Player at Lyman Orchards Golf Club

Cool course to play in the fall with apples and really nice views. Unfortunately drainage is typically an issue after any rain and it’s cart path only and a loooong day.

The Player course is a very nice course to play in the fall. Picturesque to say the least. Course must have had significant rain recently because there was standing water in a number of fairways. It was cart path only which was necessary but it does slow the play. The traps had been raked and were mostly dry which means they have decent traps. Fairways were blown of leaves as well as greens. The tee boxes need a lot of work. I was disappointed that a nice course like this didn’t send someone out to fill divot’s each afternoon. Overall the course is fun to play you have to hit shots not just bomb away and the views add to the day.

After playing the Jones course numerous times I found a hot deal on the players course. Reviews skewed my picture for this course but boy is it awesome! Yes the rough is deep, yes you need to pick landing zones and have accurate tee shots and yes there are blind shots around the course. Those things made it a fun course to play fairways were clean and tight, greens rolled smooth however a little slow. I wouldn’t recommend walking the course as there are some huge gaps between tees. My only two gripes with the course were the brush and weeds around the course. They need to be trimmed around the back sides of tee boxes and around the cart paths. The other is the cart paths themselves, they are full of potholes and the asphalt is all broken apart and full of mud.

The Player is brawny and hilly, mainly tree-lined and strongly target-oriented. And target golf means you can’t stray much from most of these fairways, especially on the front side, where you may well encounter large mounds and daunting hills, woods, rows of trees, marshy bogs or other various and sundry hazards.

The hardest hole, number three, intimidates those among us who don’t routinely fly the ball 250 yards, with a gaping pit that reminds me of the infamous 16th at Merion Golf Club’s East Course. Like that hole, which may have inspired the famous architect of this design, the third’s tee shot requires a long forced carry over scrub, along with a fairly tight fairway but no bail-out to speak of. At least things settle down on the fairly flat green.

I played the front today, and here the challenges persist for the first eight holes, only to let up just a bit at the fairly routine ninth. Other standout holes include the tight, par-4 fifth, on which the fairway plunges abruptly down toward another bushy no-man’s land past the landing zone, and the dramatic, downhill 7th, a terrific par-3.

Around the greens themselves, you’ll likely be giving your pitching game more of a workout than chipping, with the added difficulty of plush and dense greenside roughs. And the bunkers can be magnetic, so a capable bunker game will preserve many a good score. For many players, the greens at the Player will probably be the only “easy” aspect of this course, but they are still fast and have plenty of subtle breaks.

Without a doubt, the Player course’s conditions have improved since I played here in the springtime, when the maintenance staff was engaged in a few significant projects. Today, despite a few flaws around the greens and fringes, along with mediocre grooming of some of these bunkers, the green complexes were in good shape and the fairways some of the best I’ve seen since summer began. Only some of the tees lagged; they could use better attention. This does seem like a course that–rightfully so–gets fairly heavy play.

Surprisingly, this is a decent walking course as long as you’re up to climbing a few hills, but also the long walk (involving a tunnel) between the bulk of the holes and the stretch across the road–the third, fourth, and fifth. Most golfers opt to take carts. Pace was only about average but service professional (as usual) in the clubhouse.

Having this much going for it, the Player offers strong value, and I would recommend it to anyone who appreciates a stout challenge, but also a venue with some of the most impressive scenery across Connecticut.

Course is in bad bad shape. Can't find your ball an inch into the rough, cart path only (been like this for a month), not a single cart person for water/food/anything. I guess they're done for the year?

Had an awesome time on the players course at Lyman’s and like the golf course and the gps golf carts and there food is amazing. Definitely one of the best golf courses in middlefield ct. One of the best golf courses in ct. Definitely play the jones course and the players course at Lyman’s. Lyman’s golf is we’ll kept and the people are friendly there and the rangers and the staff is friendly to.

Back 9 is gorgeous!!!!

Front 9 needs maintenance specially tee boxes

Was pretty disappointed because I love the Jones course. Conditions were good, scenery was enjoyable but the layout and design was pretty rough. A lot of blind shots and wild change in elevation. Some holes were a complete mystery. Miserable to walk! Sometimes 10-15 just to get to the next tee. First time playing was rough but I could see if someone knows the course well and rides it would be a lot more enjoyable.

Going from one hole the next if you were to walk is a hike. Without a cart playing this course would probably take about five hours. The greens need some serious attention as they have ant hills in them. For the price the greens should not have any kind of insects on them.

Fun but odd course. Lots of little hazards, elevation changes and doglegs. Couldn't use driver on most holes as the landing areas were too short in yardage. Rough was lush, fairways were in pretty good shape. Lots of ball marks on the greens, either un-repaired or poorly repaired. Tee boxes were pretty scarred up. Course clearly gets a lot of traffic. Overall it requires a good deal of thought and a good knowledge of your club distances.