Played Torrey Pines for the first time ever today, and chose the South, because the North greens were aerated a couple weeks ago. I was very pleased. Conditions were great, especially for a municipal ... Continue »

Played Torrey Pines for the first time ever today, and chose the South, because the North greens were aerated a couple weeks ago. I was very pleased. Conditions were great, especially for a municipal course, particularly one that gets as much play as this one does (perhaps more than any muni in the country). Greens, fairways, rough, tees, bunkers, all were great. Was it the nicest conditions I’ve ever seen? No. But was it as good or better than most public courses? Yes.

Now when it comes to the green fees, the tune changes. They severely overprice the South course (and the North, if I had to guess), due to their claim to fame of hosting an annual PGA Tour event (both courses) and two recent US Opens (South course). But more than that, the difference in price between San Diego resident rates and non resident rates is simply ridiculous. If you are a SD resident, the prices aren’t that bad. But if you are not, expect to pay 3-4x more, including 50% more on the advance booking fee alone. From that standpoint, I understand, and almost can’t blame them – give reasonable prices to the residents, so as to give them priority and favoritism. But for non residents, it’s flat out price gouging. But hey, supply and demand, right? If that price structure works for them, then more power to them.

Played in a mens club event this past weekend and played North on Saturday but I didn't review that since they are punching the greens today and tomorrow. Teed off on the South and we finished right ... Continue »

Played in a mens club event this past weekend and played North on Saturday but I didn't review that since they are punching the greens today and tomorrow. Teed off on the South and we finished right at 4:30 so the pace wasn't too bad.

Greens were pretty good. I thought some of the speed of the greens were a little inconsistent. Some seemed to roll out more than others. Given the amount of play there are some ball marks that were poorly repaired so we fixed our fair share.

Fairways are good no real complaint here. Kinda what I expected with the summer. Some good and some so so. I don't think there are any really bad areas in the fairways that I recall. Pretty good roll out and cut nicely.

Rough is down. A couple of sketchy lies but generally you could probably hit anything you want. Again because of the summer I'd say there seems to be more areas impacted. There are some bare lies and some good lies in the rough.

Bunkers are ok. Some seemed good others seemed like they were a little wet. Still unsure why there is more sand on the face of the bunkers because there were some lies that were buried in the face. I did post a picture of a lie on the greenside bunker on 4.

Tee boxes were decent, par 3s have a little more wear and tear but there was always a spot to tee it up from.

Overall enjoyable with the North being down for maintenance its certainly worth a look at playing.

Experienced Torrey Pines GC - South on an Amazing T-Tuesday! Played from the Black tees (Tips), and it was a tremendous test of golf. Thanking the Golf Gods my game was firing on all cylinders on t... Continue »

Experienced Torrey Pines GC - South on an Amazing T-Tuesday! Played from the Black tees (Tips), and it was a tremendous test of golf. Thanking the Golf Gods my game was firing on all cylinders on this day. The course was in very good condition overall. I again note the course layout is rated a 5 out of 5, conditions are rated a 4.45 out of 5. I note the following: Tee Boxes: Level and lush, no damage Fairways: Green, lush, and at times tight, no damage Greens: Green, very firm, fast, no damage Sand: Well maintained, soft and heavy, very consistent Rough and Waste Areas: Tall rough (over 4 - 5 inches) very penal Driving Range: Improved from last time, as new mats were observed Practice Putting Greens: immaculate POP: 4.75 hours with little wait time experienced TP - South is a True Championship Golf Course with an ocean style layout with many holes running along the Pacific Ocean cliff line, remaining holes are inland with most offering beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean. The course is moderately undulated and does offer some elevation changes. Great for walking if you are fit for the challenge. This walk will certainly activate the quads, hamstrings, and glutes! The layout is very scenic and demanding off the tee and fairway. Premium is placed on hitting fairways and greens, or your ball is eaten by rough or deep bunkers, or a massive cliff. Greens were usually medium in size, firm to all shots, layered, and fast (11ish on this day). Both greens and fairways were strategically bunkered for protection. Course plays longer due to the marine layer, played shots 5 - 10 yards longer than normal yardage. Again, this is a must play golf course, if your willing to pay the premium. Totally worth the money for a special occasion if you have the game for it. Highly endorsed!

Played a couple of times over the last few days. Teed off early in the morning both times. Once at 6:30 with a pace just under 4 hours and the other at 7:30 with a pace at 4:15. Everything is in pr... Continue »

Played a couple of times over the last few days. Teed off early in the morning both times. Once at 6:30 with a pace just under 4 hours and the other at 7:30 with a pace at 4:15. Everything is in pretty good shape. Greens might we a tad bit slower than I expected but probably at a medium pace. With the junior worlds and city am coming up I think they'll pick up some pace. A few ball marks here and there but nothing too bad considering the amount of play it gets.

Fairways are pretty good. Had some decent rollout on well struck drives. A little divot damage but nothing to be overly concerned about. Probably needs to be mowed at some point this upcoming week.

Rough was not penalizing. A little patchy too so there could be some bare lies next to some grass.

Bunkers probably need to be raked. Playing early there were some damp bunkers. I did get a plugged lie on hole 2 and another hole on the back 9. Seems like there is too much sand on the face of the bunkers that it's not able to roll to the bottom of them.

Overall enjoyable rounds. Conditions should continue to improve but times are still difficult to come by.

Played Sat 6/4, 7:30 shotgun. 5:15 round. First time playing here after a few times on the north... and I now understand the allure of Torrey Pines. It's a fantastic layout, that goes around 2 big ... Continue »

Played Sat 6/4, 7:30 shotgun. 5:15 round. First time playing here after a few times on the north... and I now understand the allure of Torrey Pines. It's a fantastic layout, that goes around 2 big inlet canyons that frame the course...and it's visually stunning. Most of the holes are pretty fantastic... a few snoozers, and 18 is certainly a letdown compared to the rest of the course. It is way longer than the North, from the greens, and unlike the previous poster that played the same morning, I'm saying there was a 1-2 club wind by 9am. the 450 yd par 4 12th, dead into the wind, uphill... brutal. Greens were smooth and fast, running a solid 11. Bunkers were very nice and consistent. I'm glad I finally knocked this off my list.

Got lucky and Brian from my SD Golf group had an opening. Saturday, 6/4, at 6:10am. Perfect weather to play, not much wind and not much morning dew. Played the green tees and they were pretty goo... Continue »

Got lucky and Brian from my SD Golf group had an opening. Saturday, 6/4, at 6:10am. Perfect weather to play, not much wind and not much morning dew. Played the green tees and they were pretty good for the most part, a couple of them were not very level, so took a few seconds to search for a good spot. Fairways were good to very good. Good roll and perfect cushion. Traps were very good, a little wet, but played very well, I found four of them greenside and didn't have any problems. Rough was cut down and manageable. Quite a few brown spots, but nothing to worry about, although I only missed one fairway, so didn't seem to be an issue. Greenside rough was just fine, no heavy stuff and not much of an issue. Greens were rolling very well and fast. They held short irons ok, but long irons had 5yds release at least. They were firm and not many ball marks due to how hard they were. $80 resident rate to walk is still great value. POP was 4hrs, we waited quite a bit on the group in front of us which were the first out. Met a couple of really nice guys from my SD Golf group, of course I talked about Greenskeeper with them, so hopefully they will join this group as well. Overall highly recommend for residents. Visitor rates are still too high to justify.

Off at 11 am done at 4 pm. Rough is cut down. Fairways are almost perfect. Bunkers are in fine shape. Greens are firm but accepting, Rolling fast but not smooth, Fully recovered but just slightly bum... Continue »

Off at 11 am done at 4 pm. Rough is cut down. Fairways are almost perfect. Bunkers are in fine shape. Greens are firm but accepting, Rolling fast but not smooth, Fully recovered but just slightly bumping, Hard to make putts when the ball doesn’t track. Chipping area open and in excellent shape, That green was perfect and smooth. Still no holes cut on putting green by clubhouse, But holes with flags on chipping area?

2nd out in the mens club tournament last Thursday and for a while we thought we'd miss the rain but on 17 it started dumping. By the time we reached the green we were taking all our gear off. It was... Continue »

2nd out in the mens club tournament last Thursday and for a while we thought we'd miss the rain but on 17 it started dumping. By the time we reached the green we were taking all our gear off. It was kind of drizzle after that but not bad but was coming down pretty good when I left. Overall the pace was pretty good, I think we finished a little over 4 hours.

Greens were pretty quick even with the overnight rain. On 15 I was about 15ft above the hole and barely tapped it and rolled a good 8 feet by. Putts just seemed to keep rolling. They certainly didn't look that fast. Generally pretty smooth with a few unrepaired ball marks here and there.

Fairways were great but maybe a tad longer with the rain but there were crews out there mowing but mostly seems like it was the rough and not the fairways.

We played lift, clean and place so it rough wasn't bad to hit from but it's pretty juicy. There are some areas that were much thicker than others. Right on 12 and 14 was pretty deep. If we didn't play LCP I definitely would not have attempted some of the shots I did.

I still don't understand why there is so much sand in the bunkers. One of the other guys in our group was in 2 bunkers. Both were completely plugged.

Overall course is shaping up nicely and should be nice to play leading up to the tournament. That is if you a glutton for punishment.

Got lucky and snagged a single spot at 8:30 after lots of looking. I thought the course was in great shape. I played well, for the most part, so that always puts a different light on things, everythin... Continue »

Got lucky and snagged a single spot at 8:30 after lots of looking. I thought the course was in great shape. I played well, for the most part, so that always puts a different light on things, everything was just peachy. Greens rolled well, tees were level, fairways nice, bunkers good, rough thick and nasty.