Poppy Ridge Golf Course

Poppy Ridge in Livermore is the NCGA's marquee public 27-hole facility, opened in 1996 as the Northern California Golf Association's second owned-and-operated course (Poppy Hills in Pebble Beach being the first), making the NCGA the first allied golf association in the United States to own and run two courses. Rees Jones, who won Golf Digest's Architect of the Year honors that same year, routed 27 holes through Livermore Valley wine country with three distinct 9s named for the region's varietals: Chardonnay, Merlot, and Zinfandel. The design reads as an 'inland links,' evocative of the heathland courses of Scotland, firm fairways, subtle-to-severe mounding, and strategic bunkering that rewards committed driving over raw bombing. The Championship 18 (most popular 18-hole combo) plays to a 74.8 rating and 141 slope, stout numbers for a public course, but the multiple tee sets keep it playable. For the Northern California Wine Country trip visitor, Poppy Ridge is the serious-golf counterpoint to Chardonnay Golf Club and Eagle Vines. A natural pairing with a day trip out to Livermore's wineries.