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By Design
A
s the golf industry emerges
from the recession,
many clubs that had put
improvement programs on hold have
now started to invest more in their
courses. Golf architects are busy
with renovation projects as clubs
seek to repair elements of the course
that are worn out. This presents
an opportunity to improve both
environmental sustainability and the
playing experience, and distinguish a
course from others in the locality.
And there are few localities in golf
as prestigious as the Monterey Bay
area in northern California. It is here
that one of the most high profile
and ambitious renovation projects
in recent years was completed in
April this year. With neighbours as
illustrious as Cypress Point, Pebble
Beach and Spyglass Hill, the owners
of Poppy Hills would need to do
something special to get noticed.
Originally designed in 1986 by
ASGCA Past President Robert Trent
Jones Jr., Poppy Hills Golf Course is
owned and operated by the Northern
California Golf Association (NCGA).
The decision to renovate began
with the need to replace an irrigation
system that was becoming difficult
to maintain. “We could have just
replaced the irrigation system,”
says NCGA’s Scott Seward. “But we
looked at this as an opportunity
to evaluate the property and do a
complete renovation.”
The NCGA hired the Robert Trent
Jones II (RTJ II) firm to oversee the
new design and selected Toro® for
the new irrigation system. The state-
of-the-art Toro GDC 2-wire irrigation
system–with Lynx® Central Control
software and integrated Turf Guard®
wireless sensors–gives Poppy Hills
significant control of their water use.
Water conservation would be a key
goal of the project, not just to reduce
water costs but also to reduce power
requirements and the overall carbon
footprint for the course. At the same
time, firmer and faster surfaces would
make Poppy Hills more enjoyable to
play, enabling a traditional ground
game that isn’t possible with softer
surfaces that hold too much water.
“We worked with the NCGA and
Toro to perform a water audit for
the property and formulated many
concept drawings to figure out
ways to save water, use water more
efficiently, and simultaneously
improve other aspects of the playing
experience,” says Bruce Charlton,
ASGCA, chief design officer of RTJ II.
Poppy Hills Golf Club
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Toby Ingleton
CASE STUDY
Environmental responsibility was a key tenet for the renovation of
Poppy Hills Golf Course in California.
By Design
finds out more
More Poppy
with less water
