MAKEOVER Extreme HOME COURSE EDITION


How the New Poppy Hills cracked one if its toughest critics and became one of the top 10 renovations ever


redit must go to Robert Trent Jones Jr. and his chief design associate, Bruce Charlton, for their willingness to rethink everything. This isn’t just a renovation; this is a complete reversal of their entire design commitments from three


decades ago. And kudos to the leadership and staff of the NCGA for their persistence and vision in insisting on a total transformation. The new Poppy Hills is a culmination


and synthesis of several important, emerg- ing trends. Among them: water conservation; more strategic play; enhanced use of ground features; a golf course playable for players of more diverse skill sets; integration with the native landscape and more attention paid to practice grounds. Numbers tell the story of a golf course


that’s bigger, yet occupies a smaller area of intensive cultivation. What used to be a par- 72 layout maxing out at 6,863 yards is now a par-71 layout stretching to 7,002 yards. And yet, its area of maintained turf has shrunk by almost 25 percent, from 82 acres down to 62. That’s a lot less mowing—along with a lot less labor, irrigation and fertilization. In the process, the extent of fairway went from 25


48 / NCGA.ORG / SUMMER 2014 BY BRADLEY S. KLEIN


acres to more than 50. The difference is the elimination of maintained turfgrass. Fairways have been extended to touch the forest fl oor. Intrusive mounds have been eliminated, creating a more natural tie-in to the natu- ral grade. Tees have been lowered, greens dropped and swung into less pronounced doglegs or corners of the property. The result is a simpler, cleaner viewscape across the entire envelope of land. And from the new, elevated tee of the par-4 12th hole (from what was previously the back of the old par-3 11th hole) golfers now have an unimpeded view of the Monterey Bay. The sense of place has never been stronger at Poppy Hills. Much of the old maintained turfgrass


areas have been converted to sandy waste areas. That’s particularly the case with the “in-between” zones fronting tees for the fi rst 50-100 yards to the fairway. The look and feel of these “Hell’s Half Acres” gives Poppy Hills a raw, scruffy look that it never had before. Along with bringing the course elements


down to grade, the terrain was fi rmed up through the sand capping of fairways. The 5 inches of sand beneath the fairway allows for excellent drainage, and will go a long way toward keeping the grounds fi rm. The fi rm, fast terrain now enables more ground roll—


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