By Jason Bruno
A few years back, the Northern California Golf Association (NCGA) was planning to make significant changes to Poppy Ridge, its 30-year-old Rees Jones design just east of San Francisco in the town of Livermore, California. The 27-hole facility needed a complete overhaul, but who was the right architect and person for the job? After all of the proposals and bids, they narrowed the candidates down to two. The original course designer Rees Jones, Don Knott and Bay Area resident Jay Blasi.
The real choice was whether to stick with the status quo and give Rees another bite at the apple, or choose the bold and progressive ideas of Blasi (who was the project architect at Chambers Bay while with RTJ II Design). Blasi’s solo projects include the renovation of Sentry World, Santa Ana, Lakeside-Houston, and the latest community fun factory in the Bay Area, Golden Gate Park. The two approaches to golf design couldn’t be more opposed… and how each planned to solve the macro dilemma at Poppy Ridge would be telling.
As they say on draft day, the NCGA was “on the clock”. Although Rees Jones had designed hundreds of courses over his 50-year career in the industry, it was Blasi that knew the key to transforming the site was in correcting the inefficient existing routing… and when he solves the puzzle, the potential for the golf course would be off the charts. The land had everything to be one of California’s finest, certainly in the upper echelon of public access, affordable places to play… but the original layout was unwalkable.
Jay Blasi grew up playing golf on public courses in Madison, Wisconsin, so the value of a worthy public asset for all ages and demographics is a high priority to him both personally and professionally. The grand ideas on how to feature the land’s brilliant vistas and dramatic 200 feet of elevation changes would be the easy part, but wouldn’t matter if the routing remained dysfunctional. This act of fitting and connecting pieces of land, so it all flows, is an intangible to the layman, and even to accomplished players, but it’s what separates designers from architects. Blasi is an architect, and this process of “Parcel Tetris” is sacred to him. At Poppy Ridge, Blasi figured out how to soften transitions and connect holes, thus eliminating 2000 yards of the green to tee walk (when playing from the 6500-yard tees). This was music to the ears of the NCGA board; they awarded Blasi the job, and in May of 2024, the project began. On February 11th, 2025, we visited the site and walked all 18 holes with Blasi during grow-in. It was an enlightening experience to get first-hand, early impressions and details of the project. There’s nothing quite like walking or playing a golf course with the mind that created what you’re experiencing.
We returned 104 days later to experience the course with colleagues in the industry, and just a few days later, on May 31st, 2025, the transformed Poppy Ridge opened to the public. Below are a few holes that we chose to highlight:
172 yard Par 3 – Third (blue tees)
The par 3 third hole grabbed me the first time I saw it during the grow-in phase. There’s so much happening in the design, you could play it several times and never grasp the genius of it all. It features the biggest green on the course, and can play from 106 yards to nearly 200! The greenside bunkers along the right hide a previously created pond (leftover from the old design) that may be functional as a drainage component, but it doesn’t fit in with the natural landscape. On this day, the sideboard between the path and the green acted as a cheat code, feeding shots directly towards the hole location.
362 yard Par 4 – Sixth
The sixth hole is a fun short par 4 inspired by Blasi’s recent travels to New Zealand – specifically the 12th at Waverley GC. A well-placed tee shot to the right center leaves a proper angle to this uphill punchbowl green that offers several feeder slopes to get your ball close.
324 yard Par 4 – Ninth
The short par 4 ninth can be drivable with the right conditions. This hole is more interesting up a box, playing 300 yards downhill and downwind, making the carry number over the menacing fairway bunker around 250 yards. The hole location is another variable to consider when contemplating whether “the juice is worth the squeeze”.
A closer look illustrates how essential it is to carry the fairway bunker when taking on the risk/reward proposition. Playing the tee shot down the right provides a chance to reach the putting surface (and to avoid the water to the left). A subtle rise that bisects the middle part of this green only adds to the challenge.
As we show off some holes on the back nine, this compelling journey amps up as you near the finish. The winds blow in this part of the Golden State, so you’ll have all that you want to challenge you. Anticipating and observing those winds, Blasi provided extreme width on what feels like a massive-sized ballpark, but there is some strategy built into those wide landing areas. . . advantages are provided to those that solve where to leave yourself with the proper angles into the targets. All 18 greens have options to feed the ball towards the hole location, and it’s through these portals and hollows that he created an intimate feel in certain parts of the course. Take a moment on each hole to soak in the beauty of the place, especially the magnificent 360-degree views of the mountains and adjacent vineyards of the Livermore Valley Wine Country, but also take notice of what was created under your feet. Reminiscent of the finest designs treasured throughout the world, Poppy Ridge is now a minimalist “inland links”, meaning what happens after the ball lands is just as important as how you send it there. I know the phrase “inland links” sounds disengenuous, but go play this newbie and tell me otherwise.
415 yard Par 4 – Eleventh
The par-4 eleventh hole is a stunner, playing over rolling terrain with the hills showing off as the ideal background. The small bunker that fronts the green is the aggressive line off the tee, the larger bunkers in the distance are on the sixth hole. The approach is played over a deep swale to a green that tilts back to front. A backboard feeder slope can be employed here.
184 yard Par 3 – Fourteenth
This medium-length one-shotter was the key to the entire routing, according to Blasi. This beauty plays over a dry creek and native scrub to an elevated green that’s partially hidden from view. A ginormous slope on the left will feed shots down onto the green. The bunkers short right of the green aren’t the worst place to recover from. This par 3 is an instant classic.
418 yard Par 4 – Fifteenth
The drama continues to build, and here at the fifteenth, shades of Prairie Dunes require your two best swings of the day.
358 yard Par 4 – Sixteenth
Another epic matchplay hole here at the sixteenth. As the crow flies from the blue tees, this shorty plays under 300 yards, and with the proper wind, mortals can give it a go. I played it the conventional way, going 5 wood/lob wedge each time (3 spins around). Conversely, in our one round together, the architect safely reached and poured in the eagle putt to grab the momentum in a key four-ball match that we had back in May.
133 yard Par 3 – Seventeenth
The short seventeenth is another gorgeous par 3. Who doesn’t love one of these at the end of a round with the match on the line? A chance for some serious heroics. Playing severely downhill, 133 yards here plays more like 115. For anyone who has played Cal Club, this hole has a similar profile in terms of elevation, distance and the shallow design of the back-to-front sloped green. It’s an equation of finesse elements, at this distance you’re going right at it, but do you hit a 3/4 gap wedge or rip a sand wedge, possibly risking too much spin? Getting it close will require the right choice and precise execution. It’s not a tough par, but greed may lead to some volatility here.
The contours on the greens are subtle, but the surrounds are bold and begging you to use them. The overall theme is a great experience regardless of your age or ability level. Blasi drew inspiration from some of his recent travels around the globe in designing this public access instant Must-Play. The course can be set up for any type of championship with six tee options, but Blasi created a pathway for Poppy Ridge to host some big-time events in the future. The course can be a 7,350-yard par-70 setup.
“Our new 18-hole golf course is completely different from the old concept, so it’s a new and thrilling experience for all,” Blasi said. First-timers will be taken by the beauty of the site and the surrounding views, and how the course fits the landscape. For regulars who knew Poppy Ridge before, I would hope they’d appreciate the newfound walkability, playability, and variety of the layout. Given the windy nature of the site and the dramatic elevation changes, the fairways are quite wide, ranging from 40 to 60 yards, with a few areas as wide as 100 yards. Having them wide allows the everyday player to get around, but at the same time, there is contouring that the best players can use to attack strategically.”
Often overlooked, but an essential part of any course renovation happens on the Agronomic side, Josh Lewis expertly selected and handled the grow-in responsibilities with Poppy Ridge Superintendent Jeffrey Mason. The new playing surfaces – Santa Ana Bermuda tees and fairways, play exactly as Blasi intended – firm and fast, the ground game is a significant factor at the new Poppy Ridge. The new Prestige Bentgrass putting surfaces roll true and will be an upgrade to the greens that many locals play. Poppy Ridge also has a newly renovated practice facility, short game area and a 17,000-square-foot putting green.
I can personally think of a few dozen highly rated courses that should look to Jay to perform a transformation like he did at Poppy Ridge.
*The club’s other 9-hole layout is a shorter nine-hole course called “The Ridge 9”. The par 34 design is comprised of holes from the original Merlot course and plays from 1,950 to 3,000 yards. We hope that one day the NCGA decides to make this parcel of the site into something as special as the new Blasi layout.
The NGCA has more than 220,000 members who can play Poppy Ridge at significantly reduced rates as a benefit of membership. It’s a new era for those Bay Area locals, they can walk the course during the week for $70 – (NCGA’s other course is Poppy Hills in Pebble Beach).
For more information: https://poppyridgegolf.ncga.org/
