COURSE · PARKLAND · BUCKET LIST · TIER S
La Jolla, California, United States · The Nation's Foremost Municipal Golf Course
The course that proved championship golf and the public interest need not be strangers.
01 · Overview
~2 min read
Torrey Pines sits on a 300-foot sandstone bluff above the Pacific, a 36-hole municipal complex owned by the City of San Diego and open to anyone willing to navigate its booking system. It has hosted two U.S. Opens — in 2008 and 2021 — making it the only municipal course in American history to host the country's most demanding major championship. That distinction is not merely symbolic; it defines what the place is.
The land has a history that predates golf by decades. Ellen Browning Scripps purchased it in the early 20th century to shield it from development, eventually deeding it to the City of San Diego. A U.S. Army anti-aircraft training center — Camp Callan — occupied the mesa through the Second World War. After the Army departed, San Diego voters approved a referendum in 1956 to dedicate the former base to a public golf facility. William F. Bell, working from the vision his father William P. Bell had long carried for the site, opened both the North and South courses in 1957. The rare Torrey pine, one of the world's most endangered conifers, growing only here and on Santa Rosa Island, frames the property and gives the place its name.
Playing the South Course — the championship layout — is an exercise in sustained difficulty. At 7,802 yards with a course rating of 78.8 and a slope of 148, it is built for attrition rather than theatre. Rees Jones, the so-called 'Open Doctor,' rebuilt the South in 2001, lengthening it and nudging several greens closer to the canyon edges that cut across the back nine. The result is a course that plays long into the prevailing coastal wind and offers precious little relief. Hole 12 stretches to 506 yards as a par 4. Hole 13 measures 624 yards. The back nine at Torrey Pines does not negotiate.
The singular image of the course is its 18th hole, a par 5 finishing over Devlin's Billabong — a pond named for Australian Bruce Devlin, who famously took multiple strokes to escape it during the 1975 San Diego Open. That same pond, in June 2008, provided the backdrop for Tiger Woods holing a long birdie putt to force a Monday playoff, ultimately winning on a broken leg and a torn ACL. The scene gave Torrey Pines a moment of mythology that most private clubs never earn. That this was, and remains, a public golf course makes it all the more improbable.
THE TREES
The rarest pine in North America lines the northern holes and defines the property's character. Their low, wind-sculpted canopies frame tee shots without ever becoming penal — the canyons below them are another matter.
THE WIND
Morning low cloud burns off by midday and the onshore breeze stiffens through the afternoon. Holes on the western cliffs — particularly 3, 4, and 16 — can shift a full club or two depending on when you tee off.
THE BUNKERS
Eighty bunkers, rebuilt and deepened through the 2001 Rees Jones renovation, guard virtually every approach. Missing left or right on the South Course rarely means a simple chip; it often means a recovery from sand before you've calculated the green.
THE CANYONS
Deep sandstone ravines cut across or border holes 14 through 17, creating lateral hazards that punish any drive pushed off line. The Jones redesign moved greens deliberately closer to these edges, so the risk-reward conversation never stops.
02 · The Holes
5 of 5 · tap any hole to watch creators play it
Six holes carry more of the course's weight than the other twelve combined — and the creator vlogs that prove it.
HOLE 18 · par 5 · 572y
A reachable par 5 whose entire drama is concentrated at the finish: Devlin's Billabong, the course's only water hazard, guards the front of the green and demands a committed decision on the third shot. Tiger Woods made birdie here in regulation in 2008 to force a playoff. Few finishing holes in American golf carry that weight.
572 yards · Site of Tiger Woods' 2008 U.S. Open birdie putt — the most-watched moment in the course's history
HOLE 3 · par 3 · 201y
The course's most photographed hole: a downhill par 3 played from the edge of the 300-foot bluffs toward a green with La Jolla Cove and the Pacific stretching behind it. The view is vertiginous; the ocean breeze makes the club selection genuinely hard.
201 yards · Widely regarded as the most scenic hole on the South Course
HOLE 13 · par 5 · 624y
Consistently one of the longest par 5s on the PGA Tour, this hole plays into the prevailing wind and tests every club in the bag before a long-iron approach into a bunkered green. Making a routine par here is a minor achievement; birdie requires near-perfection across three shots.
624 yards · Often among the top-five longest par 5s in any given PGA Tour season
HOLE 12 · par 4 · 506y
A 506-yard par 4 that is among the most demanding single holes in American golf when the wind is up. The adjacent Torrey Pines Gliderport provides a visual landmark — hang-gliders riding cliff thermals to the right — but the business is entirely on landing a long, accurate approach to a heavily bunkered green.
506 yards · One of the longest par 4s on the PGA Tour rota
HOLE 14 · par 4 · 437y
The first of several back-nine holes where the canyon comes into play along the left side. Drives pushed left find the ravine and a near-certain lost ball; the preferred line is a controlled fade that leaves a clean approach angle to a green set close to the canyon's lip.
437 yards
05 · In Their Words
2 on-camera verdicts · spoken while filming here
One of the prettiest, most iconic golf courses on the entire planet.
I don't think you realize how narrow this golf course is until you actually come out here.
06 · How to Play Here
8 routes to a tee time
Non-Resident Advance Reservation (8-90 Days) · single
Non-residents can book 8 to 90 days in advance via the City of San Diego's online booking portal. These slots represent roughly 20% of the total inventory and are highly competitive.
Green Fee + Booking Fee $248 - $322 (Green Fee) + $50 (Booking Fee)
Non-Resident Short-Term (Inside 3-4 Days) · single
Any unfilled or cancelled resident times are released to non-residents within 3-4 days of play. The $50 advance booking fee is typically waived for these late-release times.
Green Fee From $156 (Twilight) to $322
San Diego Resident Reservation (7-Day Window) · single
City of San Diego residents with a valid Golf ID Card can book 7 days in advance starting at 7:00 PM PST. This is the primary method for locals to access subsidized rates.
Resident Green Fee $51 - $90
Walk-on / Standby · walk on
Golfers can check in at the starter's booth on the day of play to be added to the waitlist. Recommended for singles or those with flexible schedules. Wait times can exceed 5 hours.
Standard Green Fee Varies
The Lodge at Torrey Pines - Play Where The Pros Play · hotel package
Stay 3-4 nights at The Lodge and receive guaranteed tee times on the North or South course. Packages often include one round per person and resort credits.
Stay & Play Package From $1,485
Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines Stay and Play · hotel package
Guests of the Hilton La Jolla can book exclusive tee times 15-150 days in advance. The hotel is situated adjacent to the 18th hole of the South Course.
Stay & Play Package Varies by season
San Diego Golf Reservations (Concierge) · external
A third-party booking service that coordinates tee times and monitors cancellations for a service fee. Not affiliated with the City of San Diego.
Service Fee ~$60 per player + Green Fees
Tournament Monday Resident Lottery · ballot
Occasional lottery systems are held specifically for San Diego Residents to play the course in tournament conditions immediately following the Farmers Insurance Open.
Resident Green Fee Standard Resident Rates
07 · History
2 US Open · since 2008
1908
Philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps purchased the coastal mesa to prevent development, eventually transferring it to the City of San Diego for permanent public use.
1941
The U.S. Army leased the mesa as an anti-aircraft artillery training center. For the duration of the Second World War, the land that would become Torrey Pines trained soldiers rather than golfers.
1956
San Diego residents voted in a special election to dedicate 100 acres of the former Camp Callan site to a public golf facility — the democratic foundation of everything that followed.
1957
William F. Bell, drawing on the vision his father William P. Bell had long held for the site, opened both the North and South courses to the public.
1968
The course began its long-running relationship with professional golf, hosting the San Diego Open — the event now known as the Farmers Insurance Open.
2001
The 'Open Doctor' modernized the South Course for a reported $3.5 million, lengthening it and positioning several greens closer to the canyon edges to meet U.S. Open standards.
2008
Playing with a stress fracture and torn ACL, Tiger Woods made birdie on 18 in regulation to force a Monday playoff, then defeated Rocco Mediate to claim the first U.S. Open ever contested on a municipal golf course.
2021
Jon Rahm birdied the 17th and 18th holes in the final round to win Torrey Pines' second U.S. Open by a single stroke, becoming the first Spaniard to capture the championship.
08 · Common Questions
7 questions · sourced from 5 vlogs
Non-residents can reserve tee times between 8 and 90 days in advance through the City of San Diego's online booking portal. These slots represent roughly 20 percent of total inventory and go quickly; expect to pay a $50 advance booking fee on top of green fees that range from approximately $248 to $322 for the South Course. Alternatively, cancelled and unfilled resident times are released to non-residents within three to four days of play, typically without the booking fee surcharge.
Staying at The Lodge at Torrey Pines or the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines provides the most reliable path to a guaranteed tee time. Lodge guests can access stay-and-play packages from around $1,485, which typically include one round per person on the North or South course. Hilton guests can book exclusive times up to 150 days in advance. These hotel packages sidestep the public ballot system entirely.
Carts are available and widely used at Torrey Pines. The course is not set up as a walking-only facility, though it is walkable — the layout is relatively compact given its cliff-top setting, and many regular players choose to walk. Caddies are not a standard offering at this municipal facility.
The North and South courses alternate closures for maintenance — typically two weeks in April or May for spring aerification and again in September or October for fall overseeding. Both courses also close for approximately two weeks in late January around the Farmers Insurance Open. Specific dates vary by year and are published on the City of San Diego's golf reservation website.
The South Course carries a course rating of 78.8 and a slope of 148 from the championship tees — numbers that put it comfortably in the top tier of difficulty for any publicly accessible course in the United States. At 7,802 yards with 80 bunkers, canyon hazards on the back nine, and coastal wind that can shift club selection by two or more, mid-handicappers should approach it as a battle of management rather than a round of scoring.
Substantially, yes. The South Course you play today is the same Rees Jones redesign from 2001 that was used for the 2008 and 2021 U.S. Opens. The USGA makes minor setup modifications — tightening rough, adjusting tees, and adding temporary grandstands — but the routing, hole locations, and key hazards including Devlin's Billabong on 18 are unchanged. The championship tees are longer than the public markers, so your round will not replicate Tour conditions exactly.
Devlin's Billabong is the pond fronting the 18th green of the South Course — the only water hazard on the layout. It takes its name from Australian golfer Bruce Devlin, who took several strokes to escape it during the 1975 San Diego Open. The pond became internationally famous in June 2008 when Tiger Woods made a long birdie putt over it in regulation to tie Rocco Mediate and force the Monday playoff he eventually won.
10 · The Library
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