Poppy Ridge
4280 Greenville Road Livermore CA, 94550
Phone: 925-447-6779
Course cost:
$20-$100 Architect:
Rees Jones (1996) Hoofing it:
Recommended, if you want the true links experience, but sloped enough that a cart is a nice luxury. Practice Facilities:
Driving range, putting green, chipping area. Food & Booze:
Full restaurant and bar, beverage/snack cart
Merlot
tees
par: out
yards: out
Black
36
3593
blue
36
3396
White
36
3187
Red
36
2605
Zinfandel
tees
par: out
yards: out
Black
36
3535
Blue
36
3323
White
36
3062
Red
36
2660
Hole Guide: Click on hole numbers below for individual guides. Holes 1-9 Merlot Merlot course|Holes 1-9 Zinfandel Course
Course lowdown
Poppy Ridge is in the middle of nowhere, but that's not a bad thing.
The vineyard country on the outskirts of Livermore hides this 27-hole championship complex, which, along with Poppy Hills in Pebble Beach, makes up the Northern California Golf Association's home courses. Knowing that, it's easy to see why Poppy Ridge is so long (over 7,000 from the tips for any combination of the three nines), so well-maintained, and so difficult.
The slope ratings are over 130 from the men's blue tees (131), and, of course, the championship blacks (139). The Zinfandel, Chardonnay, and Merlot nines all look alike, with the same rolling hillside views, elevated tees, undulating fairways and greens, and huge sand bunkers.
It must have been Rees Jones's idea to create a Scottish links-style course without the ocean and with a few watery twists. There is precisely one tree on the grounds, and as a result the wind can go crazy at any time.
The Zinfandel nine, for example, has water hazards on five holes. Play Poppy Ridge and you'll understand what so many of those top amateurs are thinking: it's time to get serious.
Poppy Ridge