Conserving Water, Protecting and Showcasing the Environment, Enhancing Playability and Saving Money.
In 2013, the golf course architecture firm of Robert Trent Jones II completed extensive renovations to the Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach, California. They worked closely with the Northern California Golf Association (NCGA), which owns and operates the course, to bring this popular layout up to modern standards, improve playability, and conserve precious resources, particularly water. The course, which has hosted the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro Am, was originally designed by RTJ II and opened in 1986.
Robert Trent Jones, Jr., Chairman and Master Architect at the firm, explains the need for the renovation work thus: “Older golf courses are much like historic buildings, which often require various levels of attention, whether to restore original charm and design features, or to adapt to a more modern world. In this case, the technologies behind drainage and irrigation systems, for example, which were state-of-the-art when we first built Poppy Hills, have been greatly improved upon in the ensuing decades. A golf course architect versed in the newest technologies can help any owner figure out the best way to work with an existing golf course to meet a variety of possible needs and make it better in many different ways.”
The renovation is just one recent example of how RTJ II has focused attention on working with existing golf courses to make them better. The project at Poppy Hills highlights the firm’s focus on renovations through its new Environmental Services Division.
