Lyman Orchards Golf Club & Golf Center has been named the recipient of the 2022 Walter Lowell Distinguished Service Public Golf Course Award. The award was presented at the annual Walter Lowell PGA Tournament on May 31st, at Manchester Country Club.

In the mid 1960’s The Lyman Family decided they wanted to leave the dairy business and transition into a new way of utilizing the land that they had owned since 1741. Their decision resulted in the creation of the Robert Trent Jones Course which opened in 1969. In 1994, the Gary Player Course opened as a dramatically different layout to accompany the Jones Course. Finally, in 2012 The Lyman Family built The Apple 9 Executive Course and practice facility to complement its two championship courses.

“The team at Lyman Orchards and the facility embodies all that this award represents,” said Howie Friday, President of the Connecticut Section PGA. “The facility not only does a tremendous job representing the game of golf, but has also been a prominent supporter of the Connecticut Section PGA and Connecticut Section PGA Golf Foundation.”

In addition to the multitude of tournaments and events it hosts, Lyman Orchards prides itself on junior golf and player development. Its PGA Jr. League program has grown from 23 participants in 2018 to almost 200 in 2021. The program is the largest in New England and ranks seventh nationally.

Lyman Orchards has also been a pioneer in women’s golf and has developed one of the strongest programs in the country with “Golf Fore Women” led by 2021 LPGA Teacher of the Year Marissa Kulig-Crow. In 2021, the program grew to 1300 women across five levels of session offerings and included a 250 person ladies league.

When asked about the award, PGA General Manager Jason Beffert said, “We are grateful to be recognized by the Connecticut PGA for the Walter Lowell award.  There is a long list of deserving golf courses and to be considered the winner is truly special to us. We have a passionate group of staff and instructors who do a great job of engaging with our golfers and helping them get more out of the game that we all love.”

Since 2001, the Walter Lowell Public Golf Course Distinguished Service Award has honored a public golf course in the Section, in recognition of their dedication to the promotion of the game of golf. The award was inaugurated in honor of the Canton Golf Course for the standards it set serving the community and providing playing opportunities for all those who want to play and learn the game.