TORREY PINES GOLF COURSE

California has consistently provided dramatic sites for National Championships of the United States Golf Association. The 2008 U.S. Open marks the 67th USGA Championship and the tenth U.S. Open in the state, but it is the first time the Open will be played at Torrey Pines Golf Course. The Championship will be contested on Torrey Pines’ South Course, which was designed in 1957 by noted golf architect William P. Bell. Another well-known American golf architect, Rees Jones, has overseen widely praised renovations to the course in preparation for the championship.

Sprawling atop cliffs towering above the Pacific Ocean, the course boasts dramatic views of the coastline and deep ravines. Wildlife is plentiful. Bounded by mountains to the north and the Pacific to the west, the course often basks in sunshine but can be swept by rain, fog and chilling winds.