For all you golf fans
Dale Peterson, a former Torrey Pines men's club president, has been one of the most outspoken critics of the city's management of the Torrey Pines golf courses. He was one of the loudest guys in the room again on a night last week in a ballroom at the Torrey Pines Hilton. Only this time, Peterson was the first guy to stand up to give the U.S. Golf Association an ovation.
The USGA and the local organizing committee for the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines had a get-acquainted meeting attended by more than 250 people on Tuesday. It was part infomercial, part pep rally aimed at the members of the Torrey Pines men's and women's club, many of whom have signed up to volunteer at the Open.
These are the same people whose satisfaction would seem to be critical to the return of the Open in the future, because they probably won't be afraid to speak their minds if there are problems in the aftermath of this first one.
Judging by the hearty applause following a well-orchestrated presentation, many have been won over. It likely helped that the USGA announced in the meeting that the men's and women's clubs will essentially be treated like members of the private clubs that generally host Opens. The members are being given a guaranteed opportunity to purchase two weekly passes at $400 each.
And after 2008 Open co-chairman Jay Rains introduced a moving video tribute to past Opens, shown with an accompanying soundtrack of the “Star-Spangled Banner,” Rains dramatically announced that the clubs' marshal groups would work the first and 18th holes.
“You will take the players out and you will bring them home,” Rains said.
That's when Peterson rose to his feet. “It is refreshing to be legitimized by Rains and the USGA,” Peterson said. “I've spent plenty of nights in the Torrey parking lot to get a tee time. We all play out of the trunks of our cars. And tonight, somebody finally said, 'You have a place on the Torrey landscape.' ”
Mike Antolini, the USGA's on-site manager at Torrey Pines, said he heard many similar comments from other members after the meeting. “I thought it went great,” Antolini said. “There were great signs of support from the feedback we got. We've said all along that this championship can't be a success without the local support.”
The Torrey Pines Open already has reached record corporate hospitality sales and figures to smash attendance and on-site sales records, and the USGA is already making it clear that it wants a return engagement to the South Course.
“We just really think this might be the start of something special,” Pete Bevacqua, the USGA's chief business officer, told the gathering. “That's our hope. For us it would be a disappointment if the city and its residents didn't turn around and say we want you back as soon as you possibly can come back. That's our chief goal. We want to be invited back.”
Topping the list of concerns for the USGA and golfers is the significant impact the Open will have on Torrey Pines North – the more popular course among local golfers, especially seniors. Two massive corporate villages and the 36,000-square-foot merchandise center will be placed on the North's third, fourth and 18th holes, and the ninth and 10th holes will be converted to a driving range for the tournament. Temporary gravel roads will be installed and some portions of the North will serve as a parking lot.
USGA construction will close some North holes in the spring, and it could be well into the fall before the entire North is ready for play again. Regular Torrey golfers will be hugely impacted, as will the city's golf revenues.
“The North Course will absolutely be affected because the majority of our operations are on it,” Bevacqua said. “We know that's problematic. We know we have to clean up the site.
“We know we're going to hit a home run with this Open, but if we don't return the site to the way we found it or better, that's the last thing in people's mouths. That would be a disaster for us.
“Please know that we will go out of our way to do this correctly.”
More Open
There were no significant revelations at the Torrey Pines meeting. Of note: About 200 buses will transport fans to the course from the general public parking lot at Qualcomm Stadium, and there will be grandstands on 17 of the 18 holes totaling about 25,000 first-come, first-served seats. . . . The deadline to enter the public lottery for tickets to the '08 Open is Aug. 15. For more information, go to www.usga.org/tickets. . . . The more than 6,000 volunteers signed up for the Open have begun receiving their volunteer invoice forms. The $150 due for the uniform is due to the USGA by Sept. 12. Antolini said he has closed the wait list to volunteers because more than 2,000 people are on it.
The USGA and the local organizing committee for the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines had a get-acquainted meeting attended by more than 250 people on Tuesday. It was part infomercial, part pep rally aimed at the members of the Torrey Pines men's and women's club, many of whom have signed up to volunteer at the Open.
These are the same people whose satisfaction would seem to be critical to the return of the Open in the future, because they probably won't be afraid to speak their minds if there are problems in the aftermath of this first one.
Judging by the hearty applause following a well-orchestrated presentation, many have been won over. It likely helped that the USGA announced in the meeting that the men's and women's clubs will essentially be treated like members of the private clubs that generally host Opens. The members are being given a guaranteed opportunity to purchase two weekly passes at $400 each.
And after 2008 Open co-chairman Jay Rains introduced a moving video tribute to past Opens, shown with an accompanying soundtrack of the “Star-Spangled Banner,” Rains dramatically announced that the clubs' marshal groups would work the first and 18th holes.
“You will take the players out and you will bring them home,” Rains said.
That's when Peterson rose to his feet. “It is refreshing to be legitimized by Rains and the USGA,” Peterson said. “I've spent plenty of nights in the Torrey parking lot to get a tee time. We all play out of the trunks of our cars. And tonight, somebody finally said, 'You have a place on the Torrey landscape.' ”
Mike Antolini, the USGA's on-site manager at Torrey Pines, said he heard many similar comments from other members after the meeting. “I thought it went great,” Antolini said. “There were great signs of support from the feedback we got. We've said all along that this championship can't be a success without the local support.”
The Torrey Pines Open already has reached record corporate hospitality sales and figures to smash attendance and on-site sales records, and the USGA is already making it clear that it wants a return engagement to the South Course.
“We just really think this might be the start of something special,” Pete Bevacqua, the USGA's chief business officer, told the gathering. “That's our hope. For us it would be a disappointment if the city and its residents didn't turn around and say we want you back as soon as you possibly can come back. That's our chief goal. We want to be invited back.”
Topping the list of concerns for the USGA and golfers is the significant impact the Open will have on Torrey Pines North – the more popular course among local golfers, especially seniors. Two massive corporate villages and the 36,000-square-foot merchandise center will be placed on the North's third, fourth and 18th holes, and the ninth and 10th holes will be converted to a driving range for the tournament. Temporary gravel roads will be installed and some portions of the North will serve as a parking lot.
USGA construction will close some North holes in the spring, and it could be well into the fall before the entire North is ready for play again. Regular Torrey golfers will be hugely impacted, as will the city's golf revenues.
“The North Course will absolutely be affected because the majority of our operations are on it,” Bevacqua said. “We know that's problematic. We know we have to clean up the site.
“We know we're going to hit a home run with this Open, but if we don't return the site to the way we found it or better, that's the last thing in people's mouths. That would be a disaster for us.
“Please know that we will go out of our way to do this correctly.”
More Open
There were no significant revelations at the Torrey Pines meeting. Of note: About 200 buses will transport fans to the course from the general public parking lot at Qualcomm Stadium, and there will be grandstands on 17 of the 18 holes totaling about 25,000 first-come, first-served seats. . . . The deadline to enter the public lottery for tickets to the '08 Open is Aug. 15. For more information, go to www.usga.org/tickets. . . . The more than 6,000 volunteers signed up for the Open have begun receiving their volunteer invoice forms. The $150 due for the uniform is due to the USGA by Sept. 12. Antolini said he has closed the wait list to volunteers because more than 2,000 people are on it.
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