Jones at Lyman Orchards Golf Club

Awesome course, layout was a lot of fun to play. Rough was no joke, had some serious us open length! Played after a rain storm so it was a little wet, but considering how much it rained I can’t complain. Well worth the money!

We got stuck behind 4 guys wearying t shirts and jean shorts. Only 3 of them had clubs. The starter even jokes how bad/slow the round was going to be. Took 3.5 hours to play nine. The group behind us called the ranger 2x and he didn’t do a thing about it. Literally the slowest round I’ve ever played. Seems Lyman would rather collect their cash than run a legit golf course. Will not come back.

The early tee shots at the Lyman Orchards course designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr. will set the tone for your round here. On the first, you’ll probably want to fade a drive, the longer the better, to fit the dogleg and get as close as possible to a hole 435 yards from the tee. At the third, you may think risk-reward by trying to carry the bunker over 250 yards down the fairway. Troubles will prey on you, though, if your drive errs too much. The par-5 fourth gives you a bit more room to operate with forestland on only one side, but things will work out much better if you can just stay down the fairway’s left side, while avoiding the big bunker there. None of these tee shots is easy. Nor will there be any let-up over the rest of the eighteen.

The most prolific and easily one of the greatest golf course architects of the twentieth century, Jones was keenly intent on making every course he created a genuine challenge. This Lyman course, which opened in 1969, happens to be the master’s only Connecticut public track (he designed eleven private courses in the state). With its 134 slope and 74.0 course rating from its 7,011 “Macoun” tees, not to mention high slope ratings from any tees you choose, Lyman will deliver not just a stern driving test but the full exam of your abilities to approach greens, and to pitch and chip and putt the golf ball around and on them.

Lyman-Jones follows the Trent Jones innovative design playbook, well established by the 1960’s: water hazards appearing intermittently; bunkers, often burly, sprawling and deep, protecting nearly every fairway and green; greens large, fast, and strongly contoured; long runway tees; and, at the margins of many holes and at the sides of their greens, little room for error. The biggest of these problems for nearly all players will be the three sizable ponds on the inward half--often perilously close to the driving zones and sometimes the greens--and, secondarily, the small stream and marshland that consume golf balls on holes 11, 12 and 14.

But water hazards aren’t overdone, playing little part over the front side, and at that only once in the form of a stream alongside the fifth. Then again, Jones compensates for this ‘lack’ of water with his front side fairways. Here they are more rolling, pitched, offset and angular (a couple are also tree-lined on both sides). But he adds another hallmark on the front: four distinctly elevated greens, with two of them set on plateaus at six and seven. They’re also well bunkered. If you hit greens 1, 3, 6 and 7 in regulation, then, you’re striking the ball with control. But realize, too, that the other fourteen Lyman green complexes all present their own difficulties, and you’ll appreciate why this course has been used often in the past as the TPC/GHO Monday qualifying site, along with the same role for the U.S. Amateur in 2017.

What I’ve always liked about ‘the Jones Course’ is its careful scattering--rather than overuse--of trees. The front begins in fairly dense woodlands but soon rolls out of them, mostly, by the fourth hole. On the back, only twelve is heavily wooded from tee to green; there’s a general sense of openness on the other eight holes.

Another strength here are the risk-reward holes, which include three, ten, twelve, and fifteen. Although Mr. Jones was famous for their inclusion in his courses, he most typically limited their use to a minority of holes among the eighteen.

Every hole is solid at Lyman, so here are a few descriptions of the top ones:
A) One: Par 4, 435: Probably the best tough opener among Connecticut public tracks. Hitting the green is the key, but there’s still a catch if you hope to make par: you have to putt it.
B) Three: Par 4, 408, #1 index. A tight driving zone flanked by problems; a green set on the far side of a swale.
C) Six: Not a particularly hard green to hit because of its size, but putting it can be nightmarish outside of 25 feet.
D) Seven: Par 3, 197. The green lies at a 45-degree angle to the tee; the green complex also features a huge dropoff on the left (where a bunker is also embedded) and a high slope on the right.
E) Ninth: Par-5, 572. Big, bold, doglegging, and basically unreachable unless you have the length of someone like Cameron Champ. Six huge bunkers--four fairway, two greenside--make things interesting. The green’s odd, angular position to the fairway again adds spice to the approach.
F) Eighteenth: A par-5 that’s ‘only’ 567, with its green set upon a tall plateau. If that’s not enough, add a big water hazard off to the left of the driving zone, plenty of scattered trees, a dogleg right, and a couple of big fairway bunkers at the dogleg’s corner. Par is well-defended here.

Most Challenging Hole: #15, par-4, 402
A slicer’s nightmare, this hole bends to the right around a large pond running along the entirety of the landing zone. Two controlled shots are essential to reach in regulation; moreover, the green is elevated and protected by flanking bunkers.

A Great Hole: #10, par 4, 412.
The definition of a Trent Jones risk/reward hole. On the drive, the temptation is to bite off as much of the pond as you dare, thus cutting the dogleg (left) to net a shorter approach. Water extends down the entire landing area and alongside the green. But veer too far right off the tee (the safe way) and you’ll end up in the trees.

Some Conclusions:
Robert Trent Jones, Sr. produced quite a few masterpieces among the 500-plus courses that he created or re-designed over his career. This Lyman eighteen, although not a Jones masterwork (on the order of Atlanta’s Peachtree or Spyglass Hill at Pebble Beach or Firestone in Ohio), is still a very fine track, so much so that you’ll be hard pressed to find a better public offering in this state. Since I began playing it in 1990, it’s been the yardstick for all other courses I’ve played. The “Jones Course” offers balance, aesthetics, variety, strategic value, excellent conditioning, and a tough but reasonable challenge. A couple of books in my library, one by Jeff Barr, entitled “Golf’s Best-Kept Secrets,” (2009) the other by Hubert Pedroli and Mary Tiegreen, entitled “The American Golfers Guide,” (1992) both feature Lyman Orchards Golf Club among the top two or three public-access venues to play in Connecticut.

They overbook sometimes. But the course is challenging well kept. Pleasure to play.

The Jones course is a classic New England track with excellent shot values and lots of character. (What one would expect given the designer!) I had a great time today. Course was pretty empty (threat of rain) and I played 17 holes (skipped one to get past a slow foursome) in just under 3 hours. For a public course that gets a lot of play, course conditioning is quite good. The course is longish, and was a challenge for me (74) even from the gold tees. But it is fair and mostly right in front of you. I will definitely come back when my own course is closed.

Great course. Pace was just right. Exceptional shape. Fairways are better than the green on other courses. Challenging.

Overall good experience. Staff and facilities great and good price. Pace of play great < 4 hrs. Tee boxes rough and greens slow though very hot weekend. Red tees, played with spouse, were an after thought and usually where fairway starts.