We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Golf trip advice - Torrey Pines or Trump National

Bomb_n_Gouge

Bomb_n_Gouge

New member
Joined
Feb 15, 2010
Messages
601
Reaction score
2
Location
Milwaukee Area
I am going to be in Palm Desert at the beginning of March for a week golfing at Ironwood Country Club. We are trying to plan a trip out of the area to play a round and right now are discussing these two courses. Have any of our California Hackers played these courses? Which would you recommend?

Any Palm Springs course we should check out? Thanks!
 
Torrey Pines looked absolutley phenomenal this past weekend. I would love to play there.
 
Bomb_n_Gouge said:
I am going to be in Palm Desert at the beginning of March for a week golfing at Ironwood Country Club. We are trying to plan a trip out of the area to play a round and right now are discussing these two courses. Have any of our California Hackers played these courses? Which would you recommend?

Any Palm Springs course we should check out? Thanks!
Click to expand...

You know from where you are those two courses are literally hours away on the coast. I was in Palm Desert earlier this year and if you have time and money go to TMPL over at the Desert Springs Marriott. I played Eagle Falls as well which is down I-10 in Indio and the course was great from the layout to the staff.
 
Spank818 said:
You know from where you are those two courses are literally hours away on the coast. I was in Palm Desert earlier this year and if you have time and money go to TMPL over at the Desert Springs Marriott. I played Eagle Falls as well which is down I-10 in Indio and the course was great from the layout to the staff.
Click to expand...

Ya a couple hour drive isn't so bad for us, we are planning on spending the evening either in LA or San Diego anyway.

Eagle Falls looks like a nice course and reasonable for the area, thanks for the advice!!!
 
Bomb_n_Gouge said:
Ya a couple hour drive isn't so bad for us, we are planning on spending the evening either in LA or San Diego anyway.

Eagle Falls looks like a nice course and reasonable for the area, thanks for the advice!!!
Click to expand...

If that's the case if you know someone who lives in San Diego proper that can get you a tee time in Torrey then that really just so you can say that you've played Torrey. I think it would be safe to assume that Trump National would be less crowded and probably better maintained around this part of the year.
 
I agree with Spank. There are a ton of great courses to play in the Palm Springs area to play. ( dont know alot but could get that info if needed) Torrey Pines will take a miracle to get on and it is a 3 hour drive, Trump is high priced and anothe r2+ hour drive from where you will be.
 
White Rhino said:
I agree with Spank. There are a ton of great courses to play in the Palm Springs area to play. ( dont know alot but could get that info if needed) Torrey Pines will take a miracle to get on and it is a 3 hour drive, Trump is high priced and anothe r2+ hour drive from where you will be.
Click to expand...


We are planning to play mostly at the country club simply because it doesn't cost anything. Going to Torrey or Trump is purely for a scenary change and obviously because of the reputation.

I looked into a lot of the public Palm Desert courses, for the price the only one that stood out to me was the PGA West course as something to play based on the experience or reputation of the course.

Torrey kind of angers me that in order for me to get a tee time I have to pay $43 per person to reserve in addition to the greens fees which puts these two course (torrey/trump) at the same price point.

Really looking for an experience, doesn't matter if we need to drive there, we have 5 1/2 days of golf. Most of my favorite courses here at home are an hour+ away from my house.
 
I grew up near Palos Verdes and have been lucky enough to play Trump on two occasions. It is a fantastic course, always in perfect shape, and on a clear day the view looking over the ocean at Catalina Island is amazing. I have been to Torrey twice, but never played there. I am partial to Trump. It starts off with one of the prettiest holes out there (a short par 4 with a waterfall set as the back drop of the green) and is a joy to play from that point on. It demands accuracy. I put my vote towards Trump, but that being said Torrey is always rated as one of the #1 public courses in the US, so really you can't lose either way. If you are staying in the Palos Verdes area and want to play a cheap second round then I would suggest trying to get on Los Verdes. It is a very nice muni, but nothing in the same realm as Trump. It is like $30 to play, but unless you can get a really early tee time I wouldn't bother, because in LA the average round takes around 5.5 to 6 hrs to play. Sorry for the tangent. This is a nice decision to have to make. Keep us informed.
 
Dr. Teeth said:
I grew up near Palos Verdes and have been lucky enough to play Trump on two occasions. It is a fantastic course, always in perfect shape, and on a clear day the view looking over the ocean at Catalina Island is amazing. I have been to Torrey twice, but never played there. I am partial to Trump. It starts off with one of the prettiest holes out there (a short par 4 with a waterfall set as the back drop of the green) and is a joy to play from that point on. It demands accuracy. I put my vote towards Trump, but that being said Torrey is always rated as one of the #1 public courses in the US, so really you can't lose either way. If you are staying in the Palos Verdes area and want to play a cheap second round then I would suggest trying to get on Los Verdes. It is a very nice muni, but nothing in the same realm as Trump. It is like $30 to play, but unless you can get a really early tee time I wouldn't bother, because in LA the average round takes around 5.5 to 6 hrs to play. Sorry for the tangent. This is a nice decision to have to make. Keep us informed.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the reccomendations, I didn't know it took that long to play a round, what is the reasoning?
 
Bomb_n_Gouge said:
Thanks for the reccomendations, I didn't know it took that long to play a round, what is the reasoning?
Click to expand...

Slow play mostly! Some courses are so over booked that they send out 5somes. But mostly just a lot of people who play very slow. You won't have this problem at Trump though. Both times I played there the pace was just perfect!
 
Another thing that I forgot to mention about Trump that is a really nice feature is the fact that on every hole you will see the ocean. I love this. With the layouts of some courses it is easy to forget where you are among the trees, but Trump you will always remember that you are on the cliffs overlooking a beautiful ocean. It makes for a very breathtaking round. Oh and 18 is an amazing finishing hole! Very fun, but difficult and if memory serves me correctly, it is the most expensive hole in golf because it fell into the ocean when making the course. Anyways, I am done now! :D
 
I've played Torrey Pines South and Trump when it was Ocean Trails. If I had to pick between the two, I'd pick Torrey. Trump is a more modern, target golf style course. It was originally designed by Pete Dye. I'm not a fan of his designs. Trump added a few waterfalls to some of the holes. If you like a more classic style, then I'd go for Torrey. Also, since you're looking for an experience, I'd pick Torrey because they had the 2008 open there and the Farmers. It's pretty cool to watch the pros play a course you've played on.
 
ive played torrey and trump and if i had to pick one to return to id have to go with trump hands down
 
I have played both the north and south course at Torrey and loved them both.
I haven't had the opportunity to play Trump National yet, but I have put it in my bucket list.
 
Even though I live in SD, I would say go with Trump National. Torrey Pines is a great course, mind you, but for non-residents, the fees are ridiculous. It's actually not as hard as you'd think to get a tee time, because it's so over-priced. It is in great shape right now. However, it is pretty difficult due to the super-tall rough!
 
There will always be tourneys played at torrey pines, imagine how fun it would be to watch a tourney and know you birdied that hole. I'd love to spend a day playing a round or two there. I'm partial as I'm ex San Diegan though.
 
SD Charlie said:
Even though I live in SD, I would say go with Trump National. Torrey Pines is a great course, mind you, but for non-residents, the fees are ridiculous. It's actually not as hard as you'd think to get a tee time, because it's so over-priced. It is in great shape right now. However, it is pretty difficult due to the super-tall rough!
Click to expand...

I agree with TNC...I have played the TPC River Highlands here in CT a couple of times and love getting to say during the broadcast or on the course..."see the 17th ...hard drive with water on the right and then the approach shot over the water...I birdie that...."

Two weeks before the Farmers tourney at Torrey I stayed at the Torrey Pines Hilton over looking the 18th of the South course. I watch some guys practicing the approach and watch their balls spin back into the little pond or not make it across...

I'd go with Torrey without any knowledge of Trump :)

(whoops grabbed wrong quote...)
 
Last edited:
There is that factor too. I definitely had more fun watching the Farmers Open this year, after having played Torrey a few times in the past month or so. I would see the guys teeing off, or hitting approach shots and think "oh yeah, I've been there." Of course, they made the shots look easy and from much farther away. haha.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions and help with this everyone.

Right now we are leaning towards Trump but havn't made any tee times yet so it could go either way.

I'm looking forward to sharing the experience once I have returned!
 
Will you only be golfing? Torrey is close to San Diego and is in my opinion and much better city for a vacation. Great downtown area and the gaslamp district is full of bars and pretty woman (aka atmosphere when you describe it to your wife:D)
Trump National is in Palos Verdes which, if memory serves correct was the 4th richest city in California, that means when you leave the Golf Course, you'll drive for 10 minutes by the Biggest houses with the biggest front gates you'll ever see. Pretty but not really a vacation fun setting. If you go Trump, check out the orange county beach cities to the south: NewPort Beach, Laguna Nigel, Dana Point, Manhattan Beach etc etc. Laguna Nigel is a great "artsy" beach town, if that's your thing.
 
Actually we will be staying in Palm Desert at a house on IronWood Country Club so we will be playing their courses most of the time but we wanted to get away for a day trip.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top