• Many of you who know me have learned that I’m a passionate public transportation advocate, so I was disappointed to learn that the U.S. Open local committee has elected not to offer a shuttle service from the Solana Beach Amtrak/Coaster station to Torrey Pines, despite the fact that (a) the station is just 6.6 miles from the course (according to Google Maps) and (b) the Del Mar Fair, which begins on U.S. Open Saturday seems to be able to work something out with the North County Transit District for shuttle service each year. An option is to taxi take a local bus SCHEDULE from the Solana Beach station, or you can join the crowd driving to Qualcomm Stadium where the parking is free and so is the shuttle. However, you should allow at least 30 minutes for the shuttle. Also, be prepared for fair traffic around Del Mar.
Other notes from today’s U.S. Open media conference:
• More than 6,000 people have volunteered to work at this year’s Open coming from all 50 states and 17 countries. It’s the largest volunteer force ever assembled for an Open. Less than four months after the first volunteer request went out, 6,000 people had applied and 2,000 are on a waiting list. “What is remarkable about the game of golf,” said USGA President Jim Vernon, “is the amount of volunteer time devoted to the game.”
In addition to the 6,000 volunteers, 100 golf course superintendents from around the U.S. will lend their expertise on the agronomic side.
• Torrey Pines marks the first time that the event has been held at a truly public golf course on the West Coast (the “truly” adjective differentiates Torrey Pines from Pebble Beach and Pinehurst). The first truly public course to host the Open was Bethpage Black in 2002 (and again next year).
“There’s a message here,” said Vernon. “We [at the USGA] understand the importance of public courses to the game of golf. USGA Vice-President Cameron Jay Rains of San Diego added, “It should be noted that the great success we had at Bethpage Black paved the way for us to be here at Torrey Pines. In a sense, Torrey Pines is the first dividend on Bethpage Black.” The USGA has already slated the 2015 Open for another public course, Chambers Bay, in Washington. “Torrey Pines
• Although there has been a 60-year gap between U.S. Opens in Southern California (the only other one was in 1948 at Riviera CC), three of the next five Opens will be held in the state. The 2010 Open will be played at Pebble Beach Golf Links and the 2012 Open will be held at The Olympic Club in San Francisco.
• That the 2008 Open is being at Torrey Pines is the result of a dream in 1999 that became a unique public-private partnership, said Cameron Jay Rains of San Diego, a USGA vice-president and a member of Friends of Torrey Pines, a group of 29 individuals that raised more than $4 million to finance the South Course’s redesign by Rees Jones.
• The direct economic impact to San Diego from the Open is estimated to be $100 million plus an unknown amount from the television exposure.
• Torrey Pines usually has 62,000-64,000 rounds per year on the South Course.
• When Rees Jones redesigned the South Course, the greens were seeded in bentgrass. They’re now 100% poa annua. “Most courses are trying to get rid of poa,” said Mark Woodward, San Diego Golf Operations Manager (and soon to become chief executive officer of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. “But in our cool coastal climate, poa is actually the best grass for greens.”
• Torrey’s fairways are now 100% kikuyugrass and the rough will be a combination of kikuyu, poa and overseeded rye.
• “Our goal,” says USGA Vice-President Jim Hyler, “is to conduct the most rigorous test possible while setting up a fair golf course.” That being said, the USGA does not have a target score." (USGA PHILOSOPHY) “If we do our job,” said Hyler, “the score will take care of itself.” Last year’s winning score at Oakmont CC (the Pennsylvania one) was 285, 5 over par on the par-70 setup.
• For the first time in many years, the USGA will offer a genuine risk-reward hole: the 573-yard 18th hole, which will play as a par 5. However, the slopes around the green will be mowed to fairway height so don’t miss the green or you’ll end up in Devlin’s Billabong (so named for Australian golfer Bruce Devlin, who took six shots to get out of the pond in the final round of the 1975 Andy Williams San Diego Open; he finished with a 10 on the hole).
• The scorecard for the 2008 Open will measure 7,643 yards, although Mike Davis, the USGA’s senior director of competitions, said none of the four days will likely play that long. For the first time since 2000, par will be 71. “Torrey is a longer and somewhat more straightforward layout than recent U.S. Open courses,” said Davis. “The fairways and greens don’t have the crazy undulations that we’ve seen in recent years.”
The third, 11th and 16th holes will all vary in length by 17 to 53 yards. For at least one day, the third hole (195 on the scorecard) will play about 143 yards, downhill, into the wind. In addition, several other holes will use multiple teeing grounds.
• As is the case every year, weather will be an unknown. “The good news,” said Davis, “is for the first time in several years, we shouldn’t get rain. However, we don’t know what will happen in terms of fog or Santa Ana winds. The good news about Santa Anas is we usually get adequate warning. We are hoping for some wind each day.”
• Although the players see Torrey Pines during the Buick Invitational, what they will see in the Open will be a much different course. “The fairways widths will be very similar,” said Davis. “We actually only narrowed four fairways slightly and widened two others. However, the fairways and greens will play much, much firmer than in the winter and the kikuyu, which is dormant in the winter, will be lush in the summer.” Green speeds are estimated to be at 13 to 13.5 on the stimpmeter, two to three faster during the Buick Invitational. “We want to provide a stern test all aspects of the players’ games,” said Davis. “We could have set it up much tougher.”
• The primary rough for 11 feet around the putting greens will maintained at 3 feet (no Pinehurst runout areas here). Beyond that, the rough will be 4-5 inches. The USGA has already decided to lower the rough off the fairways, due chiefly to the kikuyugrass. The first cut of rough will be about 2.5 inches.
• In order to change the greens from bentgrass to poa annua, Torrey Pines aerified its greens 22 times in a three-year period.
• “Our goal,” emphasized several USGA officials, “is to leave the course in much better shape than we found it when we began this process three years ago.
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• MEDIA CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
• U.S. OPEN WEB SITE
