Poppy Hills Golf Course
Pebble Beach, California
About Poppy Hills Golf Course
Poppy Hills opened on June 1, 1986 as the home course of the Northern California Golf Association, making it the first golf course in the United States to be owned and operated by an amateur golf association. The 164-acre site, deep in the Del Monte Forest about a mile inland from the Pacific, was earmarked for golf by Pebble Beach founder Samuel F.B. Morse and sold to the NCGA in 1977. Robert Trent Jones Jr. routed the original 18 holes through stands of Monterey pine and cypress, and in 1991 the course replaced Cypress Point as a co-host of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, a role it held alongside Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill through 2009.
On the course
After the Pro-Am moved on, the NCGA brought Jones back for a 13-month renovation that reopened on April 4, 2014. The entire site was sand-capped for firm-and-fast conditions, all 18 greens were rebuilt with bentgrass, doglegs were softened, and the rough was eliminated in favor of native sandy waste areas, which also cut irrigated turf substantially. The par dropped from 72 to 71 while the layout stretched to roughly 7,091 yards.
Who it suits
The routing rides the rolling, ravine-cut topography of the forest floor with elevation changes between holes and occasional glimpses of Monterey Bay. Back-to-back par fives at the 9th and 10th open a stretch Jones calls his "Amen Corner." Because the course never reaches the ocean, it plays differently from its 93953-zip-code neighbors, and the wide fairways with no rough reward shot-shaping and ground-game creativity rather than pure power. It suits visiting golfers who want a tour-tested Pebble Beach test at a public-access price, and mid-handicappers who appreciate generous landing areas without the penal rough common to championship venues.
Architect: Robert Trent Jones Jr. · Opened: 1986
Course Details
- 18 Holes
- Par 71
- 7,002 Yards
- Practice Facilities: Driving range · Practice green · Pro shop
- Tee Time Prices: $120 – $350
- Phone: (831) 622-8239
Course Record
62 (-10) by Matt Gogel during the 2001 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (set on the pre-2014 renovation layout).
Notable Facts About Poppy Hills Golf Course
- Designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. and opened in 1986; co-hosted the PGA Tour's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am from 1991 to 2009 alongside Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill.
- Poppy Hills was the first course to be owned and operated by a golf association in the United States when it opened on June 1, 1986, built by the Northern California Golf Association as its tournament home.
- Following a 2013 remodeling by original designer Robert Trent Jones II and partner Bruce Charlton, it's now a graceful, low-profile layout with sandy naturalized areas and pine straw off the fairways instead of manicured rough, part of a concerted effort to significantly reduce water consumption.
Book Tee Times at Poppy Hills Golf Course
Poppy Hills Golf Course is an 18-hole par-71 public golf course in Pebble Beach, California. Tee times currently range from $120 to $350. Compare live rates and book online through Golf The Bay.
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