What's the verdict on the new-look Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach, California?

Pebble Beach is American golf's most storied neighborhood, and one of its residents is back up to snuff.

The grand re-opening of Poppy Hills Golf Course is April 4, following more than a year under the knife at the hands of original golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Jr. The design is not only entirely different, complete with a new firm-and-fast philosophy, but the course has a brand new, water-conscious approach to agronomy. The savvy approach actually increased the amount of fairway on the course, yet water use will be reduced by 25 percent.

Golf travel experts Matt Ginella and Mike Bailey had the opportunity to play the course on a media and VIP event just prior to its re-opening, which promised an exciting golf course far upgraded from the original design that had grown somewhat worn.

"Truth is," Ginella wrote in his review, "avid golfers had divorced themselves from Poppy Hills when planning their trips to Monterey.

"As an avid golfer, a Northern California native and one of over 150,000 members of the NCGA, I'm pleased to announce that Poppy is back."

Mike Bailey, who had also played the course prior to it's redo, left impressed.

"Conditioning is impeccable," Bailey wrote. "Holes are lot more interesting, and there's a lot more fairway than they're used to be, about 60 acres to be exact."

Poppy Hills' "Amen Corner"

A point of interest for both writers was the new stretch of holes 10 through 12, dubbed by Jones Jr. as Poppy Hills' "Amen Corner."

"He took what was a weakness of the routing and made it into arguably the best three-hole stretch on the course," Ginella wrote.

The 12th hole was altered significantly from a severe dogleg par 5 to a straight par 4.

Bailey, during his round, found hazard on the par-3 11th, and wasn't happy about it.

"My only complaint," he wrote, "was some of the use of native grasses in several areas, which could swallow up balls. That happened to me on the new hole, the par-3 11th, where my tee shot landed on the back of the green, only to roll into the thick grass in between the bunker and the green."

Poppy Hills earned four stars overall from both Ginella and Bailey, while also earning top marks for conditions and value. While $210 for non-members of the Northern California Golf Association, it's still more than half the cost of its illustrious neighbor, Pebble Beach Golf Links, and $160 less than Spyglass Hill.

Watch: Ginella talks new Poppy Hills on Morning Drive

Brandon Tucker is the Sr. Managing Editor for GolfPass and was the founding editor of Golf Advisor in 2014, he was the managing editor for Golf Channel Digital's Courses & Travel. To date, his golf travels have taken him to over two dozen countries and nearly 600 golf courses worldwide. While he's played some of the most prestigious courses in the world, Tucker's favorite way to play the game is on a great muni in under three hours. Follow Brandon on Twitter at @BrandonTucker and on Instagram at @btuck34.
1 Comments

Played at Poppy hills today, March 27, 2019. I usually play at a club in Illinois. The course appeared to be in good shape after aeration several weeks ago. The practice green was fast but all greens on the course were slow. There were intermittent very light showers but I expected the greens to roll much better for this level course. The views are very nice with beautiful large trees but certainly not spectacular.

Overall a pretty nice course.
However, the service was disappointing. No one helped me when I pulled up to the bag drop. No food or drink cart on course. No one helped when I returned to bag drop after round. No offer to clean clubs. I had to put the push cart away myself. Staff act like it’s beneath them to help you out.

Level of service is a surprising when paying $260 with push cart for a visitor. I didn’t play Pebble Beach due to recent aeration. I may play that in the future but don’t think I’ll be back to Poppy.

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What's the verdict on the new-look Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach, California?