So I was having this discussion last night with a few friends. Which course is better? Both have the following: Held a Major Held a PGA Event Allow walk ups Easily accessible to the public Local discounts

Just an outsider opinion here, as I haven't played either. I've heard without the views.....Torrey is just average at best. Bethpage looks to be gorgeous AND a true test of golf. My vote is the black.

Haven't played BPB but know some who have and say it's a test. Torrey, depending on conditions, can play very tough but likely not in same league as Bethpage at its toughest. I've played Torrey a few times, once when off the fairway was a lost ball, it wasn't fun.

Jaybananapantsarthur Yep, I lost just shy of 3 sleeves in that Torrey South Rough. Who's idea was it to make 15 handicaps play from 7200? Truthfully I can only remember 5 holes at Torrey in my mind.

Never played Torrey. I’m sure it is beautiful. I frequent Black and for a golfer with no club affiliation, it is the closest I can get to pristine conditions. Plays hard and fast and you get some monster tee shots with greens that roll like a billiards table. The course is long and fair in the sense that if you hit the short stuff, the greens are large enough that you have a great shot at par and stiff it 15 feet and you know you just need to put a solid stroke on it for a good birdie opportunity. I’ve had some of my longest driving days and most feet of putts made at BPB. The tricky part of the course is making sure you play the right tees because too far forward and your landing zone with a driver no longer exists. If you carry it 280-290 you are going to find some unlucky breaks on a few holes such as 7, 9, 12, and 13 if the tees are up a box. If you can’t hit fairways and greens, completely different story. Be prepared for the toughest, longest round of physical and mental endurance. Piggy back that with a grueling morning or getting there for your baker’s ticket to get a tee time with your group and the day just got longer. As a single you can get in easily but it’s a crapshoot who you get paired with.

ckay so when are we playing the black together? 😉

dphatt I’m down for that. Once the quarantine lifts in NY and people get back to work I can try and get a foursome for the guys interested during the week. Every day times literally sell out in seconds when released right now. Or if you want the real Black experience we can sit in our cars and watch the minutes go by slowly but that’s no fun. You just end up hating yourself towards the end of the round.

ckay I am too old to sleep in the car lol. Let’s wait for it to calm down and I will head up for sure

dphatt if you see a dude hitchhiking on your way up the NJ Turnpike be sure to stop and pick me up 😄

Jaybananapantsarthur we can do Stone Harbor and then go up to the Black the next day 😉

Bethpage Black or Torrey Pines South

Eddie

A good friend told me the best time to goto Pebble is the week before the concourse, it's when the course is in the best condition (aside from for tournaments), and both times I have gone on that weekend, the course has been immaculate. Also get to meet a lot of interesting people. One year I woke up, opened my lodge door, and saw Jay Leno in the room next to me, really cool guy.

I absolutely love Pebble, holes 11-14 feel a little underwhelming, but overall, still a huge fan of Pebble.

Pure745

ckay

Definitely play Torrey South. It's a fun track with great views, do not skip it. Compared to the Black, it's not as good, but one of my favorite tracks out here. If you're an SD resident it's sub $100 and even sub $50 twilight, which changes the whole discussion.

TB3GOLF

Funny you say that. I have not played PB but have played MPCC and Cypress Point and have friends who say PB is their favorite of the 3. I'm not sure it would come close to CP for me, but it's on my list of things to do 🙂

ckay

Pure745 I’ll get out to South at some point. The hurdle for me is that we stay in BH when we make it out to LA so it becomes a chore to get myself down there and then deal with traffic on the way back.

TB3GOLF

Pure745 as someone who’s played all four, I’d say it’s dead last of those four. What’s said is even with as overrated as pebble is, it’s still LIGHT YEARS better than TPines

FairwayDae

Bethpage Black. Tough to beat Torrey views but Bethpage is probably the better course.

adam62482

TB3GOLF can you please explain how Pebble is overrated in your opinion?

Eddie

ckay

At least you hit some balls. I even have a second bag out in LA so no excuse not to play, but aside from Aloha, I've played one round there, and I'm there 1/4 of the year 🤣 .

FairwayDae

As a SD resident, I would say it's not worth the $252 they charge for non-residents for the weekends to WALK (Carts $40 extra). @dphatt NW on the water right? LOL. I actually play the North course more often as it's cheaper, has better views, smoother greens, and usually plays a lot faster.

The only time TP South may be worth it for out-of-towners would be immediately before or after the Farmers. They have the grand stands up and the course is in immaculate shape. Kind of a cool experience that one wouldn't normally get on an average weekend. With that said, please continue to show up as it probably subsidizes the rates for us locals 😃

mhales10

Pebble in October is solid. Enough daylight to get in 36 as well!

My brother and I did Pebble in the morning and Spyglass in the afternoon. You will need to take the first tee time at Pebble to make it work.

Weather was perfect the few days we were there.

TB3GOLF

adam62482 overpriced, rarely in the condition for what you pay, almost guaranteed 5.5-6.5 hour round. If you choose to take a cart, it’s CPO. Caddies are the biggest assh*les ever. It’s a miserable experience. I’ve played pebble five times and outside of the time I went with my father it was miserable. The entire PBCo staff made our entire group, feel like we were an inconvenience. The resort was great but the golf staff left a lot to be desired.

as a course, pebble’s non coastal holes are completely forgettable. Take pebble off of the coast and it’s a mediocre design.

I feel the same way about places like Whistling Straits and Erin Hills except the staff and caddies weren’t as bad. Those properties are just miserably slow.

adam62482

TB3GOLF

TB3GOLF Overpriced sure but it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for many to play. The demand is there. I played it 4 years ago and I don’t know if I got lucky but the course was in very good shape for mid June my caddie and I got along great so I had him come loop for me at Spyglass.

As for the comments of its being a mediocre design if it weren’t on the coast is about as absurd as calling Augusta ordinary if it weren’t on such rolling terrain. I get that it’s your opinion and I respect that but there are 2 specific memories that I have from that course on the landlocked holes involving Tiger.

Out of curiosity, what course or courses do you like?

TB3GOLF

adam62482
Sand Hills
Friars Head
Mountain Lake
Chicago Golf Club
Valley Club of Montecito

Again just my opinion. Someone once asked me where they should play in California with $1000 and I told them to play pasa four times and not to think twice.

adam62482

On my Pebble trip I played 36 at Pasatiempo. It’s a special place but still isn’t Pebble Beach IMO. I need to play every other course you listed but I am familiar with them. I think Pebble can be “overrated” and “underrated” at the same time.

TB3GOLF

adam62482 don’t disagree. I’m a firm believer in the phrase, opinions are like assholes, everyone has one and they all stink.

I hold gca to a very high standard do to my line of work.

MatthewASim

adam62482 agree with this forsure. I only pkayed pebble once but I’m still up in the air about it. Spyglass was a better course IMO and I actually though Poppy Hills was very under rated as well.

MatthewASim

Haven’t played BPB but have played TSouth multiple times in very different conditions. In tournament conditions it’s a beast and there are a lot of good holes and shots that you need to play not only into greens but off some of the tees as well. Although saying that and nit playing bethpage only seeing it on TV I’d say bethpage still looks better to me. Looks like you can’t get away with the wrong shot there like you can on some holes at Torrey.

im up for making the drive down from Ontario once we are allowed to cross the boarder again if some guys are going to go.

dphatt

MatthewASim I am all in on this trip if you make it down

ckay

dphatt I would be down too. I can try to book a time for us a week in advance. A weekday would be best shot at a tee time if we can all mutually agree on a day.

A caddie is worth the extra bucks to mule your bag around. Most know the subtle greens or you can just ignore it and play your game. They know whether you appreciate the info or not fairly quick.

bigjohntripod

I enjoyed Torrey when we all played for Aloha. Loved the course, loved the views. I think the company made it awesome. I’d love to play BP also. Pasatiempo (spellcheck) is also on my list to play....I love the logo 🤷‍♂️

dphatt

ckay how has it been for getting tee times? I heard it was really bad a few weeks ago