Monterey golf guide: 5 great spots to play other than Pebble Beach
It is a renowned golf region with an impressive roster of headline layouts, including Pebble Beach and Spyglass, which the Tour’s top talents are taking on this week. But beyond the famous names (Cypress Point and Monterey Peninsula Country Club also come to mind), the Monterey area is home to a large supporting cast of courses. Here’s a look at five more worth playing.
Best redo: Poppy Hills Golf Course
All courses have a footprint. Not many are asked to fill big shoes. That was the pressure put on Poppy Hills, in 1991, when Cypress Point withdrew from the Pebble Pro-am rota and another track was needed to take its spot. For the next 19 years, Poppy played that role, to mixed reviews from the pros. Some complained about soft conditions. Others griped about sharp doglegs that took driver out of their hands. But you know the pros. They play a different game. And besides, Poppy Hills is different these days, too. In 2010, it left the Pro-Am rota. And three years later, Robert Trent Jones, Jr., the architect behind the original design, redid the course, rebuilding greens and tees, upgrading drainage and relieving choke points in the routing. The entire place was sand capped, too, and sandy wastes were added. The upshot being a wider, firmer, faster course: tons of fun on the same footprint. You can’t ask for more of an overhaul than that.