I played Callippe on Sunday for the first time. Overall I enjoyed the course but agree that sixth best public in the state is likely too high of a ranking.
The greens were not in great condition and even a few were pretty bad. Two, for instance, appeared to have just been aerified and sanded over when the others hadn't. The 16th green is surrounded by trees and doesn't appear to have gotten enough sunlight, because half of the green is close to bare ground. The rest of the greens were okay but just a bit rough. The funny thing is that it didn't seem to affect the roll of the ball: I had one of my best putting rounds in some time.
I enjoyed the stretch of holes from 10 through 14 the most. The hole was on the back of the 10th green and it really narrowed up back there; the left to right slope of the green made missing left bad and the drop off the right edge of the green made missing right bad. One really had to be confident to try to get back to the hole, and playing to the middle of the green was a good safe choice but left a tricky putt.
I thought the 11th was a good hole given the land there. One can really hit anything off the tee, but the fairway narrows the further up you get and there was a fair bit of wind whipping through, so a more lofted club would perhaps be more dangerous. And, the green was severely sloped from back to front making controlling your spin on the approach important and holing out was tough once you got on the green.
12 was a fun short par four with a layup or drive the green option. One of the guys I was playing with flew driver onto the green and it ended up 12 feet. I was unsure if I could carry past the narrow area so I layed up and was left with a straightforward shot (had I carried the ball to the hole). The pitches from around the green left for the other two (that tried to drive the green and missed) were quite difficult given the significant slopes on the green (the hole was about 10 feet from the back right edge, for those of you who have played there). Three of us three putted the green and we were two over as a group.
I didn't like 13 very much from the tee, but when I got down to the green and saw the undulation I gained a bit more respect for the hole. I played to the middle of the green for a back right hole, but when I got up there I found that I had a pretty slick downhill putt. I needed to play to the right of the hole if I wanted an uphill putt. Knowing that, the next time I play the hole I'll have an interesting choice to make: do I aim close to the right edge of the green for an easier putt, or at the middle of the green for a greater chance of hitting the green?
The 14th green has a severe false front, and the hole was placed just on top of it. Two of us spun back and two of us bounced long. The two who were long ended up not being able to stop their shots and running off the front of the green. I liked that the fairway slopes right to left and the green slopes right to left with a fence and severe drop off to the left of the green, since it made me hit a non-routine approach shot that accounted for all of this. I also liked the choice from the tee here (discussed below), but I'd like to play other hole locations on the green to get a better feel for it. If I went to watch a tournament at this course, this is the hole I would spend most of my time watching.
To comment on other topics from this thread, I think 18 is an interesting hole, but I didn't love it. I think the narrow areas in the fairway (where one would hit a long drive) and past the bunker in the layup area are too narrow to go for. So, the options exist, but they're so tough that I don't think many (if any) people will make use of them. I hit three wood, six iron, five iron, which is similar to what Matt mentioned before I believe.
Also, regarding the choices for what club to hit off the tee on short par fours, I didn't find it nearly as limiting as others. On two I thought the bunkers narrowed slowly enough to allow one to balance the risk with how close they wanted to be. I hit three wood there and a fellow competitor hit a long iron, and my drive had less room for error than his but he had a longer shot in. The two others went for the green and were around the left greenside bunker. On eight I'd agree that it's either carry the right bunker or don't. On 11 I'd say you can hit anything. And on 14 I'd say there's a similar choice to two: I layed well back taking the bunkers out of play, but the others I was playing with hit clubs that got them closer but within the narrower portion between the bunkers.
I also saw the staked trees in the ESA areas and found that more than a bit strange.
Having now played Callippe, I don't think I'll be back to Poppy Ridge if I'm chosing the course to play. Callippe is closer for me, it's much more walkable, and I thought it had more interesting holes, so despite the greens not being in great condition, I enjoyed the round a lot more. The greens fees are comparable too.