Lou, in the late 1950s, when Billy F. Bell routed the golf courses, there was no California Coastal Commission telling him "no." And yet he avoided the coastline and the canyons like a drunk avoids AA meetings (make what you want of that analogy). The only other William F. Bell course I have played, Idaho Falls CC, was the single most incompetent routing I ever saw done by a "name" architect - fighting hills, forced locations for greens, etc. I conclude that William F. Bell wasted the site at Torrey Pines. He could have had you play alongside or even across the ravines on occasion. Then they planted trees like crazy, probably for erosion control, which further isolated the holes from the setting.
When Rees Jones came along for his much-heralded whatever of the golf course, as far as I can tell he actually did move two holes marginally closer to the canyon, but he also exacerbated a crossover issue on a few holes, making it really weird to walk from green to a few of the (new) back tees.
I have spent a few times out there and each time come away sad at the lost opportunity. For daily-fee golfers who pay local fees, the place is great. But that's like saying that a golf course that's well-maintained is a great golf course because it's a golf course. It offers zero in terms of intrigue, shot-making options, angles, or site-specificity.