Poppy Hills Golf Course
About
Located on the famed 17-mile-Drive, Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach was the first course in the United States to be owned and operated by an amateur golf association, the Northern California Golf Association. Originally opened in 1986 and designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr.,Poppy Hills is a challenging, par-71 venue that weaves through the Del Monte Forest and has played host to several renowned tournaments, including the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am from 1991-2009. In 2014, it received an extensive, $10 million renovation by RTJ Jr. The project was first and foremost aimed to improve environmental responsibility, and cut water consumption by reducing the amount of irrigated turf -- about 60 acres -- while also extending the layout to over 7,000 yards. From a playability perspective, all the rough was removed and doglegs were softened. The course was awarded "Best Renovation" that year by all four major golf publications.
Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
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Jones | 71 | 7002 yards | 74.4 | 144 |
Jones (W) | 71 | 7002 yards | 80.3 | 150 |
IV | 71 | 6806 yards | 73.0 | 140 |
IV (W) | 71 | 6806 yards | 78.5 | 146 |
III | 71 | 6400 yards | 71.2 | 135 |
III (W) | 71 | 6400 yards | 76.3 | 142 |
II | 71 | 5901 yards | 68.6 | 131 |
II (W) | 71 | 5901 yards | 73.7 | 135 |
I | 71 | 5215 yards | 66.0 | 125 |
I (W) | 71 | 5215 yards | 70.1 | 125 |
Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jones tee M: 74.9/142 W: 81.2/148 | 443 | 203 | 447 | 633 | 497 | 194 | 414 | 427 | 532 | 3790 | 527 | 161 | 449 | 400 | 385 | 222 | 446 | 196 | 515 | 3301 | 7091 |
Black M: 73.2/139 W: 79.2/144 | 416 | 189 | 432 | 576 | 471 | 187 | 400 | 398 | 515 | 3584 | 514 | 148 | 415 | 391 | 369 | 197 | 437 | 172 | 503 | 3146 | 6730 |
Blue M: 71.6/134 W: 77.0/139 | 387 | 165 | 396 | 558 | 427 | 172 | 382 | 375 | 483 | 3345 | 489 | 132 | 390 | 373 | 356 | 188 | 421 | 147 | 479 | 2975 | 6320 |
White M: 69.4/129 W: 74.1/134 | 375 | 140 | 356 | 521 | 357 | 147 | 354 | 348 | 455 | 3053 | 458 | 118 | 370 | 346 | 322 | 160 | 394 | 123 | 447 | 2738 | 5791 |
Orange M: 66.2/120 W: 70.8/127 | 306 | 117 | 252 | 483 | 333 | 125 | 333 | 327 | 431 | 2707 | 421 | 99 | 351 | 302 | 291 | 140 | 376 | 123 | 414 | 2517 | 5224 |
Green M: 61.8/103 W: 64.4/111 | 306 | 117 | 252 | 372 | 218 | 125 | 272 | 204 | 296 | 2162 | 307 | 99 | 228 | 235 | 291 | 140 | 226 | 123 | 362 | 2011 | 4173 |
Handicap | 5 | 17 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 7 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 2 | 18 | 8 | |||
Par | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 35 | 71 |
Handicap (W) | 5 | 15 | 13 | 1 | 7 | 17 | 9 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 18 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 2 | 16 | 6 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
Bar, RestaurantAvailable Facilities
Clubhouse, Conference Facilities, Banquet FacilitiesAccolades
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Golf Advisor: Top Courses in California (2017 #22)
Reviews
Reviewer Photos
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Photo submitted by u7326787 on 10/26/2020
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Photo submitted by u176601787 on 10/15/2020
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Photo submitted by u176601787 on 10/15/2020
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Photo submitted by u176601787 on 10/15/2020
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Photo submitted by u176601787 on 10/15/2020
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Photo submitted by u176601787 on 10/15/2020
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Photo submitted by Sunti88 on 09/03/2020
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Photo submitted by Sunti88 on 09/03/2020
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Beautiful day for golf. Photo submitted by RGEF1E85B2FFDD1659B9 on 07/07/2020
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Photo submitted by caryswindle1 on 12/03/2019
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Hole #12 Photo submitted by Johnmaino on 01/15/2019
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Starting Clock Photo submitted by Johnmaino on 01/15/2019
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Deer crossing on Hole #3 Photo submitted by Johnmaino on 01/15/2019
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Pano of #9 green #10 Tee and #18 Green Photo submitted by Johnmaino on 01/15/2019
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Hole #6 Photo submitted by Johnmaino on 01/15/2019
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Hole #3 Photo submitted by Johnmaino on 01/15/2019
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Sunset on the back 9. Photo submitted by RobSlice on 10/27/2015
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The 10th is the start of what Jones refers to as his "Amen Corner." Photo submitted by MattGinellaGA on 03/29/2014
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The 11th is shorter than it looks from the tee box. Photo submitted by MattGinellaGA on 03/29/2014
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The 18th green from the back deck of Poppy's new clubhouse. Photo submitted by MattGinellaGA on 03/29/2014
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From opening day at the new Poppy Hills Photo submitted by MikeBaileyGolf on 03/20/2014
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Tom on the tee at Poppy Hills Photo submitted by thusseyusmc on 11/14/2012
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First hole from the tips Photo submitted by Highflyerfund on 10/20/2012
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lots of protection around the greens Photo submitted by Highflyerfund on 10/20/2012
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10th hole, good down hill par 5, birdie opportunity Photo submitted by bhoggjr on 10/04/2012
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18th from club house, great finishing hole Photo submitted by bhoggjr on 10/04/2012
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Spectators Photo submitted by bhoggjr on 10/04/2012
Course was in great shape.
Played with a couple that have played the course before and shared the knowledge, otherwise, it would have been a much more difficult round. Some holes on the approach don't require to fly the greed, so need to back off on club selection. This course requires specific locations to place the ball or your in deep you know what. Great value, and its in the Pebble Beach area, life is good!
Great course
This place is amazing. Staff is super friendly.
Greens are impeccable.
Great Robert Trent Jones track. Beautiful.
Great day
Staff was amazing. Course is in great shape. Greens were tough but fair. Overall a great day. Golf now had great rates.
Hooked
This place is gorgeous. You get unlimited balls at the range before your tee time. The staff was friendly- even though we don't have the best of golf equipment(beginners golf set)- they still treated us with a lot of respect. We had two newbies in our foursome and based on how they played, make sure to take a lot of balls. The views are spectacular, beautiful greens and the club house is awesome.
Very Enjoyable
Played in the late afternoon and finished in 4 1/2 hours, which is good for a public course. The price/value at Poppy is great.
Decent but not great.
Played a practice round with my daughter today. My 2 cents about Poppy Hills. All pro shop staff were a bit too arrogant for my liking. Then, range attendant was quite rude to us before our round. He was an older man who whistled at me, ensuring I checked in before hitting the range. Tee time was 3:30 because my daughter is a member of the youth on course. (Excellent program for junior golfers). This was our first time out since the remodel, so was excited to see the changes. Old hole #10 is now #1. Would have been nice to have signage or a map to figure that out. The course is mostly how I recalled it, except for the addition of new bunkers in the fairway ( typical of RTJ jr designs) and more undulating greens. Speaking of the greens, they were mostly rock hard and very dry. High iron shots hit the center of the green and roll off the back and into a bunker, ridiculous! This seemed to be the case more so on the front than on the back. Fairways are wide open on most holes, but bunkers are placed in good locations. Tee boxes/bunkers were in good condition. On the course, there were no places to clean your ball and no watering stations. Snack bar was closed at the turn. There was a place to fill up your water container however. Restaurant was closed at 6pm, another disappointment. Definitely not worth paying 200/round. Join the NCGA and play a discounted rate at this course. Even as a member, still not sure it's worth the price. IMO, the course was great the way it was. The course was challenging enough with the tree lined fairways, rough, doglegs, elevation change, and wind/weather. Sure the greens needed updating and removing the rough was a great change. But the orher "enhancements" ruined the Poppy Hills I always looked forward to playing.
Poppy Hills is fantastic
The only negative to our round was it was cart path only. Not sure if NCGA is going to make Poppy (basically) walking only which is fine, or they had problems with people in carts hurting the course in the past, but we had already played a morning round, wanted to play 36, and it would've been a lot to ask our knees and backs to walk it. Great course, so nice, perfect shape, well worth the greens fee. But cart path only sucks as you all know and the fairways are super wide on most holes, probably would've walked less if we had just walked it. Great venue all in all.
Tough course
This course was a challenge , fast greens and tight fairways. I didn't see any pine straw under the trees . They had a little rough on the edge of the tree line on most holes. Would play this course again .
Course Conditions Need Improvement
Layout and location are special, but the greens were slow and inconsistent and very hard (very slight divots and no hold, even on high iron shots).
This is a good everyday course, but not the "bucket List" course I thought it would be.
Be prepared to hit over or around an army of course
Maintenance people filling in divots during play (should do in Morning)..
Affordable "Pebble Beach" experience
Loved the course, excellent condition and beautiful! Carved into a coastal forest! Beautiful course', every part; Fairways, Greens, Rough, Bunkers and Waste areas. As nice as any private CC in Coastal California! The staff was very friendly. 2PM T-time, so the wind picked up as the day went on. Finished in just under 5 hours. Only waited on one hole. Carts were required to stay on path, so we walked. There is a fair amount of terrain, we wish we took a cart. No water stations and no Drink Cart out on the course. Ask for a course map if you're playing for the first time.
Add Poppy to your Pebble Beach Trip!
Great track through the forest with some views of the bay. Conditions were excellent. We played Pebble Beach the day prior, this is an entirely different challenge. Firm fast greens - gotta place your approach shots. Walked at Pebble, took cart here. Glad we did as it is a hilly course. Downside is it is cart path always, all the time. Thought the snack bar prices were high, but we more than made up with GolfNow discount on greens fee. Nice guy working pro shop.
Poppy hills Rocks!
Even though we played in the rain in the fog and eventually in the sun on the back nine it was such an amazing course. It's very difficult and challenging and at the same time extremely beautiful. Because of the rain they've had for the past months, I'm sure the greens are a lot quicker than they were when we were there, but the read on the greens are hard!
Augusta like experience.
This course has finally matured after the renovation and it is a gem. Extremely difficult greens, fast & hard. There are many false fronts, hazards and blind shots. Played on a Monday afternoon and the pace was a little slow as it was carts on paths only. You'll be well served by expecting slow play. Just count on 4 to 5 hours, probably over 5 on weekends. Use the waiting time to study your next shot, you'll need it. This course has many angles and hidden challenges but is a beautiful track. Frigging amazing! I'll walk it next time, especially if it's carts on path only.
The rate of play was painfully slow. We seemed to be the only group following cart path only rule. There were no rangers or beverage cart and limited water stations. The round took 5 1/2 hours.
Scenery
The course is in excellent condition and is quite hilly meaning there are a number of blind shots. The rating system allows you to chose the tees that cater for your handicap. Take your camera as you will have many picture opportunities as all holes offer views and the local fauna of deer and squirrels are cute. Look after any food as the squirrels may get in your cart. My friend and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Beautiful Course, Dreadful Pace of Play
Played Poppy on Saturday. The course was in near perfect condition. The greens had been aerated about 11 days prior to my round and they had already pretty much healed completely, and were actually a decent speed. Sand traps were wonderful and course handled all the rain from the winter very nicely. I walked, but there was a lady in my group with a cart and the course was cart path only this weekend.
Pace of play was unacceptable. Round took 340 minutes from 1st tee to 18th green. Can't develop any rhythm with that pace. There was a course ranger, but he was unwilling to do anything about the pace. Our group was told, the guy keeps hitting it into the woods over and over... at some point, you have tell the lousy golfer that he's ruining the round for everyone.
Course is too good to not come back, but that sort of pace is really unacceptable. 5 star course, being given just 3 because of the pace.