By Jim Cowan, Chief Governance Officer
It was nearly mid-March when we first visited Poppy Ridge to issue the initial course ratings.
This was just four weeks shy of hosting a National Course Rating Calibration Seminar at the Livermore course and a full two months in advance of the planned “grand opening” of the facility.
What we found that day was far different than what you would see if you visited the golf course today.
Among other things, the fairway grasses were completely dormant (and will remain so in future years from late fall until mid-spring). Despite their dormancy, they tended to dominate the senses with their wide widths.
I’m probably being kind in saying that the rough areas were just starting to fill in. While reasonably mature and relatively robust on holes 13-18, for the most part the rough showed great promise, but was lacking in overall seasoning.
The greens represented the greatest surprise of all . . . firm and ready for action.
Though the course was nowhere near its final form, we could see enough to predict how it would play when opened . . . or so we hoped!
In short, we needed to develop ratings that would prevail throughout the first few months of opening. In late 2025, we would send a team to develop the long-term ratings that would rule the day looking forward.
I am happy to report that the ratings issued in late March are in order.
As proof, throughout the first two months of opening there was only one day when the ratings didn’t quite match up with reality . . . and that was a day that was especially windy with the course playing more difficult than normal. Other than that one aberration, the ratings have remained in order.
So, what did we see that day in mid-March?
We saw what you see on a regular basis. That is, a fun course built, in part, for the wind. A picturesque course that features especially wide fairways and firm greens of varying sizes.
The ratings came out as follows:
Men’s Rating Tees Women’s Rating
74.3/132 Pro X
72.7/129 Orange X
70.9/124 Blue 77.1/131
68.3/118 White 74.3/125
64.1/102 Gold 68.9/115
60.7/98 Green 64.5/99
We’ll see how they hold up!