Here is the scoop on how to make reservations and/or get on the courses at Torrey Pines. I have been playing these courses for about 15 years, almost on a weekly basis, so I ought to know. Tee Time Reservations Reservations may be made one week in advance by calling 619-570-1234. This is a computerized system that will cascade you through several options. You respond by pressing the appropriate number on your touch-tone telephone. Contrary to what many people think, you don't have to be a city or county resident to be able to make reservations through this system, although non-residents will be required to pay all the greens fees by credit card at the time of booking on a non-refundable basis. So be sure you're coming to San Diego and you're serious about playing Torrey Pines. City and County Residents will be asked to enter their six digit City of San Diego issued Photo ID Card number (Pin #) in order to get around the credit card charge feature and qualify for a discounted resident greens fee which they will pay on the day of play after they present their Resident Photo ID to the Starter. (Note: non-residents and residents without a Photo ID who are playing with Photo ID carrying residents still have to pay the higher non-resident greens fees.) Residents without a Resident Photo ID can still make a reservation by using their phone number but, like non-residents, they will be required to pay non-resident, non-refundable greens fees and use a credit card to pre-pay at the time of booking. From then on, everything applies equally to whoever calls. The computer for the reservation system starts accepting calls at 7pm (PST) every day for tee times seven days later. You better be a fast re-dialer if you want to get through because it's like trying to win a radio station contest by hitting the redial button over and over until you get that lucky ring! And if that's not hard enough, all the finishable tee times are usually gone within 15 to 20 minutes! I know people that are long time city residents, pillars of the society that were never able to get through. Some swear that it's easier to get a tee time by becoming a scratch player and qualifying for the Buick Invitational. Ah! But there is another way. You may call the Pro-Shop at 1-800-985-4653. They offer a package which includes playing a few holes with one of the staff teaching pros. This is a neat deal if you are in town for a couple of days and definitely want to play Torrey. You need to call the Pro Shop to find out the details on this. Ah! But there is yet another way. There are several "tee time providers" in town. These golf reservation companies have hired a part-time network of housewives and high school and college students who will do the dialing for you. Of course you'll have to pay a coordination fee over and above your green fees and cart. Like any other service, you are paying them for the convenience of not having to remember to spend your time dialing for a tee time at 7 pm one week prior to your golf outing. The "Torrey specialist" is San Diego Golf Reservations (800-905-0272). They are a full-service golf reservation company serving San Diego residents and visitors since 1992. They specialize in booking tee times, golf packages and coordinating tournaments and corporate golf events at San Diego's best golf courses ... including TORREY PINES. Open everyday 7:30am-9:00pm. NOTE: Everyone, even city residents, using a phone number, instead of a Resident Photo ID number (PIN #) MUST pre-pay non-resident greens fees by credit card at the time of booking on a non-refundable basis. Walk-On's (or Stand-By's) There are two major "procedures" for early morning "walk-ons". The "Weekday Procedure" and the "Weekend Procedure". They are somewhat similar and don't ask me why there are two procedures when only one would do. These "procedures" have been established since the time of the guta-percha ball. The first reserved tee time, everyday, tees off at 7:35am, so there is a lot of daylight between sunrise and the first reserved tee time. Of course the "dawn patrol" time varies with the seasons. The Starter usually opens the course at 6am. Again, some Starters are better than others and open a tad earlier, particulary in the summer, when by 5:30am you see people stretching out at the first tees. Starters usually wait for the Pro Shop to open to begin letting people on the course. This way, those who prefer to ride can rent a cart from the shop. Having said this, let's look at the two procedures: "The earlier the better" applies to every day. On weekdays, obviously, it's easier to get on before 7:35am. Upon parking your car, take your golf bag to the rail on the deck facing the North Course first tee. Place it as close to the Starter's window as possible, without by-passing other bags already "in the line". The Starter's window is to your right as you get to the deck walking up the stairs on either side of the Pro Shop. You will notice that the first 4 or 5 bags are empty and chained to the rail/fence. They belong to people that showed up very, very, darn early and went to sleep in their cars. After placing your bag along the rail, you may go to the cafeteria, if already open, or to your car to sleep. It's an unwritten rule NOT TO LEAVE THE PREMISES, but I'm not sure how bad this is enforced on weekdays. When the Starter opens the window, each bag owner takes his/her place in line per bag position. Usually there is room for 7 or 8 foursomes per course before 7:35am. Each person may sign up for up to one foursome. On weekends the situation is tight. The "DO NOT LEAVE THE PREMISES" rule is fully enforced, and unless you like to live dangerously you'd better respect it. Some people say that the "L.A. Riots" got started by a group of people mobbing on a guy who left the premises at Torrey. They caught up with him in L.A. This is the procedure: You get to the parking lot and look for the car with its lights on, or for the one flashing its lights as you get there. That's the signal from the person who has The Number. The Number is exactly that, a number, or position in the line when the Starter opens the window. Once you get The Number, you wait in your car for the next arrival to pass it on. If they tell you: "You are 14", then you tell the next person: "You are 15". And so on. People look very skeptically at cars leaving the parking lot. You may go to the cafeteria, if open, once you passed on the number. Or you may go anywhere within the premises. Another no-no is to skip a Number, thus securing two spots in the line. If they catch you doing this they feed you to the wildlife in the nearby canyons. Now, here's the bad news. Unless you don't have a life, or your family doesn't really like you, you'll try to get to the course by 4 to 5am only to find that you are Number 27. The die-hard, truly brave "dawn patrollers" get there by 11pm or Midnight, THE NIGHT BEFORE .They are the ones without a life or whose families don't like them. It is not hard to get to Number 10 before 2am Several factors affect the Number: football, Christmas, Thanksgiving ... "wife/husband dying" is usually not a factor. Still, if your Number is high, say beyond 20, take your place in the line. Chances are that you and your group won't tee off before 7:35am, but at least you will be in a reasonable position to get on when the reservation system yields no-shows. The common ground for both, weekdays and weekends, is the jargon: If you want to play the South Course, you tell the Starter: "your-name, n, for the South"; if you don't have a preference, or are willing to take whatever you get, you say: "your-name, n, either course". Of course, n is a number from 1 to 4 representing the number of players in your party. The desperate option is to settle for 9 holes. They let people on the course at #10 North for 9 holes until about 8am, which is when the first 18-hole group gets to the 9th green and is ready to make the turn. Since the #10 tee on the South is a mile away, they don't let people play 9 holes on that course. Several people just go straight to the 9-hole line. It's a line next to the regular line (to the right). TIP: If you are by yourself or with a buddy, pay attention to the Starter, as sometimes there is a threesome or a twosome ahead of you in the line and the Starter fills the foursome out with the "NEXT TWOSOME (SINGLE) IN THE LINE FOR THE NORTH (SOUTH)". When you hear words like these, jump like a Budweiser frog and land at the window. You may skip over several foursomes ahead of you. And it's "legal", so there's no danger of being sued for this. Twilight Protocol Twilight rates apply starting at 4pm from April through October, and at 3pm from November through March. The sign-up for twilight is at Noon, at the Starter's window, for the very same day. The line to sign up usually starts at 11:20am and to the left of the Starter's window, along the rail overlooking the North course first tee. One special day I haven't covered yet is the Monday after the Buick Invitational. The course management does not take reservations for that day. Both courses play with the pin locations from the last round played by the PGA TOUR pros (Friday for the North, Sunday for the South). The demand to play the South Course on that day has reached the White House, some people say. It may be easier to get on at Augusta National, believe me. The Torrey Pines management office gives out tee times for this Monday via a lottery held after the tournament is over on Sunday. I believe this pretty much covers it. Oil up your touch tone phone and your dialing finger, or set your alarm for pretty $#&^%$ early if you want to play Torrey. It's not as bad as it may sound. It's very rare that you won't get to play, and if you don't it's because you and the rest of your foursome got to the course after 9am, in which case you'll have to go back to your country club. This is "muni golf", buddy. Birdie putts to you.