(MIDDLEFIELD, CT) – Lyman Orchards – home to two celebrated 18-hole golf courses – will host a Grand Opening event for the new The Golf Center and Apple Nine Course on Saturday, June 16 in conjunction with the Lyman Orchards’ annual Strawberry Festival.
Open to the public, festivities for The Golf Center at Lyman Orchards kick-off with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10:30 a.m. followed by dazzling trick-shot artist Peter Johncke from 11 a.m. to noon and free golf clinics from noon to 3 p.m. Live music, food and beverages run through 4:30 p.m. Prize winners will be drawn throughout the day and complimentary shuttles will be provided between The Golf Center and Strawberry Festival.
The Apple Barrel market at Lyman Orchards will host the Strawberry Festival beginning at 8 a.m. with breakfast on the deck. Horse-drawn wagon rides with Foxglove Farm, pony rides, pie-eating contests, face-painting, food sampling, strawberry treats and live music are among the family-fun activities scheduled.
Imagined by the Lyman family, managed by Billy Casper Golf and designed by Mark Mungeam of Mungeam Cornish Golf Design, The Golf Center at Lyman Orchards features Apple Nine, a nine-hole, 1,600-yard, par-29 course and the only new layout to open in Connecticut to date in 2012. Holes are 85 to 314 yards with bentgrass greens built to USGA specifications.
Built for practice and PGA instruction, The Golf Center at Lyman Orchards showcases a 40-stall driving range (grass and artificial turf) with target greens and sand traps, short-game practice area and 2,000-square-foot clubhouse.
“We’re ecstatic to open The Golf Center,” says Steve Ciskowski, President and CEO of Lyman Orchards. “It goes hand-in-hand with our two courses and reinforces the Lyman family’s commitment to promote the game of golf and attract new players.”
Kevin Cloud has been named Director of Instruction for The Golf Center at Lyman Orchards and will incorporate state-of-the-art technology in private, semi-private and group lessons:
• Foresight GC2 Launch Monitor measures ball velocity, vertical launch angle, back spin, side spin, total spin and carry distance
• V1 Golf Video Swing Analysis Software captures and analyzes students’ swings and develop plans for improvement
• Tomi Putting Analysis measures path, face angle and stroke tempo
Lyman Orchards Golf Club is also dedicated to eco-friendliness. The Jones and Player Courses have been designated a “Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary” by Audubon International for high standards protecting the environment and preserving the natural heritage of golf. Following Audubon-approved steps protects the wildlife habitat while reducing the use of energy, water, pesticides and fertilizer.
The par-72, 7,011-yard Robert Trent Jones, Sr. course opened in 1969 – and underwent a major renovation in 2009 – features rolling hills on the front nine and varying doglegs on the back. Meandering through acres of woodlands, wetlands and grasslands, “The Jones Course” offers four sets of tees on each hole and its more than 50 bunkers provide unique challenges to golfers of all abilities. On the back nine, water comes into play on seven holes, and undulating greens rankle nerves of novices and scratch players alike.
In 1994, PGA Hall of Fame golfer and course designer Gary Player opened Lyman Orchards’ second course, a par-71, 6,725-yard gem. “The Player Course” is sprinkled with deciduous trees and classic white pines. The routing takes players through apple orchards and features ample elevation changes throughout. On holes No. 11 and 13 especially, golfers are treated to 360-degree views of southern Connecticut’s picturesque landscape.
For more information about Lyman Orchards or to book a tee time: www.lymangolf.com, 860.349.6031.
About Lyman Orchards
Set on 1,100 acres in the heart of the state, Lyman Orchards (established 1741) is a year-round destination for the whole family in Middlefield, Connecticut. Shop at the Apple Barrel market, filled with fresh farm produce, an in-store deli and bakery that produces Lyman Orchard’s award-winning “Hi Top” Apple Pie; celebrate special events and weddings at the Lyman Homestead; enjoy seasonal Pick-Your-Own fruits and tours of the orchard; golf on two championship, 18-hole courses designed by Gary Player and Robert Trent Jones and the new nine-hole Apple Nine Course. Improve your skills at The Golf Center at Lyman Orchards.
For more information about Lyman Orchards: 860.349.1793, www.lymanorchards.com. Lyman Orchards is located at 32 Reeds Gap Road, Middlefield, CT 06455, less than 30 minutes from Hartford, New Haven and Waterbury.
About Mungeam Cornish Golf Design
Based in Uxbridge, MA, Mungeam Cornish Golf Design offers more than 75 years of dedicated and passionate experience in the design and renovation of distinctive golf courses. The firm creates unique courses that balance the principals of visual appeal, golfer interest and ease of maintenance. The style of each course is determined by the natural physical characteristics of the site. In renovation projects, Mungeam Cornish Golf Design is known for remaining sensitive to the original classic design style, while being considerate of the standards of modern play.
Mark Mungeam, ASGCA, has designed such heralded courses as Shaker Hills, Cyprian Keyes and LeBaron Hills in Massachusetts as well as The Golf Club at Oxford Greens in Connecticut, and Hudson Hills in Westchester County, New York. His restoration work includes Olympia Fields in preparation for the 1997 U.S. Senior Open and 2003 U.S. Open as well as Briarwood Country Club in Chicago and Woodway Country Club in Connecticut.
For more information: www.csmgolf.com, 508.278.3407.
About Billy Casper Golf
Owner-operator of more than 130 golf courses, country clubs and resorts, BCG holds the second largest domestic portfolio. The company provides turnkey club management and favorable returns on investments for public-agency and private owners, developers and investors. Founded more than 20 years ago in cooperation with golf legend Billy Casper and headquartered in Vienna, VA, regional offices are strategically convenient to courses’ locales. BCG’s Buffalo Communications division is the world’s largest global golf-lifestyle public relations, branding, marketing-communications, graphics and strategic services firm.
For more information: www.billycaspergolf.com, www.buffalocommunications.com, 703.761.1444.
Contact:
Nick Lashinsky
Billy Casper Golf / Buffalo Communications
703.891.3324
nlashinsky@billycaspergolf.com
www.buffalocommunications.com
www.billycaspergolf.com
Tim Burt
Lyman Farm, Inc.
860.349.6010
tburt@lymanorchards.com
www.lymanorchards.com
