The CSGA Links Volume 5 Issue 1 April 2017 | Page 29

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cheduled 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 numerou s 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.
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CSGA Links // April, 2017 | 29