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4.0
190 Reviews (190)
5 Stars
109
4 Stars
45
3 Stars
20
2 Stars
13
1 Stars
3
Conditions
4.9
Value
3.7
Layout
5.0
Friendliness
4.3
Pace
1.6
Amenities
4.0
98.2%
Recommend this course
162 out of 190 reviews
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0
5 Stars
0
4 Stars
0
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
0
Value
0
Layout
0
Friendliness
0
Pace
0
Amenities
0
0%
Recommend this course
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.0
1 Reviews (1)
5 Stars
0
4 Stars
1
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
5.0
Value
4.0
Layout
5.0
Pace
1.0
Amenities
4.0
StaffFriendliness
5.0
100.0%
Recommend this course
1 out of 1 reviews
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About

Holes 18
Type Public
Style Parkland
Par 71
Length 7002 yards
Slope 144
Rating 74.4

Located on the famed 17-mile-Drive, Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach was the first course in the United States to be owned and operated by an amateur golf association, the Northern California Golf Association. Originally opened in 1986 and designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr.,Poppy Hills is a challenging, par-71 venue that weaves through the Del Monte Forest and has played host to several renowned tournaments, including the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am from 1991-2009. In 2014, it received an extensive, $10 million renovation by RTJ Jr. The project was first and foremost aimed to improve environmental responsibility, and cut water consumption by reducing the amount of irrigated turf -- about 60 acres -- while also extending the layout to over 7,000 yards. From a playability perspective, all the rough was removed and doglegs were softened. The course was awarded "Best Renovation" that year by all four major golf publications.

Course Details

Year Built 1986
Greens Bent Grass
Golf Season Year round
Architect Robert Trent Jones, Jr. (1986) Donald Knott (1986) Gary Linn (1986) Mark Rathert (1986) Mike Gorman (2014)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - $25
Clubs Yes
GPS Yes
Pull-carts Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Caddies Yes
Golf School Academy Yes
Golf Simulator Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Indoor Practice Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Walking Allowed Yes
Dress code Proper golf attire required.

Food & Beverage

Bar, Restaurant

Available Facilities

Clubhouse, Conference Facilities, Banquet Facilities

Accolades

  • Golf Advisor: Top Courses in California (2017 #22)

Reviews

4.0
190 Reviews (190)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 9
19th Hole Scenic Views 6
Patio Dining 6
Course Challenges Include:
Bunkers 12
Undulating Greens 10
Forced Carries 6
This course/club is great for:
Wildlife/ Scenic Views 12
A Weekend Splurge 11
Advanced Golfers 10
This Course's Location is:
Worth the Drive 10
Near Local Attractions 6

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Reviewer Photos

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Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing

It Was Fine - Had Fun

My friend brought me here, and we had a great time. This was a very playable course; nothing overly difficult at all.

Customer service was a Little strange. We had to ask for things that I really wouldn’t have expected. For example, we had to ask for a scorecard, and then after being given the card, we had to ask for a pencil. For the cost, I would think that we’d be provided what we need. At a minimum, they should ask if we’d like a card. We weren’t told anything about what amenities were and were not available, how to get over to the first hole (because we didn’t have a map/layout), etc.

Another strange issue was that they decided to put some kind of foam on the course the morning we played. There were hundreds of small white [foam] spots throughout the course, and it was almost impossible to see where our balls were landing. I get that they have to maintain the course, but it was an inconvenience for us on that morning. It wouldn’t keep me from going back.

I’ve payed less money for nicer courses, but was happy to play here. If you haven’t played here, definitely try it once.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Fair
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 64
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

Great golf

What a great course, played from the 3 poppy’s and made the exciting.

Conditions Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 51
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
California Advisor
Top 1000 Contributor
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Cart Fee Insanity

Look, the course layout is great. But the greens were punched a week ago and they charge $25 per bag on the cart on top of the greens fee. $50 for one cart is utter insanity. Full price 1 week post aeration too. Feel quite a bit ripped off on that front.

Fairways were in spectacular shape. Greens still quite bumpy. Will be back again and will probably walk the course like I usually do. Not my favorite course, but still quite decent.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Great course poor service.

Our group took our annual Pebble Beach trip. We played Pebble twice, Spyglass, and Poppy. Treated like kings at Pebble and Spyglass. Poppy Hills a different story. First thing we noticed when arriving was another player arguing with staff about the range being closed. No problem for us, we just played 18 at Pebble. They were very short with this customer and he left very upset. The clubhouse was closed, they said because of Covid. Pebble and Spyglass were completely open. They made everyone double up on carts, not Pebble and Spyglass. The greens were sanded and never mentioned it. We can all deal with these things, but the attitude of all the employees was terrible!!!! Thats why this poor review.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Poor
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 75
Handicap 25+
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

Beautiful Course and layout

The course is in perfect condition. Nice fairways and layout. The green was aerated but the course did notify me in advance. The green fee is reasonable with the NCGA members rate.
This is one of my favorite courses and will definitely come back again.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 999
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Top 1 Contributor
Verified Purchaser
California Advisor
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Poppy

Rode the 3 Poppy tees (6400/71.2/135) in slightly under 4H twilight as a single on a GN Hot Deal. Played through one 4some then was stuck behind a walking 4some until they quit. POP was NOT an issue, as I was taking pictures and enjoying every minute of this place! 60 and overcast with a 0-2 club breeze throughout made for a nice experience.

WOW is the best one word descriptor I can come up with. I play alot of golf at courses all over California. Other than Rams Hill when it first opened and Pebble Beach a few months ago, I have never experienced conditions like this... and in my opinion, these were slightly better than those. So what I am saying is that in 45+ years of golfing, this was the best conditioned course I have ever played.

Lush and green throughout. They had a 2 man team fixing divots on the tee boxes. There were probably less than 2 dozen fresh tee divots on the entire course. They had a man out fixing divots in the fairways. Cuts around the greens, tees and sand traps were finely manicured.

Tees were just immaculate. Thick poa cut down, I putted on many tees to pass the time after I had my pictures. How good were they? They putted better than some courses greens I have played this year.

Fairways also immaculate, mowed down and firm. They played really well with thick, brown sand/dirt underneath if you took a large divot.

Rough was lush/thick. If you missed the fairway by 1', it was the difference in going for the green and advancing a shorter club for a player of my skill level. The ball almost always sat down, you often could not see your ball from 10 yards away.

Traps were large and plentiful. Exceptionally well maintained with thick lighter sand over darker sand underneath. Large, expansive waste areas on many holes were natural but cleaned up and added to the beauty of many holes IMO.

Greens I loved! You could make large ball marks and back up balls in places, but they were mostly firm. These were beyond medium fast, they were quick. Downhill putts would creep and creep. If not careful that putt you thought you nestled up for a tap in would be 6-8' coming back. Had three 3 putts and still had an excellent putting day overall. They rolled great.

Loved the RTJ, Jr. layout. Fairways much wider than I suspected going in, this is not a tight course, but I say that on a day I was hitting it better than average. If you get off line, huge, thick trees await. First time in a good while I played multiple shots off pine needles. That, coupled with the outlying sandy areas and mostly playing around no homes surrounded by thick trees actually reminded me of Pinehurst. Areas around the greens were mowed down close, I used a putter several times from 10+ yards off the green up over raised mounds to tight pins. Speaking of pins, not sure if they had a tournament that morning, but these were tournament pins. There was about 1 pin set in the middle, most others were just a few paces on the green. Up/down rolling hills, large greens that were fair with moderate amounts of undulation. Very peaceful, no ocean views and some nice house closeby, but most of the time you were away from everything just playing in the forest with lots of wildlife joining you.

I was running late because of the fog and called ahead. Kudos to Benjamin, he had me rearranged and everything set up to go out later. Very friendly cart attendant and maintenance staff, saw the drink gal a couple of times. Highly recommended, really look forward to my next round here.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 16
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
3.0
First Time Playing

Slow pace.

Slow pace of play . No course Marshall . Greens on course not same pace as practice green . All holes basically the same layout . Flags all tucked behind bunkers . Pretty venue . Just disappointed with overall layout .

Conditions Good
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Poor
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing

Overall, a great track to be enjoyed!

Hats off to the maintenance crew and course sup. for keeping the course in fantastic condition. It’s a bit of a strange time for everyone right now. Bearing that, interactions with the greeter or check-in personnel could be warmer and a bit more welcoming. It would also be nice for management to send a welcome email with updated information for first-time visitors (e.g. $25 just to put a bag on a cart wasn’t a nice surprise). Glad that the food quality was on point even during this time. Overall, it was a nice outing and would come back for the course (now that we know what to expect and how to deal with the check-in staff).

Conditions Excellent
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 34
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

Pristine and challenging

Course is in as close to perfect shape as I have ever seen it. Pace of play was just a little slower than last time but still just over 4 hrs.
Make the trip if you can!!

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Played On
Reviews 7
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Walked

When in Pebble be sure to play Poppy

Can't say enough about this track! If you find yourself in the area make sure you reserve sometime for Poppy - you won't regret it! Tee'd off on a busy Saturday at 11am pace of play was perfect, played in a foursome and wrapped up our round right at 4 hours. Super friendly staff all around good food and good drinks. On top of it all the staff is doing a fantastic job managing all things Covid related. Signage was very clear masks are worn in common areas and they were doing a wonderful job managing the check in process. Bravo to the Poppy Hills team!!!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Probable to not go back

Great golf course, beautiful location, but really tough for a 19 handicap

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 28
Handicap Don't know
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Pro shop

My buddy and I were not offered range balls from the employee at the pro shop. When we went back to check with the cart employee he helped us out. As far as the course is concerned... it is in excellent condition. minus the bunkers. They were inconsistent. Some had plenty of sand and others barely had any sand in them at all. It was very difficult to judge how to hit the ball out of the trap.

Conditions Excellent
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 86
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 86
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 21
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Walked

fantastic course

Poppy is not part of the pebble beach resort, but it is a MUST play if you are in monterey. find a good price online and its a steal!

course is hard & fast, holes are interesting, setup is just fairways and pinestraw---> me likey!

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 9
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

GolfNow booking is treated differently

Greens were just punched, slow and bumpy. However there was no notification anywhere. Fairways were good and dry, but it’s cart path only for unknown reason.

Pro shop person doesn’t like GolfNow booking, I can tell from his reaction during check in. And when I asked for range balls, he said: “you don’t get range balls with THAT tee time!”.

Other less expensive course in the area provides free bottle water and bag of range balls. This course is too cheap.

There is no starter and marshals either.. No cart lady too. Bad service for the money.

Conditions Fair
Value Poor
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Poor
Pace Good
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 16
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

Best course in Bay Area

This is by far my favorite course in the Bay Area. I’ve recently played pebble beach as well, but playing here is such a great experience that even a bad score doesn’t ruin it! Quite and calm setting among trees with each golf shot heard like that’s the only sound. Highly recommended.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

Great Sunday

Course was in great condition, no pressure from playing groups, will be back again!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
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Golf Packages

17-Mile™ Stay & Play Package

FROM $957 (USD)
PEBBLE BEACH, CA | Enjoy 3 nights' accommodations at The Inn at Spanish Bay™ and 3 rounds of golf at The Links at Spanish Bay™, Spyglass Hill Golf Course™, and Pebble Beach Golf Links™.

Best of Monterey Package

FROM $1,107 (USD)
MONTEREY, CA | Enjoy 3 nights' accommodations at Casa Palmero at Pebble Beach™ and 3 rounds of golf at The Links at Spanish Bay™, Spyglass Hill Golf Course™, and Pebble Beach Golf Links™.

Pebble Beach® Golf Experience Package

FROM $947 (USD)
PEBBLE BEACH, CA | Enjoy 3 nights’ accommodations at The Lodge at Pebble Beach™ and 3 rounds of golf at Pebble Beach Golf Links™, Spyglass Hill Golf Course™, and The Hay Short Course at Pebble Beach™.

Monterey Peninsula Championship Courses Stay & Play Package

FROM $1117 (USD)
MONTEREY, CA | Enjoy 3 nights' accommodations at The Lodge at Pebble Beach™ and 4 rounds of golf at Pebble Beach Golf Links™, Spyglass Hill™, Pasatiempo & Bayonet Golf Courses.

Premier Monterey Stay & Play Package

FROM $487 (USD)
MONTEREY, CA | Enjoy 3 nights' accommodations at Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa and 3 rounds of golf at The Links at Spanish Bay™, Bayonet Golf Course and Poppy Hills Golf Course.
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