Carmel Magazine

side, owing to a protected species of ancient cypress trees. Jones eliminated the dogleg and turned number 12 into a gorgeous par-4 that might be the best driving hole on the course. The four remaining par-5s are all risk-reward; my favorite is the 9th with a regraded fairway that makes it all the more tempting to try to get home, even though the expanded green is now perilously close to a creek. Poppy now plays to a par of 71, and from the tips it stretches to 7,002 yards, but with three other tees there is a yardage that is comfortable for every player. Par t of Poppy Hills' mixed reputation through the years was simply bad timing. It joined the Crosby Clambake rota in 1991 when Cypress Point dropped out because of its regrettably restrictive membership practices. Poppy suffered in the comparison. Many of its shrillest critics from that era returned in 2014 for the first time in decades, for the Champions tour's First Tee Open. The players' reaction was rapturous. " At times, you're like, 'Wow, it looks like Augusta,' " said Davis Love III. Added Nick Price, "It's a huge improvement on the old course. It looks beautiful. They deserve a pat on the back for the terrific job they did." The dean of golf course architects, Golf Digest's Ron Whitten, wrote, "Astonishing improvements. Maybe best mulligan ever." That is the ultimate bottom line on the new Poppy Hills—it hasn't been redone, it's been reborn, and the course is now as important as it is fun. 134 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 1 5 Poppy Hills is the only course of the seven in Pebble Beach that features no rough, as its fairways bleed into the trees, wrap around every green and flow into the bunkers. Golfers can also use the surrounding slopes and banks to play running approaches along the ground. MTT Performance at Poppy Hills offers 3-Day Business Leadership Retreats that challenge employees to activate their lifestyle while building a more powerful corporate culture. Photo: Joann Dost Photo: Jeff Ritter

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