Weiskopf Focusing On Non-Tour Players In Torrey North Redo

Tom Weiskopf spoke to the San Diego Union Tribune's Tod Leonard about winning the combined architect/contractor bid to renovate the North Course at Torrey Pines.

The story includes some encouraging remarks from Weiskopf offset by discouraging news that drawings still haven't been seen and greens are going to be redesigned. The North currently has a nice set of greens needing only relatively minor massaging for speeds and sand build up, so any attempts to reimagine their contouring comes with risks.

“I’ve just never tricked up our green designs because of one factor,” Weiskopf said. “The speeds at which we can achieve with mowing equipment these days, if you get real contour you’re just slowing down play and making it harder for the average guy.”

For the bunkering, Weiskopf wants to create a more classic look. He joked that some of the current bunkers on the North “look like they were created with mortar rounds.”

“I always enjoyed the bunker style of the L.A. courses,” he said. “Riviera, L.A. North, Bel-Air Country Club. That’s the style we’re heading to. Those have stood the test of time.”

That'll be interesting. Especially since all three now have very different bunker styles.

There was this as well:

New bids were solicited, and the architects and construction companies that applied were Weiskopf/Wadsworth, Robert Trent Jones Jr./Frontier, Cary Bickler/Landscapes Unlimited, and LPGA Tour player Natalie Gulbis/Heritage Links.

Jones emerged with the highest scores from a city golf committee, but it was then discovered that his company’s bid included work for about $2 million over the established budget. That automatically eliminated Jones from the opportunity, said Kevin Oliver, project officer from the city’s public works department.