Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach, CA
Me and CJ
*this is actually Pebble Beach, where we ate
The Stats
Tee Time: May 23, 2014, 1:40, 63F, overcast and breezy
Designer: Robert Trent Jones, Jr. (1986)
Playing Partners: CJ Phelan, Andrew and Dave
Tees: 4 Poppies, Par 71 (72.1 rating/132 slope/6,672 yards)
Course Handicap: 10 (8.2 index)
Stats: 98 (39-42); 34 putts; 6/13 fairways; 3/18 greens; 3 penalty strokes
The Course
So I got to go home to the Bay Area for Memorial Day weekend. It just so happened that CJ would be visiting from Utah, so we decided to golf at the prime destination that is Pebble Beach, California. So all week I got to say I was golfing in Pebble Beach, though not at Pebble Beach. All they must have heard was “Pebble Beach”. I actually didn’t realize there were so many golf courses just on 17-Mile Drive: Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill, Spanish Bay, Poppy Hills and private clubs like Monterey Peninsula and Cypress Point. Not to mention places like Bayonet Black Horse and Pacific Grove just around the corner. This little slice of California is to golf what the Vatican is to religion. With such high demand, though, comes raised prices, especially at the Pebble Beach trio. Luckily, we were able to take advantage of an NCGA member rate at Poppy Hills and walk a freshly redesigned golf course. And I do mean fresh, as after a year-long renovation by original architect Robert Trent Jones, Jr., the place reopened just this past April 4th. Poppy Hills made for the second newly reopened course I’d played in less than a week (the other being Camelback’s Ambiente Course in Scottsdale, which reopened in November 2013). Just walking the course, being secluded among the majestic Monterey Pines that define the central coast of California, is an experience to cherish. The entire layout is as gorgeous as it gets, unfolding around each bend and over every hill with perfect green grass and a photo-worthy look from any angle.
The most serene view on the golf course from the fairway on #10
Golf 50 States in 10 Years 