Poppy Ridge Golf Course

Thanks to the immense success of building Poppy Hills in 1986, the Northern California Golf Association’s (NCGA) ambitions grew, and it decided to become the first golf association to own and operate multiple golf courses. Ten years after opening Poppy Hills in Monterrey, the southern portion of the association’s jurisdiction, the NCGA opened Poppy Ridge, a 27-hole facility in Livermore, California, more central to the populous San Francisco and Sacramento areas of its membership. 

The golf association hired one of the most in-demand architects of the era, Rees Jones, to lay out the 27 holes on a rugged site. The course opened to strong reviews, but over time, its flaws were exposed. The organization, which hosts a full slate of tournaments, could not use Poppy Ridge because Jones had failed to route a walkable golf course. On top of the severity of the walk, Poppy Ridge, like many of Jones’ courses, had a reputation for being an overly penal slog for beginning golfers.

These flaws led the NCGA to discuss the idea of reimagining Poppy Ridge in the early 2020s. A request for proposal led the association to Bay Area-based Jay Blasi, who previously worked for Rees Jones’ brother, Robert Trent Jones Jr., and for the past decade had been building a healthy book of solo work which includes the redesign of Santa Ana Country Club, Lakeside (Houston) Country Club, and the popular Golden Gate Park short course in San Francisco. Blasi had an ambitious plan to revamp the property through earthwork to deliver a walkable golf course that catered to every level of golfer.  

Blasi’s redesign started in May 2024 and was opened to the public at the end of May 2025. The transformed 18-hole course has immediately become one of the most compelling public courses in the San Francisco area. The property, which features over 200 feet of elevation change, is dramatic but required a lot of work to construct a walkable routing. Most of the earthmoving came in the space between the tees and greens, softening slopes to lose some of the severity. This drama in the land produces some epic views of the neighboring wineries and mountains. 

On top of the scenery and walkability, Blasi was able to infuse Poppy Ridge with a number of compelling and strategic golf holes. To accommodate a wide range of skills, Blasi created a great deal of width, which allows the more accomplished player to seek lines that open up more advantageous angles into greens. 

Players are greeted with this dynamic on the first hole. The par-5 opener plays over a big ridge and offers 80 yards of width. Players looking to get home in two have to contend with a subtle but effective feature, a tiny ridge that runs down the middle of the fairway into the green. If you want to find the green with a running shot, you must get left of the ridge and contend with a large bunker, or your ball will run away from the green to the right. Clever design features such as this are found throughout the golf course. Blasi’s work has created a wonderful golf course which is accessible and affordable for all with greens fees under $70 during the week.

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