Tournament Preview: 30th Connecticut Mid-Amateur

Links: Round 1 Starting Times  | Tournament Field  

On September 25th & 26th, the best mid-amateur players from across the state will head to Black Hall Club in Old Lyme, Conn. for the 30th playing of the Connecticut Mid-Amateur Championship.

Who Can Play? The championship is open to any amateur golfer in Connecticut who will have reached their 25th birthday by September 25th, 2017, and who has a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 6.4.

A National History: In 1981, the USGA inaugurated its first new championship for amateurs in four years, the U.S. Mid-Amateur. The Mid-Amateur, for amateur golfers of at least 25 years of age, was instituted as a formal national championship for the post-college amateur. Before the arrival of the Mid-Amateur, the post-college player could compete in the Amateur Championship, sometimes successfully, but these older amateurs faced greater odds. While they fit their golf around their work and families, they were most often competing against college golfers, for whom the game is close to a full-time activity. 

Seven years after the birth of the U.S. Mid-Amateur, the CSGA instituted its first new championship in six years with the inaugural playing of the Connecticut Mid-Amateur Championship in 1988.

About the Course: Named after a historically important section of Old Lyme, Black Hall Club was incorporated in March of 1965.  The founders were steadfast to create a new golf club in Old Lyme that would be devoted exclusively to the ownership, operation and maintenance of a superior golf course of championship caliber.  To that end in 1962, Robert Trent Jones was retained to design and supervise the construction of the course. Jones is one of the most famous golf course architects in history, having designed over 500 courses in his career. The present clubhouse was built in 1980 and the championship layout has quietly become one of the highest regarded layouts in the state of Connecticut.

Back to its Roots: The innagural Connecticut Mid-Amateur Championship was held at Shennecossett Golf Course in 1988. Black Hall Club hosted the next six Mid-Amateur Championships from 1989-94, as well as the 2006 Mid-Amateur Championship. Most recently, the club played host to the 113th Connecticut Amateur Championship in 2015.

Last Year’s Champion: In 2016, Dave Szewczul of Tunxis Plantation Country Club captured his second Connecticut Mid-Amateur title, shooting rounds of 71-69-72–212 at Wampanoag Country Club to edge Brent Dietz by two strokes.

Player of the Year Race: As the CSGA tournament season begins to wind down, the Dick Tettelbach Player of the Year race begins to heat up. After advancing to the Round of 64 at the U.S. Senior Amateur, Dave Szewczul currently has a 45.5 point lead over Max Theodorakis for the top spot.  The champion of the Mid-Amateur receives a total of 250 points, with the runner-up receiving 160 points. 

Record Seeker: Bill Hermanson currently holds the record for most Mid-Amateur titles with five, and is looking to add to his legacy by becoming the first player in CSGA history to win the same CSGA championship six times. A longtime member of Black Hall Club, Hermanson won four of his five titles at his home course and hopes to use his local knowledge to etch his name in the record books.

Championship Scorecard:

Total Yardage: 6,666 yards / Par 71. USGA Course Rating is 73.2; Slope Rating is 141.

Schedule of Events: All players will play 18 holes on Monday, September 25th, with a cut to the low 36 scores plus ties. All players making the cut will play 36 holes on Tuesday, September 26th, with the low 54 hole score being declared the champion.

Social Media:
In addition to full championship coverage on our website at csgalinks.org and CTMidAm.com, players and spectators can join the conversation using the hashtag #CTMidAm

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– Championship Photos on Flickr – Flickr.com/csgalinks