Poppy Hills Golf Course

Monterey houses two courses inside the top 5 in America, and top 7 in the world.  Unfortunately for the average golfer, most courses inside the 17 Mile Drive are not as affordable as their local muni, with the exception of Poppy Hills Golf Course.  This ex-PGA Tour stop was part of the AT&T Pro-Am for years, recently replaced with Monterey Peninsula Country Club, is an exceptional public facility.  Plans to reconstruct the clubhouse and the golf course are in order to attempt to have the course play more to the lay of the land, reduce the drastic dog legs, and possibly return back to being on the big show.

For anyone who has a NCGA card, this course is only $55.  A huge discount in comparison to the $200 it is for the rest of the public to play the course.  Although it doesn't even reach 6900 yards at it's longest, the rating from their longest tee is still 74.3.  That's one tough course.  It's a difficult start with a dog leg right par 4 at 413 yards, it still has a ton of bite throughout the entire 18 holes.

The back nine, in my opinion, is the easier of the two.  With the tenth hole as a downhill par 5, it is one of my favorite holes I've played, up there with 18 at Kapalua's Plantation Course.

The seventh hole, one of the most demanding driving holes on the course, is no easy task from the fairway either.  It may look open, but the green complex is a tricky one like most on the course.  

Respect to RTJ II for a worthy challenge that is still fun.

Hole ten offers a downhill holes, and with a good drive, the kick down the hill gets you even closer to the green.  There is a tree on the left that attempts to guard the green as though the lake short of the green isn't enough.  The bail out is long... Easy task isn't it?  What does this course tell you? Play from the tees that your course handicap suggests, or suffer.  Have some fun.  

The "Tee it Forward" program from the PGA of America is one of the best programs designed.

Poppy Hills offers great golf, no matter how hard the PGA Tour Pros bashed the course, no matter how silly Tiger Woods says some of the holes are, it is a course that you have to think a lot on every hole.  It's tree lined.  It's difficult.  And although made slower for public play, so pace of play isn't dreadfully slow, if made firm like the pros like it I can see it making a good chance of coming back to the tour.  Let's look forward to that, and maybe even a USGA junior event some day.  If you come to play Pebble and are staying at the resorts, it's worth it to see what it's made of.