Got humbled by Torrey Pines South

On Saturday I went to a local course and shot 84, my lowest score in two years. I played from the blue tees and the yardage is about 6300 yards.

On Monday, still excited from my good playing on Saturday. I went to Torrey Pines South to test my new found confident. I played from the blue tees (7050 yards), which I quickly found out was a bad decision. First hole is 450 yard par 4 into the wind. It seems like we played every hole into the wind there. I got on in three and bogeyed the first hole and thought it was a good start. After that I started to doubled and tripled and ended up shooting 19 over in the front with only one par. I think I was a little shocked in the beginning at how long the holes were and even with good drives many of your approach shot would be with woods and long irons. I calmed down and shot 9 over in the back for a total of 100.

I can't imagine what my score will be playing from the black tees (7600 yards) with deeper rough and narrower fairways during tournament times. You have to try this to appreciate how good the PGA players are.

Wow thats brutal. Its amazing that pga pros can play even par at those distances. What made you jump to the 7000yd tee boxes?

BTW how far do you hit the driver on an average drive? 450yd par 4s would kill me.

I would say 100 at a course like that is nothing to be ashamed of.

The other three guys wanted to Play Blue so I didn't want to be the only guy playing White. My drives are about 230-260 Which leave most of my second shots with 3 W, 3i or 4i. The problem was that I missed 16 greens and the rough was about 3" all around (5" during tournament times). One of the three guy shot in the 90s. The other two shot over 110.

Had shot a 90 on that once. My best ever in that course. My driving was spot on and it was the main reason for that score. Am happy everytime i think about it... :) Hoping to break 90 on that some day.

Golf is a humbling game. I am sure (I hope) you enjoyed your round regardless. I have been playing terribly this year and I call my bad rounds the rounds I am working on having a possitive attutud.

A bad day at the course is better than a good day at the office.

I always enjoy the guys who insist on playing from the tips, but then can't reach the fairways and end up shooting 113.

Torrey is one of my favorite courses of all, but I have to say I'm a bit dismayed that your entire 4some had to play the blues despite clearly not having the game for it. Unfortunately it seems everyone has to be "tested" by Torrey, and result is a lot of looking for balls and 5 1/2 hour rounds as a result.

I don't care how bad your round was, I bet you didn't shoot a 4-over NINE on the 13th like Phil did at the U.S. Open there.

Or did you?


p.s it's a tough course - don't be too hard on yourself and be grateful you weren't trying to play from the Championship tees (e.g. on the very same 13th, where the special box is in a completely different spot). I won't tell you what I've shot on that course ......

Ha. Yeah. My home course is only 6300 from the blues, maybe 6400+ from the very back. You'd think guys hitting 2 hybrids for their second shot into 380 yard par 4s wouldn't try to play from the back tees, but...

I'm a little longer off the tee than the OP, and so like him I'll play the blues if the rest of my foursome is. When asked at the first tee I say I'll play the whites till I start breaking 80 regularly...

I absolutely love the South Course, I have played Torrey, I do not know how many times and love it there! I remember playing it in the 90's before they did the changes to the course for the Open and it was a pretty easy course. Now with the length it is a beast and yes, you are always hitting into the wind! I have shot in the 70's there a few times... My best score on the South Course is a 73 with a missed birdie on 18 for an even round. The key to that course, like most is taking advantage of the shorter holes there that present scoring opportunities... Holes 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 13, and 15... If you do not score well on those holes you are screwed!

I think many play from the tips because of ego. Plus you need to learn to hit some what long, many people dont because they do not take a complete swing. Just settling on your game and teeing off with the ladies is just not right. Also, the staff will call you out on it.

So I beat Mickelson on this hole? I got up and down and parred this hole. My third shot was in a down hill lie and 130 yard from the elevated green, my shot didn't get high enough and rolled into the left side bunkered. I hit a good sand shot and got within 5 feet. Made the putt.

One of the guy showed me the 13th hole tee box during the US open. He said during the tournament, players had to carry 260 yards to clear the canyon. Of course, players like Kenny Perry didn't like it. They had to lay up to the right side and it became a real par 5. There were about 15 hanggliders flying near the cliff. One even got so closed to us that we could have hit them with a sand wedge shot. The view on many holes were breath taking. I took a picture with my phone which doesn't do much justice. You have to see it in person. [IMG]http://api.ning.com/files/5UWjFgyV73Y*xUbWYLKmwiJob-4MC0FOz-DlNpk79JiBOrGJ*pBr7byS3y1M0kVCCHzCptN42Lby9f-cx9C6rJqE*Gq1vYpm/torreypines.jpg?width=737&height;=552[/IMG]

You don't think kenny Perry, who pounds the crap out of the ball, could carry 260?

Nice work.

On that hole Phil was at the bottom of the false front in two. Pin placement was very close to front of the green. He was over-ambitiously trying to land close to the pin but hit SW with too much backspin. The ball landed near the pin and span back off the green and down the slope to his feet - three times in a row! He then hit his sixth deep into the back of the green and proceeded to three putt for the niner. Ouch. Actually 260 yard carry isn't much of a stretch for those guys as Weezer says. Some end up in the right fairway bunker - still possible to make green in two from there if you hit it clean. Saw Sergio do it once. I love to watch the pros play the 13th from behind the green. Most go for the green in two and end up in one of the many bunkers in front. Actually I've parred it myself (white tees), not so hard if you get to the bottom of the false front in two, then just go for the middle of the green. It's the loooong par 4's that do me in every time.