Located in La Jolla (pronounced "la hoya"), California, Torrey Pines Golf Course sits on the coastal cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean and is recognized as the premier municipal golf course owned and operated by a city. It is named after the Torrey Pine, a rare tree that grows in the wild only along this local stretch of the coastline in San Diego County and on Santa Rosa Island.
It offers two picturesque and, due to its yearly hosting of the PGA TOUR’s Farmers Insurance Open event, widely recognizable championship 18-hole golf courses. It is surely the most accessible public facility for the die-hard enthusiast wishing to play at a world-renown facility that nearly all golfers know by name.
Torrey Pines was the site of perhaps the most memorable modern day U.S. Open Championship, when in 2008, under the typically brutal conditions of this major tournament, injured and hobbling Tiger Woods defeated Rocco Mediate during their sudden death playoff after 90 grueling holes of exciting golf.
Torrey Pines also offers one of the largest on-course golf shops in the United States, expert instruction, tournaments, and advanced golf schools.