Point Counterpoint What Do You


How many times do you get the opportunity to change the narrative?


Poppy Hills is a special


place. Its lineage as the home course of the NCGA is testament to the vision of the NCGA boards which traces its origins to 1974. The idea of a regional golf association owning its own course was conceived then, and the NCGA saw it through to 1986, when the course finally debuted. My first exposure to the course came through a conversation I had just after moving to the Monterey Peninsula in 1998. I was playing golf with a local and I inquired about trying out Poppy. “Why would you want to do that?” he said. “All that course needs is a clown’s mouth.”


The putt-putt course


metaphor stuck in my mind throughout my career working at Poppy Hills and the NCGA. As the years progressed,


I became increasingly bothered by Poppy’s reputa- tion. We weren’t immune to criticizing the place ourselves, but like a parent, we did not want to hear it from others. I won’t hear those jabs


now. In fact, during the first- 10 / NCGA.ORG / SPRING 2014


Like Most About the New Poppy Hills?


round weather delay on the Thursday of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am a few months ago, it gave me tremendous satisfaction to walk around Poppy Hills and observe how dry it was. You could hardly tell it had rained. This renovation com-


pletely nullifies any criti- cism the original course was subject to. Sure, it’s natural to compare the new course to the old, but as anyone who plays the new Poppy will quickly discover, any comparison is fruitless. The course really has been trans- formed. While the routing has been mostly maintained, practically everything on the property is brand new— from every blade of grass to the mowers, flagsticks, carts and tee markers. Even the floor of the restaurant and golf shop is new. The confluence of the


stellar job done by the Rob- ert Trent Jones II design firm and the construction company, Frontier Golf, and the First Tee Open coming to Poppy Hills in late Sep- tember presents the course a chance to hit the perceptual reset button. Poppy Hills’ forest setting is unique on the Monterey Peninsula. While Spyglass Hill and Cypress Point have forest holes, both


those classic courses are hybrids, making tremendous use of their natural features in taking golfers from the ocean into the Del Monte Forest. In Cypress Point’s case, the routing moves back to the sea for the greatest back-to-back-to-back holes in the game. Poppy’s complete mari-


time forest setting provides a thematic unity that Jones and his crew have capital-


who reacted so negatively to Poppy when it replaced Cypress Point in the AT&T rotation in 1991 will get to experience the stunning transformation firsthand. But the ultimate judges


are the NCGA members, tournament competitors and golfers from around the world who will make the renewed course part of their Monterey Peninsula itinerary. Validation from professional golfers is nice, but it has never defined Poppy Hills. That validation will come from the quality of the experience Poppy Hills will provide to the people it was built to serve. Ultimately, that’s what I am most looking forward to—observing the smiling


Ultimately, that’s what I am most looking forward to—observing the smiling faces and satisfied looks of those who visit the facility.


ized on, turning what was an enjoyable course into a layout truly worthy of its address within golf ’s greatest zip code, all while enhancing the fun factor. I think golfers will love the 10-11-12 sequence. The 10th is a reachable par-5 with some Augusta Nation- al No. 15 overtones. The 11th is a short par 3 sure to be added to the list of great one-shotters on the Penin- sula and the 12th, with its awe-inspiring view from the tee, might become Poppy’s best-known hole. And with the Champions


Tour headed to Poppy Hills, bringing professional golf back to the home of the NCGA, the same players


faces and satisfied looks of those who visit the facility. And the first time they experience one of the Monterey Peninsula’s unparalleled sunsets over the Del Monte Forest from the deck of the clubhouse with a cold beverage in hand, reflecting on a special day on the golf course will make the 13-month renova- tion worth every second and dollar spent. And a new narrative


can begin.


SCOTT SEWARD is the director of communications and marketing at the NCGA.


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