South

Torrey Pines is one of American public golf's most celebrated addresses, and the South Course is its marquee layout — the one that has hosted multiple U.S. Opens, including Tiger Woods' dramatic 2008 victory in a Monday playoff over Rocco Mediate, played on a leg Woods later revealed was badly injured. Rees Jones conducted a significant renovation ahead of that championship, sharpening the routing's teeth while preserving the rugged character that defines the place. It remains among the finest municipal courses anywhere in the country.

Perched on coastal bluffs above the Pacific in La Jolla, the course plays through stands of Torrey pine — a tree found almost nowhere else on earth — with ocean views that open on several holes and marine layer that rolls in off the water and keeps conditions cool and unpredictable well into summer mornings.

The South rewards patience and course management. Greens are large and contoured, fairways demand precision off the tee, and the setting never lets you forget you're playing somewhere genuinely rare.