Buick Invitational

By Michael Patrick Shiels
PGATOUR.COM columnist

Just before dawn, on the Monday following the conclusion of the Buick Invitational, a group of California golfers will begin to stir from under their starry blanket.

By 5 a.m. these golf fans are ready to reclaim their course. They will have camped out all night -- as might enthusiastic concert-goers who have waited in line for tickets -- and are among the first in line to play golf.

"It is the one day each year when no tee times are taken in advance," said Tom Wilson, who is in his ninth year as tournament director for the Buick Invitational. "We begin accepting green fees and matching up groups at 5 a.m. on a first-come, first-served basis. Some of them have been at the golf course for almost 24 hours. They watched the final round and then set up lawn chairs and camp.

"We do serve them coffee and we leave the course set up exactly as it was for the PGA TOUR players during the final round. People who play the course regularly can get a real appreciation for what it is like to play the course under difficult tournament conditions."

Amazingly, San Diego residents can play Torrey Pines Golf Club for as little as $28. The facility, located in posh La Jolla, is one of only two municipal golf facilities that play host to a PGA TOUR event each year. Residents and visitors can enjoy 36 holes designed by William Francis Bell.

"The golf course is pretty special," Wilson said. "Torrey Pines has a vista of the ocean from every tee, fairway and green on the golf course, and that is spectacular. It's beautiful, and the fact that it is municipal makes it unique. People who play here regularly have real pride in the golf course. They feel like members. This golf course definitely belongs to the San Diego community."

Since San Diego features what many meteorologists call the most temperate climate in North America -- there is only a 15- to 20-degree variance through the seasons -- people who live in the town known as "America's Finest City" get plenty of opportunities to take advantage of Torrey Pines. Almost 100,000 rounds are played there each year.

"When you have a course that gets that much play, trying to get the course into PGA TOUR condition is a challenge, but with assistance from the PGA TOUR agronomy department and our maintenance staff, the course seems to get better every year," Wilson said. "We begin about three months prior to the tournament with fertilization, mowing and bunker work. We've got it down to a science. Being a seaside course, we never have problems with frost or anything that could discolor the grass during the winter months. We're weather perfect."

The golf course closed to public play at 1 p.m. last Wednesday -- just over a week before the Buick Invitational begins. Wilson says that 70 percent of Torrey Pines' regular customers are residents who visit the course an average of twice a week. When it comes time to give back, Wilson says those regular customers are just as eager to show up.

"We have no problem getting a corps of 1,000 volunteers," he said. "The majority of them belong to the mens' and ladies' clubs here at Torrey Pines, and about 90 percent of them return each year. Whether they are scorers or marshals, they take great pride in the course during tournament week and enjoy being so close to the stars."

While golf fans flock to the golf course as volunteers and spectators, one group of San Diego residents stays as far away from the golf course as they can during tournament week.

"We have a nice relationship with the military," Wilson said of nearby Miramar Marine Corps Air Base, that was once known as Top Gun. "They agree to divert their normal flight patterns to the north during tournament week so that we have no noise problem. Normally, the fighter jets and helicopters fly right over the golf course."

Those camping out overnight Sunday won't be the only ones who appreciate that courtesy.

Editors note: Tournament columnist Michael Patrick Shiels appears each Monday on PGATOUR.COM.