Robert Trent Jones II Renovations Earn Impressive Awards

Poppy Hills, SentryWorld Named To 2014 “Best” Lists By Major Publications

(Palo Alto, Calif.) – Two renovations by Robert Trent Jones II Golf Architects (RTJ II) – at Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach and SentryWorld Golf Club in Wisconsin – have been named to the “Best of the Year” lists by both GOLF and Golf Digest magazines.

Poppy Hills, originally built by Robert Trent Jones Jr. in 1986, is named 2014 “Best Semi-Private Renovation” by GOLF in its January edition, which followed an honor for best Newly Remodeled Courses by Golf Digest in November. SentryWorld, an RTJ II original from 1989, also earned an honor for best Newly Remodeled Courses by Golf Digest in November.

Poppy Hills, owned and operated by the Northern California Golf Association, began its extensive, 13-month renovation in March 2013, reopening for public play on April 4, 2014. Each hole was returned to its natural elevation along the forest floor, doglegs and contours were softened, and all 18 greens were redesigned.

Jones introduced native waste areas that help reduce irrigated turf by nearly 25 percent. Drainage and irrigation were updated, and the entire course was sand capped, further promoting firm and fast conditions year-round.

Co-host of AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am from 1991 to 2009, Poppy Hills returned to tour competition only five months after reopening, hosting the 2014 Nature Valley First Tee Open, a Champions Tour event.

SentryWorld, which blazed the trail as Wisconsin’s first destination golf course, was renovated in 2013 by the RTJ II team. Upgrades, improvements, and changes to the 200-acre course included everything from its layout, greens, turfgrasses, and bunkers, to its irrigation system and water features.
Regarded as the premier parkland golf course in the state, SentryWorld is wall-to-wall turf, except for No. 16, its famous “flower hole.”

These are among the latest honors for RTJ II courses, which have appeared on all of the most respected “best of the best” rankings for the past five decades. A global leader and innovator in all aspects of golf course design, from master planning through design implementation, RTJ II serves as a trustee of the great tradition of golf course architecture. Its passion and commitment is to building environmentally responsible golf courses that are challenging, innovative, and enjoyable to play.