The new seventh green shows off the new Poppy Hills—fairway spilling out of simpler green complexes, surrounded by interesting, strategic bunkers and native waste areas.
Charlton, president of RTJ II. “It feels like it’s part of the forest. There aren’t a lot of big mounds on the tee shot. It just feels like it be- longs. That was kind of our poster child—our guiding hole. We just worked with that, kept that.” The 390-yard 13th hole
was still touched up. The green—especially the right side—was unnaturally propped up into the air, a design pattern prevalent throughout the old Poppy Hills. This was especially seen on Nos. 5, 8 and 9, a maneuver that negated a potential downhill shot,
sometimes making it actu- ally play slightly uphill. While pondering the old 13th hole can help you understand how the new course fits into the forest more naturally, you will gain an appreciation for the fla- vor of the renovation after standing on the first tee. Except, when you reach
No. 1, don’t look down the first fairway. Look to your left and the new seventh green, which hangs over the new creek that cuts across the ninth hole. The seventh green is the
Poppy Hills sampler. “That green complex is
so visible from the restau- rant, so we wanted it to have a really good palette of ev- erything we’ve done on the course,” Charlton said. “It’s not overly contoured, it’s set into the landscape well, fair- way is spilling out around it, it has nice bunkers, the waste area is there. I call it the peek-a-boo to what the new Poppy is all about.” Every fairway and green
at Poppy Hills was es- sentially flattened, plowed under and bulldozed. Jones, Charlton and their team then looked at the tree line framing each side of the hole and connected the two
naturally, wiping out artificial mounding in the process. “We tried to make it a
long, flowing slope,” Charlton said. “Let the slope condition be the star of each hole.” One difference you’ll
notice now at the new Poppy Hills? You can actually see the bottoms of trees. That simple change makes the for- est feel real, instead of acting as a stage backdrop. The restored slope condi-
tion is evident right away, as there’s no more split-deck fairway disturbing the land- ing area of the first hole, or ski mogul course approach- ing the green. Gradual, broad
THE NEW POPPY HILLS IS COY AND UNDERSTATED. EVERY HOLE HAS BEEN REIMAGINED, THANKS TO SOME INTENSE INTROSPECTION.
SPRING 2014 /
NCGA.ORG / 29
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