Played Poppy Hills a couple of times in the last two weeks. Both times were excellent weather with the sun shining and hardly a breeze. I first played the day after they aerated the greens. That... Continue »

Played Poppy Hills a couple of times in the last two weeks. Both times were excellent weather with the sun shining and hardly a breeze. I first played the day after they aerated the greens. That aside, the rest of the course was in fantastic condition with everything at an 8-9 on the rating scale.

Played on 3/18 with Deepsea14 and a couple of friends. Greens were still healing which surprised me a bit. Most were rolling fairly true at a medium pace but most were still showing signs of the recent aeration. Greens at Poppy Hills are firm so, it takes a great approach shot to get it to stick.

Fairways were easily rated at an 8 and good even be considered in the 9 range. Very lush and a pleasure to hit from. Due to recent rains, the fairways were a little soft and I would occasionally get a stuck ball or minimal rollout of a foot or so. this was about the only thing keeping the ratings from being a 9-10. Tee boxes, rough and stand traps were all of high quality. Nothing to complain about. This is a fun and challenging course with a number of peaks of the ocean when it’s clear. I really need to play here more often.

9:30 tee time moved back to 9:50 Tuesday (my "day" to play 14+ years of league play) with perfect conditions weather wise, maybe add 5 degrees to the 55 and sunny light breeze, and 40 yards to my driv... Continue »

9:30 tee time moved back to 9:50 Tuesday (my "day" to play 14+ years of league play) with perfect conditions weather wise, maybe add 5 degrees to the 55 and sunny light breeze, and 40 yards to my drives!?

Have been wanting to get back here again since reading RDD's review in January. Lots of hint$ there good info.
Alex326 invited me 3 weeks ago and joined by a couple friends Justin and Bob for a scratch bogey or better team play friendly match. Was watching the weather since the long range ten day was forecast and it held with a great day for golf.
Monday a different story but wouldn't know it now. The course was cleaned of any debris through the green, the waste areas with runoff trenches packed sand the only indication of day before storm. Don't go there. I took a few GUR's from these obstructions.
The greens punched earlier 3-4th are healed fully but rolling slowly for here, less break than the normal slick pool table surfaces. Make the adjustment and roll 'em in.
Fairways great as good as I get to play and a treat offering roll out for my ground game. Again not as tight lie as usual but 8/10 rated.
Bunkers fluffy from the fairway and green side.
Lot's to like here and at the NCGA rate $90 walking (20% off proshop goodies) at the home of the best golf association in NorCal!
The course appears ready to go for a great season of play.
Played it down and caught one bad fairway lie in a small divot.
Hit ok hybrid knuckle ball straight and short followed by a 5 wood from LS rough 190 to front of green. PW left 8' straight in par to finish the round.
Fun had by all and if we didn't get all we wanted from it, we got what we needed.
Finished smiling wider than when we started.
Recommend 4.5 POP not pushed ideal
**Add sunrise arrival at Carmel Beach, and checking out Hays Place @ PB and the 9 hole course (not play) on the way out made the 15 1/2 hour 440 mile day trip a winner for me.
Not the match dominated by the opponent especially on the front side.

Played Sunday, 1/12, as the last day of a five day golf trip. I had not intended to play the fifth day but the group needed my participation and I really like Poppy Hills. I am glad I played. My back ... Continue »

Played Sunday, 1/12, as the last day of a five day golf trip. I had not intended to play the fifth day but the group needed my participation and I really like Poppy Hills. I am glad I played. My back held up and I had a great time. The reason the group needed me was the cost. They charge $350 for public, $120 for NCGA members and $170 for guests. As a SCGA member I would have been entitled to the guest price but could not bring guests at that price. I and another player joined the NCGA for $99 and the other four players got in at the guest rate. My threesome was joined by a single who was a great player; it was fun watching him negotiate the course.

The course was in excellent condition. As usual, close but not quite as premium as the Pebble Beach Co. courses. A very worthy course though to play on a Pebble Beach trip. I really like the layout. It requires you to use every club in the bag. The greens were great. Not as fast as I have seen them but rolling true. The fairways were very good also. Winter tight but good hitting surfaces. Not much rough. I hit through the first fairway and it stopped in a one foot square area of rough. That was the only rough I remember being in. The sand in the traps was nice. The tee boxes were very good as well.

The course was every bit as enjoyable as I recalled from my last time here. Playing through the Del Monte Forest is just not the type of exerience we get in Southern California. Can't wait to get back.

Love Poppy Hills. $300 is too much for me, but $100 at twilight is great. Layout is fantastic and conditions to match. Pace of play was swift. Played 2 rounds this week. 4:15 and 4:00 hours. Bea... Continue »

Love Poppy Hills. $300 is too much for me, but $100 at twilight is great. Layout is fantastic and conditions to match. Pace of play was swift. Played 2 rounds this week. 4:15 and 4:00 hours. Beautiful course.

Joined a couple buddies from the valley who wanted to get out of the heat. We had an 8AM tee time and no issue with avoiding the heat. Couldn’t see the greens from 100-150+ yards out due to the low... Continue »

Joined a couple buddies from the valley who wanted to get out of the heat. We had an 8AM tee time and no issue with avoiding the heat. Couldn’t see the greens from 100-150+ yards out due to the low fog. The course remains in fantastic shape all around. Greens were a bit slower than normal at first but still rolled at a nice medium + pace and then sped up to the traditional medium fast pace. Greens are always on the firm side here so getting approach shots to stick can be tricky. Greens rolled true throughout the large multi tier complexes.

Fairways are excellent as well. They are lush and green throughout with not a dead/thin/brown area to be found on the course. Fairways aren’t quite the same carpet like experience as with Pebble or Quail but they are easily an 9 on the rating scale.

Tee boxes were level and lush as well. Of the three greenside bunkers I was in, two were excellent and one was average. All playable without a doubt. POP was just at 4 hours and we probably could have made that a little less but we waited longer than usual in the fog for the group ahead to clear. When it did we were almost a full hole behind and finished about a 1/2 hole back.

As we have mentioned before, Poppy Hills is a solid track that is fun, picturesque, has challenging greens and has all around good conditions. Well worth the entry price. They also appear to be letting carts on the fairway on a regular basis now.

Played Sat 9am. 5 hr round. COLD day. Love this course. Always look forward to it. BUt I always putt horribly... cannot figure it out. Very grainy greens. Anyways had a great time. The marshall... Continue »

Played Sat 9am. 5 hr round. COLD day. Love this course. Always look forward to it. BUt I always putt horribly... cannot figure it out. Very grainy greens. Anyways had a great time. The marshalls and starters were incredibly nice. There was one marshall who wasn't so nice... he 'gave a time penalty' to my friend.. told him he was taking longer than 45 seconds to hit, and the course was slow because of him, and it 'ruined the rest of my day'. And he tells him on the 18th tee, as if there could be anything done by then anyways... Seems very out of line. We weren't too happy about that. Aside from that rude interaction, loved it and can't wait to get back.

Played an NCGA event here, overall extremely well run as you’d expect for the headquarters. I was expecting the course to be cart path only as that’s how it used to be year round in the past, but that... Continue »

Played an NCGA event here, overall extremely well run as you’d expect for the headquarters. I was expecting the course to be cart path only as that’s how it used to be year round in the past, but that seems to no longer be the case. Nevertheless, this course is very walkable and designed with walking in mind. Pace of play was 4.5hrs, never waited and was never pushed by the group behind, perfectly spaced tee times. Only minor complaint is the range balls could use a refresh, they are quite beat up. Course is in the best shape I’ve ever seen it. Greens are no longer rock hard, and approach shots can actually hold now. Green speed was fast which kept your attention all day. Fairways, bunkers immaculate. Sand was super predictable and consistent. There isn’t much rough on this course by design, so overall the challenge comes from staying out of the trees and hitting accurate approach shots that don’t leave super long tricky putts on the large greens. Highly recommend checking it out now, it’s worth the greens fee.

Course is in great shape. Good pace of play. Extremely challenging greens. Seem to have opiate illusions and tough to read. Beautiful course in the forest.

Course is in great shape. Good pace of play. Extremely challenging greens. Seem to have opiate illusions and tough to read. Beautiful course in the forest.

In my bid to play Poppy more this year, I went out last Wednesday with SDF on a perfect mid afternoon day. Conditions are pretty much the same as they were in April with the exception the greens have... Continue »

In my bid to play Poppy more this year, I went out last Wednesday with SDF on a perfect mid afternoon day. Conditions are pretty much the same as they were in April with the exception the greens have firmed up and are back to normal for here. They still roll true at a nice fast pace but getting an approach shot is more difficult (especially compared to the greens at Spanish Bay). Middle and back pins aren’t much of an issue but front pins can be challenging.

Definitely a recommended peninsula