Poppy Hills Golf Club in Pebble Beach, Calif., is reopened to the public, and the positive reviews are coming in for the work of Robert Trent Jones, Jr., ASGCA.
The catalyst for the renovation was to find a way to improve drainage while conserving water. The introduction of native waste areas reduces irrigated turf by nearly 25 acres, while a 20 percent more efficient irrigation system was installed. The entire course was sand capped to enhance drainage and rough also was eliminated, further promoting firm-and-fast play, as well as more imaginative shot making.
Taking only 13 months to complete the public facility’s comprehensive renovation, Jones rejuvenated Poppy Hills by restoring each hole to its natural elevation along the forest floor, softening doglegs and contours, and redesigning all 18 greens with bentgrass.
Comments from those seeing the course again included:
- “… Pretty close to perfect.” – Mike Bailey, WorldGolf.com (Golf Channel)
- “Like Bandon Dunes? You’ll love Poppy.” – Pete Wlodkowski, AmateurGolf.com
- “Poppy’s eye-popping … so dramatically transformed, it now appears as a different creature altogether.” – Josh Sens, Golf.com (GOLF magazine)
- “At certain points it feels like Pinehurst, other times like Augusta, with dashes of Pine Valley …” – Vic Williams, Golf Getaways magazine
- “This is definitely a part of anybody’s itinerary going to the Monterey Peninsula.”– Matt Ginella, Golf Channel