Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/456364
statement to have an affordable, world-class golf course in the hear t of Pebble Beach," says Jones. "This area is Mecca for golfers, but it can't be just for a select few." Poppy is a massively impor tant por tal for young, aspiring golfers. Through the NCGA's pioneering "Youth On Course" program, juniors can play the course for as little as $5 and also have unfettered access to the expansive range (with real grass!). What awaits is a fun, fast golf course that, depending on what tees you play from, has enough teeth to challenge the best of golfers. One knock on the old Poppy was the soft, soggy conditions of the turf, owing to a lot of shaded areas. As par t of the redo the entire course was sand-capped and the drainage redone, and now the course has some of the most delightfully f irm fairways in the area. That gives precious extra yards to drives and allows more spin to be impar ted upon well-struck iron shots. Fairways have been widened and much of the vexing old mounding eliminated, reducing screwy bounces and unor thodox stances. "At every turn, the goal was to help the golfer, not hur t him," says Jones. The most radical changes to the layout come early in the back nine. The redone 11th hole now ranks as one of the prettiest par-3s on the Peninsula, which is saying something, although the way the green is gracefully tucked into a hillside actually evokes Cr ystal Downs, Alister MacKenzie's masterwork in Frankfort, Michigan. The old 12th hole was maybe the worst par-5 in California, a right-angle dogleg right that forced players to navigate a very tight fairway with out- of-bounds running the entire way down the right Golfers and locals can enjoy Chef Johnny DeVivo's breakfasts and lunches at Porter's in the Forest while overlook- ing the opening and finishing holes. 132 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 1 5 Photo: Terry VanderHeiden Photo: Richard Green Photo: Richard Green Robert Trent Jones Jr. reinvented the 12th hole at Poppy Hills, converting it from a dogleg right par-5 to a straightaway par-4. That change created this stunning view of the Monterey Bay and Santa Cruz Mountains.