TheNEW
HILLS POPPY
Renovation Rundown BY KEVIN MERFELD So you’ve heard that Poppy Hills is a brand
new course, even though just the 11th and 12th holes were significantly reconfigured. Here’s what is different about the new Poppy Hills:
Native waste areas The true inspiration for the renovation was water conservation. Drainage and irrigation have been improved dramatically, but maybe just as important, the amount of irrigated turf has dropped from 82 acres to 62. Native waste areas were a clever way of eliminating grass in an aesthetic and strategic way, while further tying the forest setting into the golf course. This mixture of loamy forest floor and native grasses woven throughout compact waste areas dances between tee boxes and along the edges of several holes. “One of the key things we saw was a great opportunity to showcase
how we can bring the forest into play,” said RTJ II chief design officer Bruce Charlton, noting the fourth hole especially. These new native waste areas particularly creep into play on the tee
shots of Nos. 4, 8 and 15, and on the approach into No. 5. A lake on No. 5 was transformed into a native waste area, which will conserve water by eliminating evaporation, while also separating the fifth green from the seventh tee and serving as a different hazard to negotiate.
Course setup flexibility Poppy Hills is more flexible than it has ever been. It will certainly challenge the game’s elite, as the Jones Trail stretches out to 7,002 yards, even though par dropped from 72 to 71. New tees on Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5, and 8 help add 139 yards to the total layout, but there is also much more variety. Four par 4s measure at least 440 yards and the fourth hole is a beastly 629-yard par 5. But there is also a shorter, more fun side to Poppy Hills. The three remaining par 5s are very reachable (tipping out at 535 yards), and the back nine plays just 3,254 yards. The five par 3s each vary in distance, from the precise 11th (ranging from 99 to 161 yards) to the demanding 223-yard 15th. “We really gained some variety in how we set up our 3 pars,” Charlton said. “That’s
always been a weakness at Poppy. We had all these par 3s, but you were hitting the same club all the time. “ There are now five sets of tees instead of four. Including the Jones Trail, there are
additional yardages at 6,672 yards (4 Poppies), 6,299 (3 Poppies), 5,799 (2 Poppies) and 5,215 (1 Poppy). These five yardage options also give Poppy Hills more flexibility for tournament and combo tee setups, as plenty of variations can be adapted to challenge players both mentally and physically on each hole.
Wider fairways and softer doglegs Not only was rough removed, but serious thought was given to widening playing corridors whenever possible. Fairway space was increased by an impressive 150%. Several doglegs were reduced or even straightened, including No. 3 (fairway 15 yards
wider), No. 4 (green moved 15-20 yards right—so much so you can look back and see the tee of the former double-dogleg), No. 8 (green moved 25-30 yards left and back tee built 10 yards left of previous marker) and No. 10 (green moved 10-15 yards right). And then there is the new 12th hole, which converted from a sharp dogleg right par 5
(taking driver out of the hands of many players) to a straightaway par 4 with an ocean view. The goal: create more space for players to hit driver throughout the course. “You can feel like you can bust it now and really swing away,” Charlton said.
No. 8
The true inspiration for the renovation was water conservation.
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NCGA.ORG / SPRING 2014
No. 8
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