Torrey Pines North and South are among two of the most well known golf courses in the world. They’ve hosted countless professional tournaments and have breathtaking scenery. Many wonder what the biggest differences between these two courses are. Despite being a part of the same club, there are a few substantial differences.
I compared Torrey Pines North and South on a few important factors:
- Total Yardage
- Total Hazards
- Difficulty
By the end of this article you should have a much better idea as to what the differences between these courses are.
What is the difference between Torrey Pines North and Torrey Pines South? The main differences between Torrey Pines North and Torrey Pines South is that Torrey Pines North is about 381 yards shorter than Torrey Pines South. Additionally, Torrey Pines North has about 8 more hazards throughout the course compared to Torrey Pines South.
| Torrey Pines North | Torrey Pines South | |
| Total Yardage | 7,247 yards | 7,628 yards |
| Total Hazards | 63 | 55 |
| Total Holes | 18 | 18 |
Yardage: Torrey Pines North vs South
One of the first things that comes to people’s minds when they are comparing Torrey Pines North and South is the overall yardage. Both have similar yardage, but there is a bit of a difference. Below is a table that outlines the current yardage for each hole for both the North and South courses.
| Hole | North (yards) | South (yards) |
| 1 | 410 | 450 |
| 2 | 495 | 389 |
| 3 | 241 | 200 |
| 4 | 479 | 488 |
| 5 | 525 | 454 |
| 6 | 416 | 560 |
| 7 | 322 | 462 |
| 8 | 214 | 176 |
| 9 | 556 | 614 |
| 10 | 536 | 416 |
| 11 | 339 | 221 |
| 12 | 203 | 504 |
| 13 | 459 | 540 |
| 14 | 451 | 437 |
| 15 | 202 | 478 |
| 16 | 393 | 227 |
| 17 | 520 | 442 |
| 18 | 486 | 570 |
As mentioned above, the total yardage of Torrey Pines North is 7,247 yards and the total yardage for Torrey Pines South is 7,628 yards. This leaves a difference of about 381 yards in total. This difference is somewhat substantial as those 381 yards is basically an entirely extra hole’s worth of distance on Torrey Pines South.
I also broke this down based on the Front 9 and Back 9 of each course. In terms of the front 9, Torrey Pines North is 135 yards shorter than Torrey Pines South. In terms of the back 9, the North course is 246 yards shorter than the South course.
| North | South | |
| Front 9 | 3,658 | 3,793 |
| Back 9 | 3,589 | 3,835 |
These are just things to consider if yardage is something that plays a big impact on your game. In other words, depending on what typical distances you are used to in a round of 18 holes, this distance is something to consider.
Hazards: Torrey Pines North vs South
Another interesting aspect in this course comparison is the amount of hazards that each has. In terms of total hazards, it appears that Torrey Pines North has 61 bunkers anda 2 water hazards, whereas Torrey Pines South has 54 bunkers and 1 water hazard.
| North | South | |
| Sand Bunkers | 61 | 54 |
| Water Hazards | 2 | 1 |
So, what this means is that, the North course has 8 more hazards than the South course. Depending on your range of skill, the North course may present some more issues for you compared to the South course.
Difficulty: Torrey Pines North vs South
The most common question that is probably asked when comparing these two courses is, which one is more difficult? Whether you are interested in playing at the easier course or the harder course it is important to know the difference between the two.
It has been noted by Torrey Pines that their South course is more difficult than the North course due to a variety of reasons. Generally speaking, the average scores on their South course are much higher than the scores on their North course.
This is basically due to a number of factors like terrain, winds, etc. that the South course is exposed to compared to the North course.