Hardest golf holes in Northern California
John Abendroth came up with an idea the other day to nominate the hardest eighteen individual holes in Northern California. The hardest first hole, second hole, and so on. We all thought this would be fun to potentially discuss on the Hooked on Golf radio program and/or in the Hookedongolf.com forum.
I was reminded of John’s idea a week or so ago when I played Poppy Hills. You might recall that the fifth hole at Poppy was ranked the most difficult hole on the PGA Tour in 2006. Its scoring average was just shy of 4.5 strokes. Yep, it’s plenty hard alright with that big lake looming on the right hand side, the sloping fairway that serves up balls into the aforementioned lake at an alarming rate, the trees on the left, and that huge undulating green. Is it the hardest fifth hole in Northern California for us mere morals? Well, you can make that call.
I do have a nomination for the hardest first hole in Northern California, and that would be Poppy Hills’ initial offering.
I think the first hole at Poppy is an absolute killer. You get punched in the stomach right off the bat. 378 yards from the white tees, and 398 yards from the blue tees. Hard dog-leg to the right. The number one handicap hole on the course, and every bit worthy of that distinction.
The daunting lateral ravine on the right hand side of the fairway captures many tee balls and other errant shots. That makes many players aim considerably left off the tee (as I always do), to avoid the demon. But all too often, the result is hitting one in or through the trees on the left. That’s nothing but “jail”, requiring a deft chip out, just to get back in play. Then there’s that monster bunker on the front right of the green which gobbles up many a ball and is challenging to play from, to say the least. Once you have survived all of “that”, the “super sized” green awaits, with all its treacherous slopes and curves making a two putt a truly prized commodity. Sum it all up, and the first hole at Poppy Hills is a man-or-woman-sized challenge for anyone. I have played Poppy many times and the number of pars I have had on the hole could be counted on half a hand.
So, how did I “handle” the daunted first hole at Poppy when I recently played it? Well, I hit a five wood off the tee (or at least tried to) which eventually arrived on the seventh fairway. I recovered with a low punch shot which miraculously found its way back onto the first fairway, From there, a nine iron was pushed high and right sailing into the lateral hazard, adjacent to the large bunker. After finding a drop spot, an L Wedge produced a shot that finished about 25 feet below the hole. The first putt was about 3 feet short. I boldly stroked it in the bottom of the cup avoiding a quadruple bogey to start my journey. The first hole at Poppy Hills slapped me around once again.
If you have thoughts on the hardest holes that you’ve played in Northern California, we’d love to hear from you in the Hookedongolf.com forum. We’ll also ask John and Mitch to open up this “discussion” on their radio show sometime soon.
