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David Stamm

  • Karma: +0/-0
Some comments I came across about Torrey Pines
« on: June 25, 2008, 03:44:14 PM »
I thought I'd share these comments I saw from someone who played Torrey Pines after the Open.


"Here’s the deal. Played it 3 times since the Open. Greens are great, but unrepaired ball marks are back, unbelievably some bunkers have footprints. Too bad. It’s hard to find the rakes in the rough I guess. The rough is that impossible. Really you had to look for the rakes at times because you couldn’t see them either. Now that carts have been all over the rough you cannot find your ball. Played last Friday, carts weren’t allowed in the rough and you could still find it. Now the rough is matted down if you get lucky you can see your ball. Unlucky and you have to find it by feel (if you can) because you absolutely cannot see it if I you ball sinks under the matted down grass. In addition to that the pace of play has slowed down considerably. Fridays round was right at 5 hours. Saturdays round was 5hrs 45 minutes. Mondays was 6hrs 15 minutes. On Friday the play was spread out, really didn’t wait on any tees, the course just was just playing that tough. On Friday the groups went out every 15 minutes, now the groups are out every 10 minutes. On #2 there were already 2 groups waiting when we finished #1. On the third hole three groups were waiting. The course didn’t get paced out until around #12. It’s the rough that’s holding up play. When a couple of players in a group hit it in the rough they can easily fall a ½ a hole behind in a heartbeat. The first and 2nd cut of rough is growing out and it doesn’t appear that they will keep it that way. I suspect the 1st & 2nd cuts are being allowed to grow out a little in anticipation of lowering the rough to a standard length. I found out you can hire a forecaddie for $140. If you can afford it you might want to consider it if you want to try to enjoy your round. Losing your ball in a 10’ square patch of rough is no fun. One of our players in our group actually lost his ball after hitting it all of 6 yards back towards the fairway. No kidding. When he went back to drop he almost lost it again! Talk about being frustrated. In my opinion now that the course it is not playing like a US Open course (soft greens, matted down rough and really really really slow play) it just may not be worth it to play. If you do be prepared to play very slow or you won’t enjoy it at all. I had a friend come out from Florida to play. He was really excited to get to play, but by the end of the day (6hr15min) the day was not enjoyable. Playing one more time tomorrow, and if the pace of play doesn’t improve I’m done with TP for a while."
"The object of golf architecture is to give an intelligent purpose to the striking of a golf ball."- Max Behr

tlavin

Re: Some comments I came across about Torrey Pines
« Reply #1 on: June 25, 2008, 05:16:22 PM »
It turned out to be an excellent 18 hole television studio.

John Kavanaugh

Re: Some comments I came across about Torrey Pines
« Reply #2 on: June 25, 2008, 05:49:59 PM »
The guy sure is bitching a lot for someone punching a tough ticket for the fourth time.

tlavin

Re: Some comments I came across about Torrey Pines
« Reply #3 on: June 25, 2008, 06:04:15 PM »
The guy sure is bitching a lot for someone punching a tough ticket for the fourth time.

As ever, pithy and incisive.

Carl Nichols

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Some comments I came across about Torrey Pines
« Reply #4 on: June 25, 2008, 10:04:26 PM »
The guy sure is bitching a lot for someone punching a tough ticket for the fourth time.

I had the same reaction

David Stamm

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Some comments I came across about Torrey Pines
« Reply #5 on: June 28, 2008, 01:18:12 PM »
Bump for Mike Benham's benefit.
"The object of golf architecture is to give an intelligent purpose to the striking of a golf ball."- Max Behr

CJ Carder

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Some comments I came across about Torrey Pines
« Reply #6 on: June 28, 2008, 02:00:10 PM »
Two thoughts, both on opposite sides of the spectrum...

#1 - the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  If you played it the first time and again the second time and saw your rounds getting longer, why put yourself through the torture of rounds #3 and #4?

#2 - we're now in week 2 following the Open - would TP have been better off just waiting perhaps 3-4 weeks before opening the course back up?  By that point, the rough could have been mown to a manageable height, the course could have returned to normal playing conditions, and they wouldn't have this problem.  Or is it worth it to the course to resume normal operations asap and risk starting up a bad reputation?  I'd be interested in that cost-benefit analysis.

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