Played in a tournament on July 12th. Conditions were great (DUH), course is challenging but fair to various skill levels. But that's not why I'm writing.
This is more about the esoteric aspects of pl... Continue »

Played in a tournament on July 12th. Conditions were great (DUH), course is challenging but fair to various skill levels. But that's not why I'm writing.
This is more about the esoteric aspects of playing golf in general and specifically on a course as celebrated as this one.
For people who don't play golf the thought of riding around chasing a little white ball with 3 other people who may or may not be your friends seems pointless. For the rest of us, the prospect of spending 4 or 5 hours in a spectacular setting such as Torrey Pines is something to be relished. I may never get another chance to play at TP but I will not soon forget the spectacular views, the cool ocean breezes, and the chance to pit my modest skills against a PGA caliber course. To stand on the 18th green and think about Tiger sinking that putt to force the playoff in the US Open was priceless.
OK, so I played poorly and almost broke my wrists hitting out of that blasted rough!
But a good walk spoiled?...I don't think so.

Great conditions, great value for SD resident. Teed off at 7:30 and finished right at 1 pm (5 1/2 hrs). Good time to play here.

Great conditions, great value for SD resident. Teed off at 7:30 and finished right at 1 pm (5 1/2 hrs). Good time to play here.

Wow! Narrow fairways, penalizing nasty rough, quick greens that run to the ocean, heavy humid air, wind, and the general difficulty of this place make you realize how truly great Tiger is. Believe i... Continue »

Wow! Narrow fairways, penalizing nasty rough, quick greens that run to the ocean, heavy humid air, wind, and the general difficulty of this place make you realize how truly great Tiger is. Believe it or not the Navy course that Tiger grew up on (same grass on greens and fairways) is very similar to this place and a lot cheaper and surely will help prepare you for Torrey.

Put my name in a little after 11:30 and got off at 1:00 (there was only one other single ahead of me). I thought everything was in great shape, probably one of the better conditions since I've been p... Continue »

Put my name in a little after 11:30 and got off at 1:00 (there was only one other single ahead of me). I thought everything was in great shape, probably one of the better conditions since I've been playing it. I thought that while the rough was not as bad at the US Open I still thought it was thick enough that it would penalize you. The greens had a very good pace on them and the fairways and traps were great as well. Finished in a little over 5 hours which is great considering it was a weekend. This is always worth the green fee for a resident of $49. I look forward to getting back out there.

Played on July 4th, and the fog made it surreal.
The course is playing much more like normal, with the speed of the greens a lot slower than just before the open. The rough is inconsistent, as the... Continue »

Played on July 4th, and the fog made it surreal.
The course is playing much more like normal, with the speed of the greens a lot slower than just before the open. The rough is inconsistent, as there are just a lot of areas to try to get back to a reasonable length.

I am pleased to report the rough has been expertly dealt with and the pace of play has improved to a somewhat tolerable 5 hours. The rough has been cut down to a more uniform 3-4 inches of primary wit... Continue »

I am pleased to report the rough has been expertly dealt with and the pace of play has improved to a somewhat tolerable 5 hours. The rough has been cut down to a more uniform 3-4 inches of primary with a first cut to about 1” to 1.5” inches. This has made a huge difference. The course is making a strong effort to keep carts off of the rough. We were told to get back on the fairway by the marshal. It’s a great idea but so different than normal that we were remiss and properly reprimanded. The logic behind the no carts in the rough is to keep the rough pristine. The primary is perfect. It is deep, thick and very difficult to advance much beyond 60 to 100 yards, but the ball is usually readily findable (most of the time). This is Torrey’s true defense. Sure it’s long but if you play the back tees and can’t hit a tee shot 265 yards minimum you will have a miserable time regardless. If you play the tees that match your game your experience will be much better. The greens were great. They are watered and therefore soft and very receptive. The “U. S Open” greens playing to a 12-13 are gone. They are rolling about a 10-11 but still true. Even as soft as they are currently playing if you have a chip shot out of the rough it just won’t hold and will roll out. The same shot from the fairway will stick. The fairways are in peak condition as are most of the tees. Overall I would say Torrey South is playing just about perfect. I give my congratulations to the course manager and personnel for a job well done.

Here’s the deal. Played it 3 times since the Open. Greens are great, but unrepaired ball marks are back, unbelievably some bunkers have footprints. Too bad. It’s hard to find the rakes in the rough I ... Continue »

Here’s the deal. Played it 3 times since the Open. Greens are great, but unrepaired ball marks are back, unbelievably some bunkers have footprints. Too bad. It’s hard to find the rakes in the rough I guess. The rough is that impossible. Really you had to look for the rakes at times because you couldn’t see them either. Now that carts have been all over the rough you cannot find your ball. Played last Friday, carts weren’t allowed in the rough and you could still find it. Now the rough is matted down if you get lucky you can see your ball. Unlucky and you have to find it by feel (if you can) because you absolutely cannot see it if I you ball sinks under the matted down grass. In addition to that the pace of play has slowed down considerably. Fridays round was right at 5 hours. Saturdays round was 5hrs 45 minutes. Mondays was 6hrs 15 minutes. On Friday the play was spread out, really didn’t wait on any tees, the course just was just playing that tough. On Friday the groups went out every 15 minutes, now the groups are out every 10 minutes. On #2 there were already 2 groups waiting when we finished #1. On the third hole three groups were waiting. The course didn’t get paced out until around #12. It’s the rough that’s holding up play. When a couple of players in a group hit it in the rough they can easily fall a ½ a hole behind in a heartbeat. The first and 2nd cut of rough is growing out and it doesn’t appear that they will keep it that way. I suspect the 1st & 2nd cuts are being allowed to grow out a little in anticipation of lowering the rough to a standard length. I found out you can hire a forecaddie for $140. If you can afford it you might want to consider it if you want to try to enjoy your round. Losing your ball in a 10’ square patch of rough is no fun. One of our players in our group actually lost his ball after hitting it all of 6 yards back towards the fairway. No kidding. When he went back to drop he almost lost it again! Talk about being frustrated. In my opinion now that the course it is not playing like a US Open course (soft greens, matted down rough and really really really slow play) it just may not be worth it to play. If you do be prepared to play very slow or you won’t enjoy it at all. I had a friend come out from Florida to play. He was really excited to get to play, but by the end of the day (6hr15min) the day was not enjoyable. Playing one more time tomorrow, and if the pace of play doesn’t improve I’m done with TP for a while.

Played 6/20/2008. Greens have been watered since the open and have softened and can hold shots allot better. They are also slowing down the greens to around a 10 or 11, but they are rolling out great.... Continue »

Played 6/20/2008. Greens have been watered since the open and have softened and can hold shots allot better. They are also slowing down the greens to around a 10 or 11, but they are rolling out great. The rough has been mowed, but not lowered much if any. The first and second cut of rough you can advance the ball, the primary rough is completely dependent on the lay. It's a little noisy around some greens with workers taking down the tents and grandstands. The back "Black" tees were not set up. The blue tee boxes on # 12, 15, & 18 were really on the white tee boxes. I sure hope they keep the course maintained because right now it is super.

This course is very close to US Open conditions. Course is in great shape. I spoke with one of the lead greenskeepers who said the rough is at US Open length - they just want to get it denser. Keep... Continue »

This course is very close to US Open conditions. Course is in great shape. I spoke with one of the lead greenskeepers who said the rough is at US Open length - they just want to get it denser. Keep this in mind before you play. You may think you want to play a US Open course, but you may end up miserable. One of the members of my foursome quit after the 6th hole, and he was number 1 in line this morning - got up pretty early to play 6 holes. If you are in the rough, most will only hit it 50-100 yards, and who knows what direction. When the rough is normal, Torrey can be fun. With the current conditions, it's brutal and extremely challenging.

If you are spraying the ball, my first suggestion is wait to play Torrey until after the Open, when the rough is not impossible. If you still want to play US Open rough, then bring several dozen golf balls - no kidding!

Also, please play the tees appropriate for your handicap. If not, you are punishing yourself along with everyone else trying to play in less than 5 hours. In these conditions, unless you are a very good amateur or pro, please add 8-15 to your handicap to get a realistic estimate for this track. Think I'm wrong? If you are an 15, you won't break 100.