Leonard's Update On Torrey Pines North...

Tod Leonard talks to City Golf Manager Mark Marney about the state of San Diego's muni's and finds things are going better than in most areas, with some interesting problems facing the city that others would love to have (steady play!).

And there is the topic of Phil Mickelson's proposed redo of the North Course in the wake of the Rees Jones South Course renovation.

Mickelson expressed a strong interest in January to do the redesign work, but Marney said he has yet to see a plan from Mickelson’s design team. Any changes to the North would have to undergo public review and be approved by the City Council.

Marney reinterated that he wants to maintain the number of rounds on the North, keep it playable for the public and not increase expenses to maintain it.

“When the South Course was done, it was done with good intentions,” Marney said. “Everybody wanted the right thing out of it. But the general public felt like they lost something there. They lost their golf course, or a piece of their golf course.

“We recognize in the North Course that the level of scrutiny is going to be that much tighter because we had an experience that folks weren’t comfortable with. So we’re going to make sure that we’re not only doing what we have to do, but there are going to be more eyes on this, and more scrutiny, and more skeptics than we would if this was a standalone project.”