Torrey North Redo Update: Rendering Revealed

Tod Leonard files an update on the Torrey Pines North Course redo unveiling to the public, which includes a rendering of Phil Mickelson's vision for the remodeled muni.

The cartoonish drawing published with the story looks like someone who has never played golf is trying to put Aviara on the coast.

The Tuesday meeting was the third with the public, and Phil Mickelson Design Director Mike Angus spent more than an hour presenting a hole-by-hole portrait of the renovated North. At the heart of the work – estimated to be $7.8 million with a completion date of summer 2015 -- are a modernization of the greens and bunkers, more playability for the average golfer, and an aesthetic change that will eliminate 22 acres of plant material to create more “natural” terrain on the edges of the course.

And not to be underplayed: The course likely will be more appealing to the PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open, though plenty of pros have said they haven’t seen any need to change the North.

There is also now a push to turn a portion of the property into upscale lodging for the Lodge at Torrey Pines, which it sounds like went over about as well with golfers as you'd expect.

Bill Evans, owner of the Lodge at Torrey Pines, said his idea for that space is to transfer a few Craftsman-style homes to the site and create a small “colony” of accommodations similar to Crystal Cove State Park in Laguna Beach. Transportation to the site would be carts only, Evans said.

"Mickelson's Torrey Pines Vision Taking Shape"

Tod Leonard on the unveiling of Torrey Pines North's first three holes as Phil Mickelson would like to update them.

Most of it sounds solid, but some of this type of earth moving in the wrong hands could backfire:

Most significantly, three bunkers that guard the front of the first green would become one smaller bunker to the right-middle, while Angus said a bank on the left side would kick balls toward the hole. There is a swale to the short right of the green that golfers might find if they go for the hole in two shots.

• At the par-5 first, current fairway bunkers that are closer to the white tees will be eliminated, with new bunkers requiring carries of 278 and 310 yards for the pros. Where most amateurs would land, the fairway would be widened and raised to provide better views of the ocean. The green would be lowered by 8 feet to show off more water.

Public Viewing Set For Glimpse At Phil's Torrey North Redo

Tod Leonard shares some new details on the Phil Mickelson-helmed renovation of Torrey Pines North, including a $7 million price tag, a 2015 start date, wall to wall cart paths (sigh) and a public meeting to be held December 18th at The Lodge.

No word on whether Phil will shield himself behind chicken wire since the locals weren't exactly thrilled when Rees Jones redid the South and that was for much less.

Mickelson’s ideas for the North are being executed by the leader of his design team, Mike Angus, with additional input from Mickelson’s friend and former instructor, Rick Smith. The city has included in the team Glen Schmidt, a local landscape architect who has worked on many projects with the city.

Before any work begins, Marney said the plans will have to go before the city’s Design Review Committee, Park and Recreation Board, Planning Commission, and, depending on the permit requirements, the Coastal Commission. Marney said the City Council will have to approve the creation of the capital improvement project.

Peter Ripa, the tournament director for the annual Farmers Open, applauded the possibility of the renovation. Torrey North is not very popular among PGA Tour players, who ranked its 48th of 52 venues in a poll by Golf World magazine earlier this year.

Ripa said he believes tour players would appreciate less disparity in their scores between the South and North, but he also emphasized that the work “shouldn’t be done just for Easter Sunday. … It has to be a golf course that is enjoyable and playable for people of all levels.”

Leonard also files an excellent column imploring Mickelson to be sensitive, writing that "this could be as much a part of your legacy in San Diego as those three green jackets."

This project shouldn’t be about making the course harder or more “strategic” for the two days a year the PGA Tour plays the North. In fact, I’ve talked to numerous pros who say the North should stay exactly the way it is.

From what I hear you want to make the North “playable” and more “fun.” I’m not sure what your definition of that is, because as a golf entertainer you are equal parts Sinatra and Knievel. But we’ll assume that it doesn’t mean tiny greens surrounded by more sand than the Sahara. We’ll hope that it means the average guy can still run the ball up to the green, and not have to fly it to every dang hole (yes, we’re talking about you Rees). We’ll hope that the greens aren’t so tricky that we’d need Bones to read them.

We know that there isn’t much rerouting that can or will be done, and that’s a good thing. Do the greens have to be redone? Is the public clamoring for it? No. Even some pros say that despite the softer poa annua, they’d rather putt on the North than the South because the North’s surfaces are more consistent.

Taking Turf Out Of Play

One of the points raised in my Obama-WPA piece for Golf World revolved the idea of taking turf out of play and in general, irrigating less (perhaps with government incentives, as pointed out in this example). I close the piece wondering if golfers can actually accept less green in the name of Green.

I asked Tom Naccarato, who does digital photo work for architects and clubs looking to simulate what something will look like, to work on a couple of Torrey Pines photos I took last year. Because I can't think of a course with more acreage that needs to be converted to non-irrigated native. (There was one choice spot right of the 7th fairway where irrigation has been turned off and Tom used that for the rough look you'll see in the photo below).

While I was walking around Torrey prior to the Open I met consultant Andy Slack, the irrigation guru brought in to try and right the troubled irrigation system at Torrey. When asked how many acres on the property could be converted to non-irrigated without impacting play, Slack said he felt that 50 acres was an easy target. I would agree. And the ensuing cost savings in irrigation, energy and man power of reducing 50 acres would be incredible.

Furthermore, does this really look so bad? I know the PGA Tour would have a coronary because there isn't full turf coverage and many golfers would wonder what's wrong, but this would seem to me where golf is going to have to if it wants to survive and reclaim some of its "native golf" roots. Click to enlarge Tom Naccarato's digital enhancement of No. 14 at Torrey Pines:

“It was a bet for the city of San Diego, because the city didn't have the money to put up for this bet"

While I enjoyed Brent Schrotenboer and Eleanor Yang Su's look at the complex relationship between The Friends of Torrey Pines and the city of San Diego that left the city out of profiting from the U.S. Open, it was hard not to wonder why this question wasn't raised before the Open.

And while I'm happy for Jay Rains and the "Friends" who pulled off a stunning success in the face of many hurdles, it was always quite clear that appearance of conflict was there. Only now that the Open was a huge success do the city advocates want a piece of the pie. I say, too late!

Anyway, the key numbers, which would seem to back up the Sports Business Journal estimate of a $50 million profit, which David Fay refuted last week. 

The USGA projected in November that it would generate about $58.3 million in revenues from the 2008 Open, according to a city permit application filed by the association. That includes ticket sales, hospitality, concessions and merchandise. Television rights are not included. Sports Business Journal recently approximated those at $40 million and suggested total revenue might approach $100 million.

The USGA estimated its expenses at $51.5 million.

To sum up the projected revenues:

 For the USGA, at least $58.3 million, plus TV deals.

 For the Friends, $5.37 million from rent and hospitality shares, interest and a $950,000 reimbursement from the city for some of the course renovations.

 For the city, about $500,000 in rent from the Friends, plus cost recovery up to $350,000 and another $350,000 for other golf course work.

The city also derived other benefits, many of them hard to quantify, such as five days of national television exposure. Additionally, the Friends said they would give the city $300,000 to $500,000 to improve the irrigation system at its golf course in Balboa Park.