Poppy Hills- Pebble Beach

If you really want to appreciate the PGA tour’s slogan (“These guys are good.”), you need to play one of the courses they play. As I went around Poppy Hills, one of the three courses used for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on the beautiful Monterey Peninsula, the thought that kept crossing my mind was: “How the hell do guys shoot 66 out here?”

I particularly had that feeling as I stood on the green at the Par 5 10th, looking back at the shot pros must have to hit to go for this in two, as they almost always do. There’s water in front of the green, and a very tall tree that forces you to hit the ball high. The hole plays 511 yards for the big boys, so they’re hitting 210-yard shots into this thing. Wow. I, on the other hand, would have been ecstatic to merely reach the green in three.

Most of my afternoon at Poppy Hills was spent with the frustrating reality that I’m not a very good golfer. Worse, I was playing in a shotgun tournament and started on No. 8, meaning I had to deal with the killer back 9 before getting to the more friendly front. By then my round was over anyway.

That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it, though. The really nice courses give you a pleasant day, even if you are shooting 100. Poppy Hills is gorgeous, like just about everything in this part of the world. As you wind your way through thick, mature trees, you can sometimes catch a glimpse of the Pacific Ocean. This course is more inland than the famed Pebble Beach, so you won’t be endangering any seals with your tee shots.

In fact, there is hardly any water on this course. Just a couple ponds, on Nos. 6 and 10. The primary hazards here are all those trees, and the shaggy rough that surrounds the fairways. Don’t be fooled by thinking that just because you can find your ball, 20 feet off the fairway, that you have a good shot. This is some club-grabbing, shot-ruining stuff.

You’ll also want to get yourself a course book in the pro shop before you start, so you know just where you want to hit the ball. No one in my group had played the course before, so I was led astray a few times. (A handy excuse.)

Take No. 9, for example. It’s a Par 5, 496 yards from the white tees. You have to hit your second shot onto a landing area to the left. That then gives you a little 100-yard wedge into the green, over a gully of rough. If you go for this green in two and leave it short, you’ll not only be in that thick rough, but you’ll also be on the side of a hill.

On the aforementioned No. 10, the hole that started my downfall, it looks like the play is to hit your drive to the right, but don’t do it. If you hit it straight over the bunkers that appear to be on the left, you’ll find plenty of open fairway. It’s only about 180-yard carry to get it over the bunkers.

About the only other memorable hole is No. 2, a short par 3 with a double green. It can play anywhere from 115 to 142. And that’s just from the white tees. The green on the right is about 5 feet lower, so if you hit the wrong green (as I did), you’ll have one of those up-into-the-clown’s-mouth putts.

Overall, this course is a great deal if you are a member of the Northern California Golf Association, or even a guest of a member. Members can walk for $45 during the week, $50 on weekends. If you play this course just once a year, that alone makes the NCGA’s annual fee worth it.

By Jeff Fletcher
Editor, sfbaygolf.com

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