely play Nos. 11-14 well for the week. That crucial stretch begins with the 424-yard par-4 11th, a Willie Park, Jr. signature designed hole.
“The hole offers a difficult tee shot with a blind approach,” explained Wallis. “Although the green is the largest on the course, the 11th is where you take your par and keep moving forward.”
Flipping the calendar to August the first major of the month will be the 37th Connecticut Public Links hosted by Blackledge Country Club on August 8-9th. Set to be played on the Anderson Glen course Blackledge CC will host the championship for the first time.
“It has been a while since we hosted a tournament of this prestige and we are excited to show off our facility and our new state of the art practice facility that is opening this year,” said Director of Operations Kevin Higgins.
The final junior event of the year, the 53rd Borck Junior will be held at Woodway Country Club from August 15-17. Current Woodway CC head professional Michael Crawford has a long history with the Borck Junior playing in the event multiple times as a teenager in the 1980’s.
Woodway CC most recently hosted a CSGA event in 2016 when Country Club of New Canaan head professional Adam Rainaud won the Connecticut Open. The course has also previously hosted U.S. Open Qualifying and will again be the site of the Connecticut Open in 2028.
One week later on August 23-24 the 35th Connecticut Mid-Amateur will head to the CC of New Canaan for the first time. According to head professional Adam Rainaud, “We just wrapped up several years of renovations to both the course and the clubhouse. We are excited to show it off and share it with the players.”
Some of those renovations were on display when the club hosted the 2020 Borck Junior, most notable upon arrival the new clubhouse that welcomes players. However, during the Mid-Amateur the focus won’t be on the clubhouse it will be on the challenging Willie Park, Jr. layout. Modest in length at 6,300 yards the players will be challenged by the small, difficult greens each with its own unique nuance.
Annually the host of the first major of the year, the Country Club of Waterbury will host the final major of the season in 2022. On October 3-4 the top seniors in the state will compete in the 77th Connecticut Senior Amateur. It will mark the eighth time overall and fourth time the Donald Ross designed course will be the individual host. The CC of Waterbury first hosted the event in 1947 and last welcomed the event in 2002.
“The CC of Waterbury and its members could not be more excited to host the 2022 Connecticut Senior Amateur,” said head professional Brad Lusenhop.
Throughout the tournament, controlling ball flight and distance will be paramount on the slippery surfaces throughout the course. “Although the course rewards a great driver of the ball, a superb iron player will have the upper hand over the course of the championship,” continued Lusenhop. “A steady putting stroke will be necessary as well to overcome adversity the players will face on the greens.”
In total, the 2022 CSGA will feature 19 championships spread through the state. Additional tournaments include:
May 2 – Two Man Championship (Black Hall Club)
July 11-14 – 81st Connecticut Junior Amateur (Watertown GC)
August 2 – Parent Child Championship (Indian Hill CC)
August 3 – Senior Four-Ball Championship (Simsbury Farms GC)
August 11 – Four-Ball Championship (Wallingford CC )
August 15 – Super Senior Championship (Longshore GC)
August 16 – Mixed Team Championship (Watertown GC)
August 29 – Father Son Championship (Torrington CC)
September 8 – Tournament of Champions (Bull’s Bridge GC)
*Note: The final schedule, including the Chris Cote’s Golf Shop One Day Series, will be published on csgalinks.org by the end of February.
About the Connecticut State Golf Association
The Connecticut State Golf Association functions as an extension of the USGA and provides stewardship for amateur golf in Connecticut. Founded in 1899, it is the country’s oldest state golf association and conducts over 60 Championships, Qualifiers, and One Day Tournaments throughout the year.
