North Course Watch

Reader Marty notes that there were only four rounds over par during round 1 play at Torrey Pines's North Course.

 

Bryce Molder, Jerry Kelly, J. P. Hayes shot 73 and David Podas shot 76. Everybody else (74 players) matched or beat par.

Naturally, this will lead to the inevitable calls that the course is too easy and needs a renovation. Even though the North functions beautifully 51 weeks a year, someone is bound to declare that it has become outdated by today's "better athletes."

 

Let's see if anyone writes a North Course obit, or at least laments that Rees Jones didn't get to flick his magic wand on this outdated gem. 

"Only four of the top 20"

Brian Hiro in the North County Times points out that the Buick Invitational features "only four of the top 20 players in the world rankings: Woods (No. 1), Mickelson (No. 4), Vijay Singh (No. 6) and Jose Maria Olazabal (No. 19)."

Now, if I'm not mistaken, this is the final year before the 2008 U.S. Open when the South will be played three of four days. Isn't the North supposed to be the weekend course next year? Or did that idea fizzle out?

Do the players hate it that much, or are they just not that interested in understand local knowledge anymore? 

"It's probably not as fun to play day in and day out as it was, but that's what you have to have to be able to host a U.S. Open."

Thanks to reader David for catching this from Phil Mickelson's gathering with the media Wednesday:

Q. Can you talk about your feelings having the U.S. Open here in San Diego and some of the changes that are going to be made to the course?

PHIL MICKELSON: Well, I love that we're hosting the U.S. Open. I think that San Diego has needed that, or I think it'll just really do a lot for the game of golf in the area. So I'm so excited that it did get the U.S. Open. The golf course is very difficult to play. It's probably not as fun to play day in and day out as it was, but that's what you have to have to be able to host a U.S. Open. It's one of the hardest golf courses I've ever seen day in and day out, 7,600 yards at sea level, it's just very difficult.

Ruin a servicable municipal golf course for one week of play. And why is that again? Oh right, red numbers are embarrassing. What a shame.

Torrey's Kikuyu Conversion

The transition of Torrey Pines to kikuyu grass probably could not have come at a worse time, what with our super dry and cold fall here in Southern California.  Ed Zieralski talks to Torrey director of operations Mark Woodward...

“On the North, we didn't really have the focus we did on the South Course because of the U.S. Open being played there,” Woodward said. “The North is going to be set up for tents. We also had some irrigation problems on the North, and the rye grass overseeding didn't take. Those are the big spots that are off color.”

Woodward said more problems came when a chemical used to kill clover stunted the grass even more after it was applied.

“It was a situation where, it wasn't a bad decision, but under coastal conditions and at this time of year, we should have used a different product out there,” Woodward said.

A PGA official refused to comment yesterday on the course's present conditions. Wilson was asked if the PGA was disappointed with Torrey's off-peak conditions.

“We're going to suffer this year and not have that lush rough that we had in the past, but it's going to help in the future (to) provide a challenging course for many years to come for the Buick Invitational as well as the U.S. Open,” Wilson said. 

Latest On Torrey

Tod Leonard reports on the latest from Torrey Pines, where the situation doesn't sound much better. Love the lead.

Golf World: Troubles At Torrey Pines

John Strege pens this week's excellent Golf World cover story on Torrey Pines (but only found at ESPN.com!?) and wins this month's prize for best lead (because I know how much he'll appreciate it, he will be getting a year-long subscription to Mother Jones ).

Anyway, the lead:

Where to begin in this sordid saga of politics and passion that has provoked an uncivil war in San Diego and is sucking the euphoria from Torrey Pines GC's imminent appointment with history? The South Course renovation? Fait accompli. The North Course redesign? Tabled. A new clubhouse? A tournament support building? Expensive minutiae.

So let's begin with the strip club.

Strege ably covers the entire saga, but these comments from David Fay left me wondering something:

The sunny disposition that the city's claim largely is based on has taken its leave in the wake of this growing rift. "I won't say it's a Hatfield and McCoy situation," says USGA executive director David Fay, who has rejected overtures to enter the fray. "It hasn't gotten that bad. But it's definitely a family feud. I think there's a compromise position. What that is, I don't know."

And...

"Being a resident of New Jersey," Fay says, "I'm no stranger to squabbles involving municipalities. This is a San Diego issue that not only elected and appointed officials have to sort through, but also the citizens. I can't control the perception. It would not surprise me that some might look at the 2008 Open and wish it weren't being played at Torrey Pines, but that's not unique, either. It happens at every club, every championship we go to, even Winged Foot [site of the 2006 Open]. We had that at Bethpage, too. But it's definitely a minority."

Now, he says this is something for the people of San Diego and for the USGA not to involve itself in. As with many things the Executive Director says, he makes great sense...on the surface. But when you dig deeper...

The erosion of trust had begun and inevitably rumors followed. The Friends of Torrey Pines was said to be behind the North redesign, that to entice the USGA to return with, say, a U.S. Amateur, a strong 36 holes would be required. "I heard that," says Jay Rains, who heads the Friends of Torrey Pines and later became a member of the USGA Executive Committee. "The Friends of Torrey Pines is dedicated only to the U.S. Open in 2008."

My understanding is that the Friends of Torrey Pines continues to include Jay Rains, who is still also on the USGA Executive Commitee.

So wouldn't the USGA have an interest to get involved with someone so involved in both organizations? Or is it an obligation to get involved? Especially considering the millions it will rake in at the 2008 Open? Is that enough rhetorical questions?

Torrey Pines Saga, Vol. 3012

Tod Leonard reports on the "Natural Resources and Culture Committee" meeting to iron out kinks in the five-year golf proposal that would have benefited everyone but the everyday Torrey Pines golfers.

The San Diego City Council chamber was packed yesterday with golfers voicing their distaste for the five-year proposal on the operation of Torrey Pines and the city's other golf courses. And though they couldn't claim a victory when the Natural Resources & Culture Committee meeting was over, they walked away with the hope of compromise positions and resolution after months of rancorous debate.

The NR&C came to few conclusions – two, to be exact – after more than three hours of testimony. It voted to support a 70 percent to 30 percent resident-to-visitor ratio at Torrey Pines and to create a separate capital improvement fund for a future Torrey Pines clubhouse.

And... 

Councilwoman Toni Atkins said she wanted a more detailed breakdown of the city's assessment of how much it costs per round to maintain the golf courses. She also said she is sympathetic to the concerns of the Torrey Pines men's and women's clubs, which stand to lose half of their current tee times in a proposal made by Mayor Jerry Sanders.

Leonard On Torrey Pines

Tod Leonard notes some progress for Torrey Pines golfers, but also makes clear that significant rate hikes after the 2008 U.S. Open are on the table:

Gone from this current draft is at least $9.5 million of debt that would have been incurred by constructing a new clubhouse few were clamoring for. (A parking lot renovation of about $4 million is still in play.)

Gone is a proposal for a significant hike in junior fees, which would have hampered city high school golf programs.

Sullivan on Torrey Pines

The San Diego Union Tribune's Tim Sullivan looks at the snowballing situation at Torrey Pines, where the mayor is now joining the fight over course access and a new clubhouse.

“I would support a recall of the mayor,” Paul Spiegelman said yesterday. “I'm really troubled when a man talks about sunshine and hatches deals in back rooms. I'm very concerned that the process is being manipulated by some very wealthy people.”

Spiegelman, co-founder of the 1,200-member San Diego Municipal Golfers Alliance, says anyone who supports the five-year city golf plan Sanders put forward last week is “betraying the public.” He said his organization is considering recall petitions and weighing whether to request that the United States Golf Association revoke the 2008 U.S. Open from Torrey Pines South.

All this over tee times and greens fees and the machinations of millionaires. Torrey Pines might be the city's prettiest place, but it is also a political mine field.

 And...

Figuratively, at least, Torrey Pines is a spot that has long suffered from political neglect. Contracts have been signed in clear violation of legal settlements and, arguably, the city charter. Private interests have persistently encroached on public land. Plans have been formulated by a privileged few and implemented over the objections of the Average Joe. Cynicism runs rampant.

Among some of Torrey Pines' most frequent players, Sanders' plan is consistent with a pattern in which the little guy keeps getting squeezed for the sake of a grandiose vision advantageous for the adjoining hotels and the Century Club. Those interests, in turn, question the entitlement of entities such as the Torrey Pines Men's and Women's Clubs and, specifically, of Spiegelman, who averages almost three rounds per week.

Torrey Pines (Collateral)

Should you ever wonder if your city, county, state or federal government were acting in a peculiar manner, take heart, there's always the City of San Diego and its corruption woes to warm your heart.

It was one thing to try and push through a clubhouse redo for the 2008 even though the golfers don't care. But this, this is downright wacky:

City Attorney Michael Aguirre was stunned to find out this week that the North Course at the Torrey Pines golf complex was being used as collateral to pay off bonds. It turns out he was only scratching the surface.

Aguirre said yesterday he discovered in his review of city documents that the Torrey Pines South Course – the site of the 2008 U.S. Open – and Balboa Park Golf Course are also being used as collateral and could conceivably be lost should the financially troubled city default on the bonds or file for bankruptcy.

“All of the golf courses are at risk, and none of this was told to the public,” Aguirre said. “It's just incredible.”

Under the current terms, more than $42 million in debt needs to be paid before all three courses are clear of their obligation. The bond tied to the South Course was $18 million, as of the end of the fiscal year in June 2005, and the terms run through fiscal year 2011. The North Course bond was $15.7 million at the end of the last fiscal year and goes until 2009. Balboa Park is committed until 2022 on a debt of $9.5 million.

Torrey Clubhouse Saga, Vol. 59

Craig Gustafson writes about the golfers of San Diego widely rejecting a fee increase to help pay for improvements, including a new clubhouse that would be funded by suckers out of town guests paying exorbitant green fees.

Torrey Pine$

Tod Leonard reports on the looming fight over a huge green fee increase at Torrey Pines.

At the top of his list of concerns are the increase in green fees and the funding for a new clubhouse. City Golf Manager Mark Woodward is proposing hiking green fees for residents as much as 57 percent on the North Course by 2011 and 75 percent on the South. Woodward has said the increases will pay for the maintenance of the golf courses, while higher out-of-town rates will fund the new clubhouse. In the proposed budget, $1.2 million per year from the golf enterprise fund would go to paying off the new clubhouse complex.

“The only justification (in the report) for raising green fees is that they are benchmarking against other courses,” Zucchet said. “But let's be honest and say you want to fund a new clubhouse and make other capital improvements. We can disagree that that's a good thing or not, but that's why they're doing it. They want to be able to service a debt they intend to saddle the golf enterprise fund with.”

Zucchet said he is opposed to public funding of the clubhouse, citing the mostly private funding of the renovation of the clubhouse at Bethpage State Park in New York, which hosted the 2002 U.S. Open. He said he also doesn't see enough financial detail in the proposal that justifies that kind of expenditure.

“I'm not aware of any daily users clamoring for a new clubhouse,” Zucchet said. “It's sort of like the Chargers stadium. I would support them having a new stadium if they were paying for it. The people with the special interests at Torrey Pines should pay for the new clubhouse.” 

18 at Torrey Pines

Lanny Wadkins, during the round 3 Buick telecast, on so few players able to at the 18th at Torrey Pines: "It's almost more fun with there's a little more risk-reward."

You think?

With the current setup at at least 571 and featuring almost no landing area, they might as well play it as a par-4 now. Why wait until 2008?

And You Think Your City Is A Mess...

There's always San Diego to show you what bureacratic absurdity is really like. Tod Leonard writes in the San Diego Union Tribune:

For the second time in 15 days, City Councilwoman Donna Frye has put the brakes on talks regarding changes to the Torrey Pines golf courses.

After learning that the city's golf operations department was planning to go to the City Council on Monday and ask for approval to soon begin moving the North Course's 18th green to make room for a new clubhouse that has yet to be approved, Frye took action. She contacted Deputy City Manager Ellen Oppenheim, who agreed to attach a memo to the item with the understanding that no work would be done on the North until a clubhouse project is approved.

Torrey Tales

More shenanigans at Torrey Pines. Something tells me would not be going on if they were not hosting the U.S. Open.

Tod Leonard writes about the tee time and fee increase issues.

Thanks to reader Scott for this story on the trademarking of the Torrey Pines name, and the various hands trying to get their piece of the pie.