Scheduled for June 19 – 23, the 2017 Connecticut Amateur Championship will mark the third CSGA championship contested at Tashua Knolls Golf Course. The club has previously hosted the 2001 Connecticut Public Links Championship and the 2011 Father & Son Championship, in addition to numerous CSGA and USGA qualifiers.
“The Connecticut Amateur is the CSGA’s oldest and most prestigious Championship and it has been a priority for us over the past few years to showcase the state’s top talent at a public golf course,” said Ryan Hoffman, Director of Operations, Rules and Competitions for the CSGA. “With the state of Connecticut having more public golf courses than private we wanted to reinforce that some of the best golf in Connecticut can in fact be played at a public course.”
Founded in 1976, Tashua Knolls Golf Course celebrated its fortieth anniversary this past year. The original 18-hole layout designed by Al Zikorus measures 6,540 yards and a par of 72 from the championship tees. True to Zikorus’ style of architecture, the course features winding and undulating fairways matched with a difficult set of contoured greens that will prove challenging for the competitors.
“It’s truly an honor to be selected by the CSGA to host the Connecticut Amateur,” said Bobby Brown, Director of Golf at Tashua Knolls Golf Course. “The town of Trumbull and the Golf Commission are very excited and take the responsibility of hosting the state’s top amateur competition very seriously.”
The closing stretch at Tashua Knolls Golf Course will no doubt provide plenty of excitement and risk-reward opportunities. The drivable par-4 13th hole measures just 303 yards, and a pair of reachable par-5’s in the 14th hole (506 yards) and 16th hole (527 yards) will provide ample opportunities to make up ground. The current course record is six under-par 66, held by Chris Lenzen (2008) and Craig Platt (1991) – Platt’s round of 66 included six birdies in a row from #12-17.
“Whether you’re down or ahead in the match, you can’t let your guard down in the final stretch,” said Brown. “A lot can happen on the closing holes with plenty of chances for eagles and birdies. It’s going to be very exciting.”
The 2017 Connecticut Amateur will also mark the first time in the one hundred and fifteen year history of the championship that a champion will be crowned on a public golf course. The tournament was conducted at Shennecossett Golf Course in 1922, 1923 and 1926, which was a private course at the time, and was conducted Lake of Isles in 2007, which utilized both the private and the public courses.
“We pride ourselves on offering the very best in daily fee golf and the Connecticut Amateur will be a culmination of years of hard work by the town and staff,” said Brown.
