45th NCGA Zone Championship | Spyglass Hill & Poppy Hills GC | August 27-28, 2012
First played in 1967, the NCGA Zone Championship is a four-person team event for regular clubs. Fourteen regional championships are staged with the champion and runner-up qualifying for the final championship at the end of August.
2011 champions: Benbow GC
Regional Sites: Quail Lodge GC & Poppy Hills GC.
Regional Zone qualifying will play one round at Quail Lodge GC and one round at Poppy Hills GC.
The top two teams from each regional zone will return August 27-28, 2012 for the championship at Spyglass Hill GC & Poppy Hills GC.
ELIGIBILITY: NCGA regular member clubs only (one team). Multi-members can only represent one club. No players under 18 years of age. A numeric handicap index listed on their club’s Master Report on the date of registration not to exceed 36.4 (men) or 40.4 (women).
FORMAT: Best two balls of four. Play will be 90% (men) and 95% (women) of the course handicap using a maximum handicap index of 18.4 for calculation. All players with handicap indexes of 18.5 or above are eligible but must play to a maximum current handicap index of 18.4.
Past Champions
| 1967 | North Ridge CC | 61-60-121 |
| 1968 | Palo Alto Hills GCC | 61-69-120 |
| 1969 | *Del Rio GCC | 60-56-116 |
| 1970 | Palo Alto Hills GCC | 61-60-121 |
| 1971 | *Whitney Ranch National GC | 60-56-116 |
| 1972 | Sunnyvale GC | 62-61-123 |
| 1973 | Butte Creek CC | 61-62-122 |
| 1974 | California GC | 59-60-119 |
| 1975 | Palm Lakes GC | 57-62-119 |
| 1976 | Selma Valley GC | 60-64-124 |
| 1977 | Kings CC | 59-63-122 |
| 1978 | Sunset Whitney GC | 61-63-124 |
| 1979 | Belmont CC | 62-57-119 |
| 1980 | Sequoyah CC | 61-59-120 |
| 1981 | Rancho Del Rey GC | 61-64-125 |
| 1982 | Peninsula GCC | 59-62-121 |
| 1983 | Gold Hills GC | 61-64-125 |
| 1984 | Cobb Meadows GC | 60-58-118 |
| 1985 | Vineyard Knolls GC | 66-58-124 |
| 1986 | Tularcitos GCC | 58-64-123 |
| 1987 | Fort Washington GCC | 63-61-124 |
| 1988 | Corral de Tierra CC | 62-57-119 |
| 1989 | Boulder Creek GC | 60-61-121 |
| 1990 | Swenson Park GC | 57-57-114 |
| 1991 | Bing Maloney GC | 61-59-120 |
| 1992 | Riverside GC | 59-59-118 |
| 1993 | Churn Creek GC | 124-121-245 |
| 1994 | Sacramento GC | 120-118-238 |
| 1995 | Creekside GC | 119-117-236 |
| 1996 | Valley Oaks GC | 114-118-232 |
| 1997 | Cherry Island GC | 118-120-238 |
| 1998 | Lemoore GC | 122-121-243 |
| 1999 | Bayonet/Black Horse | 128-126-254 |
| 2000 | Sierra View of Visalia | 124-122-246 |
| 2001 | Brentwood GC | 120-117-237 |
| 2002 | Champions GC | 123-117-240 |
| 2003 | Kings CC | 124-121-245 |
| 2004 | Summitpointe CC | 125-124-249 |
| 2005 | Redwood Empire GCC | 124-124-248 |
| 2006 | Oakdale GCC | 122-118-240 |
| 2007 | Shelter Cove | 123-119-242 |
| 2008 | Plumas Lake | 123-123-246 |
| 2009 | Monterey Peninsula CC | 130-124-254 |
| 2010 | Plumas Lake | 119-138-257 |
| 2011 | Benbow | 130-117-247 |
About Poppy Hills
Poppy Hills No. 5
Poppy Hills is a challenging golf course that weaves through the Del Monte Forest. The venue plays host to many prominent tournaments including the PGA Tour’s AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, in early February. A 2007 Zagat Survey ranked Poppy Hills the 12th “Most Popular Course” in the U.S, and the layout was named “National Course of the Year” in 2006 by the National Golf Course Owners Association.
The Robert Trent Jones Jr. design opened in 1986 and is the home course for the NCGA. It was the first course in the United States to be owned and operated by an amateur golf association. The par-72 layout measures 6,857 yards from the black tees with a slope rating of 74.3/144. Matt Gogel holds the course record of 62. There are four teeing areas on each hole, making Poppy Hills enjoyable for all levels of play.
Poppy Hills Course Tour | Get driving directions
About Spyglass Hill GC
Spyglass Hill No. 14
Ranked number five on “America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses” list by Golf Digest for 2003-2004. Spyglass Hill was designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr., as a part of the master plan for the Pebble Beach ocean front between Cypress Point and Pebble Beach. Opened in 1966, the design features two distinctly different kinds of terrain that influence the way the holes look and play.
The first five holes roll through sandy seaside dunes challenging the golfer to carefully pick the safest path. The following 13 holes are cut through pine trees with elevated greens and strategically placed bunkers and lakes to grab the errant shot. Spyglass Hill is rated one of the toughest courses in the world from the Championship tees, boasting a course rating of 75.5 and a slope rating of 147. The PGA Tour consistently lists Spyglass Hill’s holes 6, 8 and 16 among the toughest on the tour, and during the 1999 United States Amateur, the stroke average of the field during medal play was in excess of 79.