FORE Magazine

Top Menu

  • About Me
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Home

Main Menu

  • Current Issue
  • Profiles
  • Sustainability
  • Travel
  • 19th Hole
  • Classic Course
  • FORE Her
  • More
    • Know the Rules
    • Handicap Hints
    • SCGA Junior
    • Where Are They Now?
    • News
    • Public Affairs
  • scga.org
Sign in / Join

Login

Welcome! Login in to your account
Lost your password?

Lost Password

Back to login

logo

FORE Magazine

  • Current Issue
  • Profiles
  • Sustainability
  • Travel
  • 19th Hole
  • Classic Course
  • FORE Her
  • More
    • Know the Rules
    • Handicap Hints
    • SCGA Junior
    • Where Are They Now?
    • News
    • Public Affairs
  • scga.org
Spring 2021
Home›Issues›Spring 2021›Rating a U.S. Open Course: How the SCGA Rated Torrey South for the 2008 U.S. Open

Rating a U.S. Open Course: How the SCGA Rated Torrey South for the 2008 U.S. Open

By Doug Sullivan
April 23, 2021
1900
0
Share:

The 2008 U.S. Open Championship at Torrey Pines was a special celebration of golf. It was the first U.S. Open Championship to be contested in Southern California in 60 years, and the tournament itself provided enough excitement and drama to last a lifetime.

As part of that championship celebration, the SCGA was invited to rate Torrey Pines South Course from the U.S. Open tees. That request was made by USGA President and past SCGA President Jim Vernon, because the USGA was creating an awareness program aimed at educating golfers on the multiple roles that golf associations provide for all golfers, and the rating of golf courses is one of those important roles.

Duplicating the difficult conditions of a U.S. Open golf course can be hard to visualize—unless, of course, you are asked to rate the course the Thursday before U.S. Open week, which is exactly what the SCGA was asked to do.

Course yardages are and always will be the most difficult obstacle to overcome. In 2008, the length of the U.S. Open tees measured over 7,600 yards. Although the USGA didn’t necessarily set up the course at that length, they certainly had the ability to do so. That’s quite an impressive number knowing that the course plays right at sea level. Throw in some ocean breezes along with kikuyu grass, and those tees played even longer.

The 2008 U.S. Open setup saw rough that was in the neighborhood of three to four inches in height. The rough got even longer as the ball strayed farther off target.

Fairway width can have a significant impact on ratings. During the 2008 U.S. Open, fairways averaged about 25 to 30 yards wide, compared to 30 to 40 yards during normal play. This obviously placed a premium on hitting fairways if a competitor wanted to score well and not have to contend with that deep rough, which begins just a few paces off the fairway.

Other factors that contribute significantly to ratings are the firmness, speed and contour of the greens. The greens that week certainly met the expectation for a U.S Open course. For those of you who have had the pleasure of playing Torrey Pines, you know that the greens have a lot of contour and many subtle breaks. Normal green speeds at Torrey Pines average in the neighborhood of 10’ to 11’ for everyday play, based on the use of a Stimpmeter®. During the 2008 U.S. Open, green speed averaged just over 13, which made the greens nearly impossible for us mere mortals.

Many factors were taken into account when the SCGA rated the course in 2008. As a result of our rating volunteers’ efforts, the final ratings calculated out to a course rating of 79.7 and a slope rating of 153, making them some of the highest ratings in the country.

As luck would have it, our rating volunteers actually had the opportunity to play the U.S. Open course at that rating. To say it was extremely nerve racking standing on that first tee with herds of people wondering who we were, why we were dressed the same,
(and probably incorrectly presuming we were pretty good golfers,) is a huge understatement.

The difficulty of the course that week and the validation of our rating results was clearly evident by about the fifth hole, when one of our raters hit his tee shot into the rough. After assessing
his options and deciding to make what those in his group thought would be a pretty good play, things only got worse when the ball went about 30 feet and became lost in even deeper rough.

With another 200 yards added to the ‘tips’ since 2008, pushing the course past 7,800 yards, we would expect even higher ratings for this year’s U.S. Open, and we can’t wait to watch another celebration in June to see how it all plays out.

Previous Article

Western Waltz: 18 Fave Holes From the ...

Next Article

The Old College Try: A Suggested Path ...

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Doug Sullivan

Related articles More from author

  • Handicap HintsSpring 2021

    Handicap Index Caps

    April 26, 2021
    By Kevin O'Connor
  • Golf GroupsSpring 2021

    Babes Golf: A Social Club & More

    April 26, 2021
    By Madison Lomas
  • Know the RulesSpring 2021

    Famous Rulings at Torrey Pines

    April 26, 2021
    By Jimmy Becker
  • Public AffairsSpring 2021

    The Old College Try: A Suggested Path Forward for Muni Golf

    April 23, 2021
    By Bo Links
  • Spring 2021The Podium

    Mulligan’s Wheel: Surfer, Teacher, CEO Jaime Mulligan Gets His Due

    April 23, 2021
    By John Strege
  • Spring 2021State of the Game

    Much Ado About … Something?: Our Columnist Has Some Thoughts

    April 23, 2021
    By Ken Van Vechten

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Recent Posts

  • FeaturedPublic AffairsSpring 2022

    Golf’s Wakeup Call: Facts Matter… Perceptions Matter More

  • Classic CourseFeaturedSpring 2022

    Western Home of Golf: Legends, Legacy and Looking Forward at PGA WEST

  • FeaturedProfilesSpring 2022

    Bootstrap Golf: The Long Expedition of David Lipsky

  • FeaturedNewsSpring 2022

    Not Your Father’s Game: With Two Facilities Newly Open and Callaway at the Helm, the Topgolf Explosion Comes to the Southland

  • 19th HoleFeaturedSpring 2022

    A Community Staple: With Zaidee’s Bar & Grill, Ojai has a Place to Gather

FeaturedSpring 2022Travel

The Pubs of St Andrews

The challenge seemed daunting at first. On an eight-day trip to St Andrews, my job was to rate the pubs in this lively college town where golf began six centuries ...
  • Scotland Must-Plays & Hidden Gems: 10 Terrific Tracks that Prove the Old Course Isn’t the Only Game Around

    By Joe Passov
    April 21, 2022
  • Bob Does Hollywood: The Hardest Working Man on Instagram Finds Gold in Golf

    By Adam Hawk
    April 21, 2022
  • Not Your Father’s Game: With Two Facilities Newly Open and Callaway at the Helm, the Topgolf Explosion Comes to the Southland

    By Scott Kauffman
    April 21, 2022
  • The Provisional Ball: What? How? When?

    By Jimmy Becker
    April 21, 2022
© 2016 FORE Magazine About Us | Contact Us | Advertise