The NCGA has a rich heritage of continually improving and enhancing member benefits since the association’s creation over 100 years ago.
Among the most notable and unique has been the NCGA’s involvement in building golf courses, which began with the opening of Spyglass Hill Golf Course in 1966. That was just the beginning, as the NCGA went on to build Poppy Hills Golf Course in 1986, followed by Poppy Ridge Golf Course in 1996, which are both fully owned and operated by the NCGA. With a focus on continual improvement, Poppy Hills was renovated and reopened in 2014, and now an entirely new course has been built on the site of the original Poppy Ridge Golf Course.
On May 31, the NCGA officially opens an all-new Poppy Ridge Golf Course.
Why are we calling it the all-new Poppy Ridge?
To describe the construction project at Poppy Ridge as just a renovation would be an extreme understatement, as the objective was to build an entirely new golf course and enhance the property to be even more enjoyable for golfers of all skill levels.
And that is exactly what Poppy Ridge is—an entirely new golf course.
Architect Jay Blasi created a spectacular 18-hole masterpiece in the Livermore Valley on the site of the original Poppy Ridge that includes state-of-the-art infrastructure to ensure ongoing excellent course conditioning. Jay’s routing is a gem, with each hole uniquely crafted to require a diversity of shots while taking advantage of the beautiful views from the property. The team also looked at other construction projects from top 100 courses around the country and worked closely with experts at the United States Golf Association (USGA) in the selection of turf, type of irrigation, drainage, and other vital infrastructure investments.
The all-new Poppy Ridge will be an exciting and challenging tournament course for the world’s best players, while being enjoyable and memorable for recreational golfers of all abilities. A par 72, the course can play from as long as 7,200 yards to just over 4,000 yards. The range of tee options, coupled with the thoughtful placement of design features and challenges, results in a course that will be fun for all of our 220,000 NCGA members to play.
It was critically important that the course, and the other features on property, would be appealing to our diverse membership base. In addition to the new 18-hole course, we also made significant investments in other parts of the property to broaden the interest amongst our members. The site has a newly renovated practice facility with an extensive short game area, and a shorter, exciting to play, nine-hole course—the appropriately named “The Ridge 9” all of which are open now. The Ridge 9 is perched high on the property and plays to a par 34 ranging from 1,900 yards to nearly 3,000 yards.
The NCGA is fortunate to have amazingly talented Board members and leadership working in the best interests of you, our members. There are several people who deserve special acknowledgement and credit for the total transformation of the Poppy Ridge property, but to call out just a few is challenging. Thankfully, the project was approved in 2022 under the leadership of then-NCGA President Gary Fox and former Poppy Holding Chair John Dodsworth, who both passionately championed the project from the very beginning. Without their leadership, our members would not have this magnificent new course. Those serving today in these pivotal roles who are leading the efforts for the course opening are current Poppy Holding Chair Susan Morse and current NCGA President Kevin Peyton. We have had an incredible team working on this project with decades of industry experience, led by Poppy Holding Inc. COO Steve Schroeder and Poppy Ridge General Manager Brett Armstrong. The combination of Jay’s innovative design with Steve and Brett’s day-to-day oversight resulted in the project being completed on-time, under budget, and exceeding our high-quality standards. Not many construction projects can make that claim! It has truly been a phenomenal team effort.
Finally, we also thank you, our members, for your support of the NCGA. The time is near for you to go out and enjoy your new member course. The new 18 hole course opens May 31, and you can book tee times now by going to poppyridgegolf.ncga.org/reserve-time.
We hope to see you at Poppy Ridge soon!