Lindy Peters, Scott Dietz, David Coddington and the Golf Notes writer, Larry Miller, journeyed down last Sunday to Poppy Hills Golf Course, located in the Monterey area, to play in the NCGA North Valley Zone Championship on Monday. These four players won the opportunity to play in the championship by winning the local Little River qualifying round. The format for the event was that the two best scores were recorded for each team on every hole. A percentage of your handicap was in play. David and Lindy played with two players from the Grass Valley area, and Scott and Larry did likewise. At round’s end, the scorecards were examined to determine the winners for the first day of the event.
Our team came in second to last, scoring a team minus 6. Scott and I played with the winning team, Brad Stewart and Brian Hixson, while Lindy and David played with the other half of the winning team, Bradley Spangler and Jessie Prout. Brad and Brian were both very good golfers. They crushed their drives so long it took me two shots to catch up with them. They were also good putters and good, friendly guys. They shot a team 19 under par. I say winning team, but winning team only for the Poppy Hills round. Tuesday we play at Del Monte Golf Course, just north of Poppy Hills. The winning team for the two-day event, of course, must have the lowest score for the two days. The final winner will appear in the next Golf Notes column.
Poppy Hills Golf Course was nice. The fairways were perfect. No one from my team complained of a bad lie on the fairways. They were completely green and cut to the perfect height. The greens were much larger than at Little River, with much undulation, and quite fast. There was also a plentiful number of sand traps, which I found quite easy to find and not so easy to exit. You could see a glimpse of the ocean through the trees to the west. The weather, because of the course’s proximity to the ocean, is much like Little River. So far I have not seen a single glimpse of the sun nor a patch of blue sky. Somehow, I thought going south it would be warmer, more pleasant. Not so, very much the same as Little River.
David volunteered his electric truck to transport Scott and Larry, while Lindy and his wife traveled together and stayed in nearby Carmel. David, Scott and I rented rooms at the Aura Inn, a motel, halfway between the two golf courses. Word is tomorrow’s course, Del Monte, is not as challenging as Poppy Hills. Smaller greens and more open fairways. Got any advice for us? Too late. By the time you read this, the round is over. Thank you anyway.