Remembering a Historic Day in NCGA History
By Brian D. Morse, NCGA President C
ould there be a more exciting or rewarding time to be president of
the NCGA, or an employee of the NCGA or Poppy Hills or Poppy Ridge? Magic mo- ments occur but occasionally in the history of most orga- nizations, and our NCGA family is enjoying one now. Last month, the grand
reopening ceremony for Poppy Hills took place on a day made for the occasion. It seemed so fitting that on the first day of spring, symbolizing renewal, new life and re-emergence, our reborn golf course was pre- sented to an audience of rep- resentatives from the national golf media, staff members, 24 past NCGA presidents and invited guests. The cere- mony was beautifully planned and executed by NCGA Director of Communications & Marketing Scott Seward and overseen by Brad Shupe, our recently hired general manager of Poppy Hold- ing (Poppy Hills and Poppy Ridge). Having started only a few months ago, in the middle of the golf course renovation and clubhouse remodeling project, Shupe’s energy, enthu- siasm, experience and dexterity created the atmosphere neces- sary for success. The pre-opening ceremo-
ny press conference, moder- ated by the always humorous Mitch Juricich, flowed seam- lessly to Seward’s trumpet fanfare summoning all to the first tee, for ceremonial first drives by yours truly, Poppy Holding President Derrell Biddy, golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Jr. and proud NCGA member and social media contest winner Patrick Moran.
6 /
NCGA.ORG / SPRING 2014 Giving truth to the
credo that “success has many fathers,” many people played critical and invaluable roles in the origination, planning and execution of this project. Risking the wrath of those overlooked or unmentioned in this article, special credit must be given to the following: • To our former executive
director David Bill, for his far-sighted recognition that if Poppy Hills needed renova- tion of its irrigation and fairway drainage, it should be concurrently redesigned and reworked in order to take its place as the championship venue for the NCGA. • To Lyn Nelson, our for-
mer CEO, and Dan Garson, who ably guided the process of architect selection, plan- ning, permitting, contractor selection and construction. Without their diligence and
effort, the project could never have been completed on time. Robert Trent Jones II Golf
Course Architects, including Mr. Jones, Bruce Charlton, Mike Gorman and staff, were as innovative and skillful in their redesign as they were grateful for the opportunity to participate. Our selection of Frontier Construction as the lead contractor could not have been more beneficial. They were true professionals and perfectionists, and partners as invested in the project as the NCGA family and RTJ II group. Our golf course superin- tendents Manny Sousa and Matt Mullenbruch partnered in the construction and grow- in phases in a way that was remarkable to observe. They combined their individual experience, education and talents, and recruited,
organized and supervised their staff in a way that made it easy for the archi- tect and contractor to know that the course would be in good hands. Without the relationships established and maintained by Sousa with his fellow superintendents at our neighboring courses in Pebble Beach, we might not have received the irrigation water so vital to a course during grow-in. We will be forever grateful to the generosity of our neighbors. Overseeing the entire
project was a committee of NCGA and Poppy Holding directors, chaired by Derrell Biddy. While the commit- tee members devoted an incredible number of hours to the planning, financing and construction effort, Biddy provided steady leadership of the renovation. Past NCGA President Mark House over- saw the clubhouse renovation effort. In partnership with Harvest Construction, he and Shupe had the clubhouse sparkling for opening day. The renovated kitchen facilities are now the workshop of our newly hired chef, Johnny De Vivo, formerly of Carmel favorite, Casanova. If the food and service on display for the opening ceremonies are any indication of what is to come, the restaurant may rival the renovated golf course. While we intend for Poppy
Hills to become the home for NCGA championships, it is “Firm, Fast and Fun” right now. We hope it will be symbolic of a resurgence and renewal of interest in this great game. Get a foursome, come out and play and take advan- tage of a unique experience in the greatest zip code in golf.
NCGA GOLF
Editorial & Business Office 3200 Lopez Road/P.O. Box NCGA Pebble Beach, CA 93953 P: (831) 625-4653 F: (831) 625-0150
NCGA.org
ncgainfo@ncga.org
Poppy Hills Golf Course Golf Shop: (831) 622-8239
PoppyHillsGolf.com info@poppyhillsgolf.com
Poppy Ridge Golf Course Golf Shop: (925) 456-8202
PoppyRidgeGolf.com
Editor & Publisher Scott Seward
Assistant Director of Communications & Marketing Kevin Merfeld
Marketing Manager Richard J. Cerame
Media Manager Jerry Stewart
Art Direction & Production Great Graphics, Laurie Lee
Advertising Managers Tom Black
P: (562) 590-5143
Jim Whittemore P: (503) 292-4000
2014 Publication Dates Summer edition .............. July 22 Fall edition ......................Oct. 20
Photos in the magazine: Scott Seward, Kevin
Merfeld and Jerry Stewart, unless otherwise noted. Additional supplied photography credited when necessary. NCGA Golf (ISSN-1524-4385) is published quar-
terly by the Northern California Golf Association, 3200 Lopez Road, Pebble Beach, 93953. All rights reserved, including right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Members pay an annual subscription fee of $1. Print- ed in U.S.A. Please send change of address notice on Member Change form (available at your club). Period- ical postage paid at Pebble Beach, CA and additional mailing offices. Advertising contained herein does not constitute endorsement by the Northern California Golf Association. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NCGA Golf, P. O. Box NCGA, Pebble Beach, CA. 93953-1157.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88