Torrey Pines - One of Southern California's Finest
Mike Dudurich
Posted 2009-03-27
The ride from Lindbergh Field gives no inkling as to what awaits at the end of that journey. Sure, a glimpse of beautiful downtown San Diego can be seen out the window and make no mistake, it is a beautiful area. But once that’s in the rearview mirror, it’s just a California freeway ride on the way to LaJolla.
And really, all the way to the circular entrance at the Lodge at Torrey Pines, a visitor gets very few hints as to what lies behind that Mobil Four-Star facility.
If you arrive there, as we did, late at night, even when you finally reach your room, darkness precludes any glimpses of the beauty of the South and North courses. Oh yeah, and that Pacific Ocean thing is out there, too!
But when the drapes were opened the next morning, words didn‘t come easily. The view out the window included the fountain in the pond in front of the 18th green on the South, the green ribbon of first fairway that led to the top of a small hill. And from there, nothing but the blue waters of the Pacific.
Torrey Pines is one of those unique resorts that features a pair of daily fee courses, although both carry fees that put them in the high-end category of daily fee layouts. To play the championship South Course (which hosted the 2008 U.S. Open and annually is the host of the PGA Tour’s Buick Invitational) as a visitor, it’s not cheap: $160 during the week, $200 on the weekend.
On the North – which is also used for the Buick – it’s $90 during the week, $113 on the weekend.
Both courses offer twilight rates: $96 and $120 on the South and $54 and $68 on the North. The same rates apply for 9-hole rounds on the two courses. On the South, the rate comes with a “maintenance only” tag and you can only play the back nine on the North.
As previously mentioned, it isn’t cheap, but not much is in LaJolla. But is there value for those big bucks you shelled out in one of the biggest public course pro shops anywhere?
Let’s start with the South. It was turned into a monster for the Open when Rees Jones, aka the Open Doctor made some renovations that made the course much more demanding. Conditions were at their peak when Torrey Pines was in the golf world spotlight in June.
When we played in November, conditions were still good, especially considering the amount of play this place gets. But when you’re actually playing the course and start getting glimpse of the ocean and see a hang glider just off the cliffs or hear a roar and look toward the sky to see an F-15 fighter streaking toward the Pacific on a training mission, course conditions somehow become a little less of an issue.
From the white tees, the South played to a comfortable 6,628 yards. The bright blue skies with almost no breeze made it a perfect day to play. The highlights were easy to determine:
- The 143-yard, par 3 third hole. From an elevated tee, you’re faced with a daunting tee shot which appears to be straight toward the water. The green does sit very near to the coast line and a misjudgement long is a goner. Left or right are not great options, either. It’s hard to remember to make that good swing when you’re standing up there looking at allllll that water.
- The 448-yard par 4 fourth meanders along the coast line on the left making a drive down the right – which avoids the two bunkers near the landing area – the very wise play. Getting onto the green guarantees nothing because the putting surface is severely tilted.
- No. 12 is another big-boy par 4 – 443 yards. It’s a fairly straight tee shot that leads to an uphill second. The green is undulating. But the best part of this hole is that when you stand over your second shot, you look over a green that appears to be rising out of the ocean. You have to convince yourself that the back of the green is not really the end of the earth.
- The 18th, a 498-yard par 5 is straight away, with a good drive forcing you to give thought to going for the green in 2. To do so, the pond in front must be dealt with, as well as one of the most severely sloped greens on the course.
The North plays the role of little brother to the South perfectly. From the whites, it’s a 6,326-yard trip that affords more views of the Torrey Pines Nature Reserve, although you still get enough ocean views to keep your attention.
It obviously doesn’t get the attention in terms of conditioning that the South does, but it’s definitely playable and is better than your average municipal course back home.
My personal highlight here was the sixth hole, another downhill par 3 of 150 yards. The view rivals the third on the South with rugged cliffs, the expanse of the Pacific and crashing waves visible. If you’re lucky, you might see dolphins doing their thing not far from the beach.
Tee times are not easy to get and the system in place to do so is fairly complex. A nice place to start would be the automated reservation system: (619) 570-1234.
Torrey Pines is definitely one of “must-play” place if the opportunity affords itself. The Lodge is big-time, the views are spectacular. But there are definitely reminders that it is a “muni.” There’s a small parking lot, filled to capacity most every day. A cart ride away from the first tees is the practice range, where you hit off mats and the small range is surrounded by tall nets that keep wayward shots from bouncing off windshields on the adjacent street.
San Diego residents can play the South course for less than $50, but make no mistake about it. The BMWs and Audis and Mercedes in that crowded parking lot are a great indication that Torrey Pines is a place that appeals to everybody.
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About Mike...
As a sports writer for over 35 years, Mike Dudurich has seen a lot of great things, covered spectacular events, but his passion is, and has been golf.
He recently ended a 29-year career at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and will now be a frequent contributor on GolfGearReview.com.
Mike hosts a weekly golf radio show on 1250 ESPN in Pittsburgh from the beginning of April through the end of August.
The show airs Saturdays from 8-9 a.m. and can be heard online at http://stations.espn.go.com/stations/espnradio1250/show?showId=insidepghgolf - Listen to Mike Here!.
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