Torrey Pines Golf Course is a 36-hole municipal public golf facility on the west coast of the United States, owned by the city of San Diego, California. It sits on the coastal cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean in the community of La Jolla, just south of Torrey Pines State Reserve. Opened 61 years ago in 1957, it was built on the site of Camp Callan, a U.S. Army installation during World War II.
Torrey Pines has two famous 18-hole golf courses, North and South, both designed by William F. Bell (son of noted course architect William P. Bell). The South Course was redesigned by Rees Jones in 2001, and is now 7,698 yards (7,039Â m) in length from the back tees with par at 72. The North Course was redesigned by Tom Weiskopf in 2016, switching the front nine with the back nine so that the famous ocean views are now enjoyed by golfers finishing their rounds.
Since the late 1960s, Torrey Pines has hosted the Farmers Insurance Open on the PGA Tour. Held annually in January or February, the tournament uses both courses for the first two rounds and the South Course for the final two rounds; it was held January 25â€"28 in 2018 and won by Australian Jason Day. Torrey Pines hosts the San Diego City Amateur Golf Championships every June, and the Junior World Golf Championships every July. It hosted the 2008 U.S. Open on the South Course, won by Tiger Woods in sudden-death after an 18-hole playoff versus Rocco Mediate.
Much like Bethpage Black (on Long Island, New York), Torrey Pines has a unique method to ensure continued public access to the course. On weekends, individuals arrive as early as 6 p.m. the prior night to get in line for the first-come, first-served tee times that are given out from sunrise till the first reservations at 7:30 a.m.
The course is named for the Torrey Pine, a rare tree that grows in the wild only along this local stretch of the coastline in San Diego County and on Santa Rosa Island. The logo (illustrated: right) features a salt pruned representation of the tree.
2008 U.S. Open
TORREY PINES GOLF COURSE LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE | GOLF VLOG 6 - We finally made it out on Torrey Pines Golf Course! The fog made it extra challenging but we still had a great time. I ended up shooting a 86, Mike shot an 80. I'm pretty happy with that...
Tiger Woods won this U.S. Open over Rocco Mediate in a 19-hole Monday playoff. After completing the 18-hole playoff on the South Course tied at even par 71, they went to sudden-death on the 91st hole, played on the par-4 7th hole. Mediate had trouble off of the tee and made bogey, while Woods made par to gain his third U.S. Open and fourteenth career major title, which put him just four behind Jack Nicklaus. He birdied the final hole on Sunday to force the playoff and again on Monday to extend it. Woods, age 32, won while playing with a broken leg and torn ACL. Through 2017, it is his most recent major title.
Popular culture
Torrey Pines is a featured golf course in the 1990 computer game Links: The Challenge of Golf, Microsoft Golf 2.0 (1995), Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13.
Scott Peterson, who is now on death row for the murder of his wife Laci, was arrested in the parking lot of Torrey Pines in April 2003.
Major tournaments hosted
The U.S. Open will return to Torrey Pines in 2021.
North Course
The North Course is shorter (from the men's tees) and rated less difficult than the South Course. All measurements made in yards.
South Course
At 7,698 yards (7,039Â m), the South Course is the longest course played in a regular PGA Tour event. All measurements made in yards.
References
External links
- Torrey Pines Golf Course official site
- C.Michael Hogan (2008) "Torrey Pine: Pinus torreyana", Globaltwitcher, ed. N. Stromberg
- Satellite images of Torrey Pines Golf Course
- Torrey Pines Municipal Golf Club
