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No. 1


Natural course elevation Ever notice when you were warming up at the old Poppy Hills driving range how it felt like you were hitting into a canyon? That piece of property was originally relatively flat, but during initial construction at Poppy Hills, dirt was removed to build featuring throughout the course. Well now, that dirt is almost all back on the range. An important goal of the





renovation was to return Poppy Hills to its natural elevation along the forest floor. The property itself is plenty interesting, with ravines and natural swings in elevation throughout. “We originally built this course on top of the land, we imposed our will on the


land,” Charlton said. “The new Poppy takes what the land has given us and lets the course flow with the land much more.” Gone are the elevated tee decks, perched greens, split-deck fairways and ski


moguls. Holes that flow downhill now play that way, instead of veering back up to elevated greens. Even a natural creek that was buried during the original construc- tion was revitalized, as it now cuts in front of a significantly lowered ninth green. A visual hint of these changes is the ability to see the bottoms of trees—


because there are no more artificial mounds hiding them. Not only was the course smoothed out, but that philosophy has also brought the surrounding forest more into focus.


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Rough eliminated You will still find longer native fescue grasses in waste areas along the forest floor, and eyebrows lining bunkers. But there is no longer rough restricting fairways, nor fluffy stuff ringing greens. If you are within the intended playing corridors, you will have a nice tight lie, creating welcoming drives but also unique short-game challenges. “No rough seems to frustrate the heck out of top players,” Charlton said. “They used





to be in a 4-to-6-foot bunker, and now they’re 4 to 6 feet below the green in short grass. Now players have to think.”


No. 10


Sand capping Every fairway and teeing ground sits on a 5 1/2-inch layer of sand, completely changing the soil profile and drainage capacity of the course. Sand capping might have been the most important decision of the renovation, as it will allow the course to play firm and fast year-round. “The bottom line is we are trying to create firm and fast conditions with very short





grass,” said Charlton. “If we would have gone with the natural clay soils out here, we would have gotten very inconsistent playing conditions.” Armed with the confidence that Poppy Hills would play firm and fast—even in


notoriously wet Pebble Beach—Robert Trent Jones Jr. and his architecture team were freed up to make the unique decision to eliminate rough and design green complexes that would accept shots played both through the air and on the ground. This also means you will get more yardage off the tee—since your drives will actually bound forward instead of plugging.


The yardage options give Poppy Hills more flexibility as plenty of variations can be adapted to challenge players both mentally and physically on each hole.


New Bentgrass greens The greens will be smoother—both in texture and undulation. Every green at Poppy Hills was completely redesigned, and then upgraded with bentgrass, replacing poa annua. The goal was to soften the undulations and create as many hole locations as possible, especially close to hazards—setting up dramatic hero shots. Nearly every green has an entryway where the ball can be played on the ground, or a side slope that can be used to feed onto the putting surface. The putting greens average 6,600 square feet, ranging in variety from 4,700 (No.





14) to 9,000 (No. 18). As for negotiating the new greens, Jones has a tip: “Use the ravines and ocean as your guide to reading the breaks on putts, as the ball will often gather in the direction of the Pacific and prominent ravines,” he said.


No. 15


No. 18 SPRING 2014 / NCGA.ORG / 33


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