GLASTONBURY, Conn. (May 5, 2025) – Chris Bargas Golf Club at Whitney Farms located in Monroe, Conn., has been selected by the Connecticut Section PGA to receive the 2025 Walter Lowell Public Golf Course Distinguished Service Award.
The award is presented annually by the Section to a public golf course for their dedication, promotion, advancement, and accessibility to the game of golf. Chris Bargas GC at Whitney Farms will be recognized at the annual Walter Lowell PGA Tournament on Tuesday, May 27, at Manchester Country Club in Manchester, Conn.
The family-owned Chris Bargas Golf Club at Whitney Farms, previously Whitney Farms Golf Course, is an 18-Hole Championship course established in 1982. In 2024, owner James Bargas decided to change the name of the course from Whitney Farms Golf Course to its current name in honor of his father Chris.
Chris Bargas was a real-estate developer who built three golf courses in Connecticut. Bargas was also a World War II Veteran and was awarded a Purple Heart. The club has since continued its strong ties to the military community by supporting veterans through the game of golf.
Chris Bargas Golf Club prides itself on being an active facility with just under 40,000 rounds played annually. The facility has developed a strong relationship with the Town of Monroe and neighboring Shelton to host local high school teams and provide bountiful youth golf opportunities through camps and PGA Jr. League.
In addition to youth golf, the club has taken a strong interest in its women’s programming. Over the past eight years the club has implemented a 3-hole women’s league that has grown exponentially and helped develop the women’s club.
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.
Past Walter Lowell Public Golf Course Award Recipients:
2024 Timberlin Golf Club
2023 Goodwin Park Golf Course
2022 Lyman Orchards Golf Club & Golf Center
2021 Cedar Knob Golf Course
2020 Tradition Golf Club at Oak Lane
2019 Fairview Farm Golf Course
2018 Westwoods Golf Course
2017 Tashua Knolls Golf Course
2016 Rockledge Golf Club
2015 Richter Park Golf Course
2014 Willow Brook Golf Course
2013 H. Smith Richardson Golf Course
2012 Copper Hill Golf Course
2011 Alling Memorial Golf Course
2010 Stanley Golf Course
2009 East Mountain Country Club (Mass.)
2008 Shennecossett Golf Course
2007 Tunxis Country Club
2006 Skungamaug River Golf Course
2005 Timberlin Golf Course
2004 Tallwood Country Club
2003 Lyman Orchards Golf Course
2002 Raceway Golf Club
2001 Canton Public Golf Course