New Technology on the Course
Poppy Hills partnered with two new mobile apps to help golfers get the most out of their round, while also aiding pace of play. The maintenance staff uses EZ Locator, a service that has heat mapped every green to the centimeter. After entering data such as the green height and stimpmeter readings, the program generates optimum hole locations, keeping in mind the slope of the greens and the wear and tear of the turf in that particular area. Daily hole location sheets will be available in the golf shop, and golfers can also look them up with the EZ Locator ePinsSheet app. Poppy Hills also teamed up
with Best Approach to create an app that gives live GPS measure- ments on every hole, as well as yardages to key obstacles. Each hole can be viewed from a traditional yardage book perspec- tive, or you can see a computer- animated flyover simply by tilting your phone horizontally. The Best Approach app also allows golfers to order food on the course and conduct group tourna- ments with live scoring updates.
Maintenance Upgrade
With the area of fairway at Poppy Hills tripling to a nearly 60 acres, as well as dramatic chang- es in playing characteristics throughout the course, it was necessary to overhaul the main- tenance facility, modernize equipment and add staff. “We wanted to make sure we hired the right people, gave them the right tools, and provided the right working environment,” Shupe said. Along with a renovation of the maintenance facility to the right of the third green, most equipment was
upgraded or replaced. Poppy Hills has partnered with John Deere to bring in a new fleet of fairway units, will walk-mow every bentgrass green and has increased its staff to keep the new course in the best shape possible. Among the new additions is superintendent Matt Muhlenbruch, who joined Poppy Hills from The Olympic Club last summer. The main parking lot was also rebuilt, as it stored heavy construction equipment during the renovation.
34 /
NCGA.ORG / SPRING 2014
TheNEW
HILLS POPPY
Porter’s
the Rest Best of
Since Johnny De Vivo had 70 cooks working for him as the executive chef of Carmel’s Casanova and La Bicyclette, Poppy Hills General Manager Brad Shupe reached out for a recommendation about a potential hire at Poppy Hills. When De Vivo expressed interest in ditching late
restaurant hours in favor of tackling a new venture himself, Poppy Hills landed a true steal. “We thought we were going
to go from good to very good dur- ing the renovation,” said Shupe. “When we found Johnny, that took us from good to exceptional. We are devoted to doing some- thing special here.” Porter’s has undergone a
complete transformation, taking a farm-to-table approach with lo- cal and organic food cooked from scratch. Poppy Hills is baking its
Porter’s Executive Chef Johnny De Vivo
own bread and curing its own meats, revolutionizing what was once a frying kitchen into a bakery. There will be in-house pastrami and bacon, as well as crois- sants and muffins that will surely become an NCGA member favorite. There is no microwave in the kitchen, and the only freezer is for ice cream. “I’ve never done anything like
this before,” said De Vivo. “I’m ready for the challenge to create something new. Casanova and La Bicyclette already had phenomenal names. To come in and create some- thing on my own is very exciting.” The beer selection is also unique,
as eight of the 10 taps are commit- ted to California microbrews. There will be plenty of sports to watch while enjoying a cold one, as flat screens hang from every wall at the new Porter’s.
Course Signage
All the signage around Poppy Hills has been designed to fit naturally into the Del Monte Forest. Each tee marker at Poppy Hills is made from trees that were permitted to be removed during the renovation (for rerouting and turf grass management purposes), and then branded with a poppy for a rugged, natural look. Directional signage on the course was also carved from removed trees, and shaped only with a chainsaw, sander and grinder. The tee signs (left) were carved locally from fallen redwood trees in Eureka. As part of the permitting process, two trees were planted for every one that was removed.
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