Still the signature hole: The 15th at Torrey Pines North
SAN DIEGO, Calif. (January 1, 2017) -- San Diego
has a lot going for it. The region enjoys some of the
best weather in the world, beautiful beaches,
a great education system, military, high tech, and
biotech employers, sports teams (OK, that
might be a sore topic right now) plus some amazing
municipal golf. I mean, playing a U.S. Open course
(The South) for the city resident rate of under $80 on
the weekend, are you kidding me? And even though
visitors have to shell out $250, at least they can
walk in Tiger Woods' footsteps for half the price of
playing Pebble Beach.
Now that the makeover of Torrey Pines' North
Course is complete, San Diego has arguably the best
36-hole city-owned golf complex in the United
States.
Sure, I'm biased -- I live just 17 miles from the
clubhouse and am a member of the Torrey Pines
Men's Club. I've played dozens of rounds at both
layouts, mostly at the local rate afforded to
members of the 1000-player large group. Whenever
I play either course, I feel a sense of wonder gazing
down the bluffs south towards La Jolla or north
towards Carlsbad. If you've watched the PGA Tour
Farmers Insurance Open on television (or played
Torrey) you know what I mean.
When rumors of a North Course renovation first
started circulating, I doubted it would happen. I
knew the course (especially the greens) needed a
makeover, but figured it was fine having two
"grades" of golf course, with two
different greens fee structures to balance the play
equally between South and North. Now that I've seen
the result, I think the $12.6 million invested was
money well spent. Architect Tom Weiskopf (who got
his first PGA Tour win at Torrey Pines in 1968)
invested the time to listen to the concern of locals,
and the result is a very forgiving layout, especially
off the tee when compared to the South.
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The 18th hole
is now a long par-4 with a much-improved
green |
“There was never a thought in my mind
to compete against the South Course, in difficulty or
challenge or anything like it,” Weiskopf told
the Union Tribune at a recent media day. “We
needed something that was a better, more
modernistic golf course built with the highest
specifications.”
The thing about renovations is that the longer
people have grown accustomed to a layout, the more
critical they can be. It's not uncommon to hear a
local say "they've ruined it" after any
remodel, and I know many people who say that
about the South Course, but I personally think the
Rees Jones design of the South is a masterpiece. But
I can understand people who think it's too tough, or
that the redesign took away some of the charm of
the "old" South Course. At the same
time, I always wrote off their complaints to
nostalgia. And since I didn't have a long history in
San Diego I didn't feel any of that.
But after 14 years of playing Torrey Pines North,
I feel pretty attached to it. I thought it was fine the
way it was, but I recognized the maintenance and
infrastructure issues that needed to be addressed. I
was most concerned that the layout would change
dramatically with the remodel, but it hasn't. The
front and back nines were flipped, so that the North
doesn't start with a par-5 and the most scenic holes
are now on the back nine.
Nothing wrong with that. The only other major
design change was moving the green on the old 8th
hole (No. 17) to the left and further back, creating a
hole that stretches to around 525-yards but which
will still offer great risk and reward -- playing well
on TV or with your foursome's long hitters. Like the
other greens, the 17th green is huge, but it looks
small from the fairway because of the narrow
opening and it's depth. It's a brilliant design that
takes advantage of the canyon that borders the
entire left side of the hole. With trees removed the
hole has a real "resort" feel which I love.
In making that change, Weiskopf had to get a
shot back to keep the par at 72, and he did that at
the 18th hole (old No. 9) where a fairly boring par-5
with one of the worst greens on the course is now a
par-4 that can stretch to almost 500 yards. The
green is much bigger and wider, with a nice variety
of hole locations. It's going to make for a great
finish.
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The devilish
back-left pin placement on the 6th hole
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I loved the small greens on the old North; the
new ones -- which are 20-30% larger -- seemed
gigantic and out of place during my first round. But
the fact is, large greens probably make more sense
at a
municipal layout. And from a pro's perspective, even
though the PGA visits only once a year I have a
feeling they are going to love the options that the
bigger greens bring into play. I'll give you just one
example from my first go around, on the 6th (old 15)
hole. The back-left pin there was always risky to fire
at, even with a short iron. Now, a more pronounced
slope with closely-mown grass and no trees in sight
make for a downright scary approach shot.
The "no trees" is a theme around the
new North, where Weiskopf has removed a large
number of trees and brought in some native areas to
save on water and add a more open look to the
course. And that's probably the thing I like the best
about the remodel. The two courses compliment
each other very well. Play 36-holes over a single day
or multiple days and you're going to enjoy the
variety, whether you choose the middle tees at 6,346
yards or the 7,258 yard pro tees. Don't worry, those
back tees will likely be "special
invitation" as they are on the South, and past
experience tells me, don't bother asking unless you
play on a pro tour someplace.