[Scott Seward]

Hello - Poppy Hills almost finished with its renovation work. Nine holes are fully grassed with the rest scheduled for completion by mid-October.  Here is the par-3 15th hole which shows the natural sandy areas that will be prevalent throughout the course.

[David_Tepper]

Poppy Hills Renovation Blog:

http://renovation.poppyhillsgolf.com/

[Joe Perches]

Pity about the chalk white bunkers.
I wonder how they'll look in comparison to the native sandy waste areas.

[Kyle Henderson]

Joann Dost took some glamour shots of the newly-seeded golf course.

http://renovation.poppyhillsgolf.com/2013/11/15/early-joann-dost-photos-poppy-hills/

[Scott Weersing]

I used to play this course every year when I drove up the coast from Ventura. I remember it having wild greens and some strange holes, like 8 and 9 and 12. I did not know GCA back then. Looking at this remodel, it looks like it can stand the test of time and last 30 or 40 years.

I like the old Poppy Hills but it did not compare to Pasatiempo and Stanford GC which I would also play. I knew those two courses were better but back then I could not explain why.

I learned all about GCA back in 2001 when I found this site when searching for a review of Rustic Canyon.

[Connor Dougherty]

While Poppy Hills has been slammed in the past on this site, most of the golfers in the Bay Area loved the golf course and took pride in it. So quite often when I talk with people about the renovation, they ask me, "The old golf course was so great, do you really think it will be better than it was?"

Looking at the photo's they've been putting up, I've never had more confidence in saying YES to those people.

I hear the 15th is a Redan and one of Bruce Charlton's favorite holes on the property now. I wonder how it will play.

[Howard Riefs]

Sports Illustrated's Alan Shipnuck was also at Poppy Hills recently and tweeted a few observations and photos:


"First fairway at the new Poppy, already grassed. Note all the disco mounds are history!"  pic.twitter.com/KbtbqbbDDT

"The new Poppy has been capped with 5" of sand, so it'll play firm and fast. And bent greens!"

"The new Poppy will be highly playable, with rough replaced by native areas. Here the tee of the par-5 4th." pic.twitter.com/EXvmmvjykt

"Big change at #5: no more hokey lake! This right edge of the fairway will be covered with lovely fescue". pic.twitter.com/gozvURh3Iv

"Also, note the beautiful turf. From tee to green it'll be fairway-cut at the new Poppy, a la the old Augusta. Faster, more fun rounds."

"A lot of the changes at Poppy have been made with pace-of-play in mind: no rough, gentler greens, fewer bunkers. Imagine 4:30 round in PB!"

"Massive change at #9: a regarded fairway and reclaimed creek make for a better, more dramatic par-5." pic.twitter.com/Yd5y7cNmIt

"The all-new 11th, a short, sporty par-3." pic.twitter.com/fedgFitzdr

"Golfers rejoice: Poppy's old 12th, with its impossible dogleg, is long gone. Now it's a stellar par-4." pic.twitter.com/syhaFe24x2

"Here's the single best thing about the new Poppy: weekday walking rate will be $66 for NCGA members."

"Poppy's new 18th green. Bigger, less extreme, and the fairway is wider with none of the pesky mounding." pic.twitter.com/BJZVkbL5pA

"Since I was in the neighborhood I peered over the fence at Pebble's new range, opening soon. Purity." pic.twitter.com/b155YOPQE0

[Kyle Casella]

These quotes from RTJ II are from their website as of a couple weeks ago; let's hope this is true (although F&F will be really tough on the peninsula!). The pictures are looking fantastic- I can't wait to play the new version!

“The fundamental tipping point for this renovation was water conservation,” said Robert Trent Jones Jr., the original architect in 1986. “The NCGA is a leader for all golf courses because it oversees, protects and enhances the Northern California Golf Community. If you’re going to rip up the course to put in irrigation and install this new way of thinking, it was time to rethink the entire course. This was a remarkable opportunity to rejuvenate this world-class venue.”

The result is a new philosophy at Poppy Hills, one that embraces play both on the ground and through the air, and one that rewards the imaginative and strategic shot-maker. This is further encouraged with just one cut of grass throughout the course – a fairway height that runs from the tee boxes to the green. The links-style short fairway turf is used as both a defense, and a new and unique opportunity to score.

These playing conditions were achieved by creating the previously unthinkable – firm and fast conditions year-round in Pebble Beach. The irrigation was replaced and optimized with a state-of-the-art computer system that can control water application to localized spots throughout the golf course. The course was then capped with a 5-inch layer of sand, fostering firm, fast and fun conditions year-round. All 18 greens were reimagined and rebuilt with bentgrass, and vary in size from 4,700 to 9,000 square feet."

The video on the bottom of this page is interesting: http://renovation.poppyhillsgolf.com/2013/11/21/video-inspiration-behind-rough-poppy-hills/

Total antithesis to the original Poppy Hills.

[Kyle Henderson]

More glamour shots from Dost.

The new 11th (the only truly "new" hole) looks to be a significant improvement over the old, as does the amended 12th.

http://renovation.poppyhillsgolf.com/2013/11/27/knockout-joann-dost-photos/

[Joel_Stewart]

Jones sold the NCGA on a look and feel like Pine Valley?  To me it turned out more like Doral or some other resort course?

[Kyle Henderson]

Jones sold the NCGA on a look and feel like Pine Valley?  To me it turned out more like Doral or some other resort course?

Have you seen it in person yet, Joel? I know you've expressed the opinion that another architect would have been a better choice for the renovation, but does it not appear as if Jones may have achieved at least some improvement on his original work?

[Terry Lavin]

Best site ever for a renovation. Here's hoping the Rees bashers have to hit the mute button!

[Joel_Stewart]

More glamour shots from Dost.

The new 11th (the only truly "new" hole) looks to be a significant improvement over the old, as does the amended 12th.

http://renovation.poppyhillsgolf.com/2013/11/27/knockout-joann-dost-photos/

Kind of.  I drove around the property 2 months ago.  Do you disagree that it looks more like a resort course?  Lets be realistic, it is geared toward the masses of which most do not have a good idea for architecture.  Members want to drive down for a day and enjoy themselves with some eye candy.  It's going to be green with bright white sand.  

Terry: This is RTJ Jr and not Rees.

[Kyle Henderson]

Kind of.  I drove around the property 2 months ago.  Do you disagree that it looks more like a resort course?  Lets be realistic, it is geared toward the masses of which most do not have a good idea for architecture.  Members want to drive down for a day and enjoy themselves with some eye candy.  It's going to be green with bright white sand.  

It does look like a resort style course. This makes sense given that accelerating the pace of play was a major goal of the project. Perhaps the public does have bad taste and this is the best compromise between what's best in the eyes of the educated and what's perceived as best by those that will ultimately pay the bills. At any rate, the firmer conditions (sand capping) and lack of rough are big wins for local architecture, as is the removal of all those incessant little mounds.

The new shaping looks likes Fazio's faux-Pine Valley work (e.g. World Woods Pine Barrens and Galloway National)  to me.

While I'm not expecting greatness, but I'm hopeful the course will exceed Bayonet's renovation by a good margin. Perhaps Poppy Hills will be a match for the forested holes at Spyglass?

I predict a Doak 6, which is rarified air for California public golf outside of Monterey.

I

[Matt_Cohn]

[David_Tepper]

Matt -

Thanks for posting your pics. When were they taken?

DT

[Kevin_Reilly]

DT...those are Joann Dost's pictures from Kyle's link above.

[Matt_Cohn]

Yes, here's the front nine link: http://renovation.poppyhillsgolf.com/2013/11/15/early-joann-dost-photos-poppy-hills/

[Joel_Stewart]

Is it just me but do I see 2 different types (and color) of sand?

[David_Tepper]

"Is it just me but do I see 2 different types (and color) of sand?"

Joel S. -

Yes, there appear to be 2 different types/colors of sand. Perhaps the white sand is for bunkers (raked & a hazard) and the more natural colored sand will be played as a waste area (not raked and not a hazard).

DT

[Jordan Standefer]

I'm enjoying watching the progress from afar.  Definitely going to make it up the coast next year and check out Poppy.

The website mentions a "spring" re-opening.  Does anyone have an educated guess as to when that might be (early March, late April)?

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