SoCal Golf INSIDER

W ith its storied history, and the host of the 2008 U.S. Open and future host in 2021, Torrey Pines Golf Course needs no introduction. However, even though it's a public course, getting a tee time can be tough. "It's one of the most difficult golf courses in the world to get a tee time. If you are a resident of the city of San Diego, you might have a chance. If not, good luck!" says Cam Stephens, CEO of Pacific Golf Group and who worked in upper management for 19 years with American Golf. But those golfers who want a tee time have an experienced reservation company to book through: San Diego Golf Reservations, which is owned by Stephens. "We are the largest golf reservation company in San Diego and we have been booking tee times at Torrey Pines for over 27 years," Stephens said. "We are the local experts at get- ting golfers on Torrey Pines." The reason for the company's cre- ation is one that most golfers who have attempted to play it can em- pathize with. Stephens said only a limited amount of tee times are re- leased each day for non-residents, and they need to arrive early and get on a standby list and wait two to three hours, if not more, in hopes that someone doesn't show up. In fact, some people even sleep in their car and wake up at dawn in hopes of being first in line, he said. That difficulty was experienced by Rick MacDonald, the founder of San Diego Golf Reservations, when he was unable to get a tee time at the course for he and some Navy bud- dies. At that time, golfers had to call the course at 5 a.m., but the number was almost always busy and tee times were booked in 15 minutes. So, MacDonald decided to "bribe" his teenage daughters, paying them $20 each if they woke up and called by 5 a.m. After a few weeks, his friends heard about his arrangement, and began paying their children for their efforts. "Macdonald was quick to realize HOT TICKET San Diego Golf Reservations helps golfers get tee times at Torrey Pines and other courses in the county COVER STORY SoCal GOLF INSIDER continued on the next page > Because of its popularity, Torrey Pines is one of the most difficult courses to get a tee time at in SoCal.

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