Poppy Hills Golf Course

The course is fantastic - hadn't played it since its re-do. Very enjoyable. Pace of play left a little to be desired, but to the marshal's credit, he noticed this, and offered to route us on the wide open front nine a second time after seeing that it took 2.5 hours to play the front due to some really slow groups ahead. Everyone there was great.

This was a bucket list round and well worth it. Only negative was not due to course... Mother Nature was in a foul mood and it was rainy and windy so the course was not in the best shape. However, what an experience!

A great course aesthetically and fine test of golf. It will lull you into thinking it's not too difficult and pounce if you let your guard down . Well-bunkered greens a make it tough for direct attacks on pins in some placements . Use the whole green, tough punishments for over-aggressive approaches . Great staff and food . One of Monterey area best for sure.

We travel to the Monterey Peninsula annually, and for some reason have never experienced Poppy, opting for the other great courses. We learned this week what a mistake that has been, not because the others are poor choices, rather, that Poppy is most definitely worthy of a visit.

Our group has plus handicaps, senior players, and those that play no more than a handful of times every year. All of us found something to enjoy - good holes, without the severe penalties we sometimes find, great hole locations, challenging our very good players, without abusing the rest of us.

One more thing - we played after a good bit a rain - the place drains extraordinarily well. Don't let rain keep you away.

This is a beautiful, well laid out course. It is certainly challenging, with sloping fairways and tough greens. No hole is the same and you will struggle to think of which is your favourite hole once you have finished.

We started out on the back 9 (there had been a competition in the morning) and we moved at a great, steady pace. For some reason, once we got to the first hole, (our second 9) the pace was much slower to the extent we wondered if some extra groups were on the course, this meant we then had to wait at every tee, often with the group in front also waiting and then the group behind catching us up before we had teed off. It made for friendly golf, nut it did disrupt the rhythm.

A very small point, there are no ball washers on the course which seems slightly strange.

I'm not going to talk much about the course conditions. Anytime you play golf in the Pebble Beach area you expect the course to be in pristine condition. Poppy Hills is no exception. Staff was friendly and accomondating as well. This course is best walked. It's cart path only so if you ride you will be stuck on the side of the course in the tree line and miss most of the spectacular views. Do yourself a favor and get out in the middle of the fairway where the views of the ocean tucked behind the forest are abundant. Well worth the walk. Given that, pace of play is going to be a bit slower.

A must play. Stunning views, immaculate shape. Tough course,especially if you don't have first hand knowledge of the greens. Only down side was pace of play-5 1/2 hours on a Friday afternoon. No marshals. If you remember where you are and what you're doing, it'll take the pain of how slow it is and make it a little easier to swallow

The new Poppy Hills is a great experience that is on par with the courses at Pebble Beach Resort. The staff at the course were very friendly and courteous.

I will say I think that Poppy Hills has a collection of the best par 3's in the game. The course is fair and great but I was in awe of the par 3's.

I would definitely make it back on another trip to Monterey. Make sure you play this course when you are in town.

The New course definitely belong in the same class as it's neighbors Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill, and Spanish Bay. The best part is it's only 1/2 the price!
You can book hotel packages online and get crazy good pricing on your room and golf and if you forget your clubs they give them to you at no cost! If you are looking for soft fluffy lies this is not the place. The turf is perfect and firm, ball rolls forever. The greens are literally up to Tour standards after having the Champions Tour their last month.The new design is very rewarding if you can play the low knockdown and use the slopes around the greens. Don't fly the ball to the green or you'll be sorry. The only real negatives you hear are that it's too firm but those people don't understand the design and how to approach it. The course definitely grows on you the more you play it. Get a yardage book, only use your sand wedge if your in a bunker and think outside the greens. Use the slopes to bank the ball and you'll have a ton of fun hitting shots you won't hit at any other course on the west coast except Bandon and Chambers Bay (same exact turf as Poppy) If you are anywhere near Pebble Beach and you have your clubs with you, DON"T MISS THIS PLACE.

We were paired with a couple that measured every shot, took many practice swings and wouldn't stop talking about how great their shot should have been. This is not a fault of the course but the staff.

What a gem! Difficult course; trees, lots of bunkers added that seem to jump up and grab your golf ball, greens large but rock hard so play one club higher as if you don't your ball will roll off of the green. Lots of challenging holes that will make you want to return and play at Poppy again!

Yes, there is the Rolex clock but come on the fairways are worse than any muni in NorCal. The new design was a mistake and the course has to be one of the worst values in CA. Greens still won't hold a shot and why on Earth is it STILL cart path only.

Very disappointed in condition and maintenance of course. While the weather was poor that was not the issue.

Great course, but typical Pebble Beach prices. Eh, what's an out of towner going to do but pay the price to take home some great memories. More treed views then Pebble or Spanish Bay so if you are wanting the Pacific Ocean for a back drop, this is not the course for you.

I'm not a good golfer. I'm not a fair golfer. I'm a horrible golfer when it comes down to it. But still, I enjoyed Poppy Hills a great deal. It's a beautiful track in excellent shape. It is TOUGH, but honestly, I was not surprised. There's some considerable elevation changes, and I think that adds to the challenge and the fun. It's still a fair course - there's no real tricks here other than tight fairways, the elevation, and some doglegs. This is a place for the bucket list, and I'm glad I got to play it. NOTE: I did play during a NCGA tournament, so that backed us up a bit and greatly slowed play. I'm not sure how fast a round is during normal operation.

Poppy Hills is very well known but doesn't get the "wow" factor like the neighbor courses like Pebble, Spyglass, and Spanish Bay. However, it is still an excellent track and good enough for the PGA tour's ATT tournament.

The course is on an amazing piece of property that has just towering pine trees on the entire course. It is like a nature hike while playing golf. The redesign is very good and definitely was needed as the course was getting outdated and needed to save water. They definitely made it more challenging but it is not super difficult. You have to play a few times to get to know the course and there are few holes that are kinda weird and difficult but otherwise it is a well designed course. Not super long if you play from the tips and is around 7000 yards but definitely challenging for the really good golfers.

Condition of the course is very good. However, the greens are slow for my liking. I prefer greens that are at least 10+ on the stimp and they were pretty slow and fuzzy. Bunkers are excellent. They use the best sand I have seen for bunkers.

Facilities are pretty good with a grass range. Good practice putting/chipping green. Clubhouse has been remodeled recently and the pro shop and restaurant are really nice.

Definitely worth a round if in the area.

It's a very beautiful course but not as fun to play. It's a little unfair. To many trees in play, bunkers in the middle of the fairway, etcetera.