He Built This City

"We finally found a route along a back road that would take less than 10 minutes," Bussey says. "The problem was, there was an old paint factory along the route that had been declared a Superfund site [and designated as environmentally hazardous]. "We wanted to whisk the players through in shuttles, but we could do it only if each group stopped each time through to sign a waiver while in the shuttle. We decided to find another route."

This year the bigger concern is the possibility of bad weather. "I'm just glad it's not an El Niño year," Bussey said. "Rain can kill us with all the roads we have to build."

They'll get built, as will the entire "city." And if someone gets stuck, The Mayor will no doubt get there to help them out. And he'll do it in a hurry.

Cities interested in attracting the U.S. Open should know that not everyone will embrace the idea. There will be issues, as San Diego has demonstrated.

The controversies in the run-up to the 2008 Open at Torrey Pines included a battle over future tee-time availability for men's-association members at the municipally owned South and North courses and a scheduling conflict between the Open in La Jolla and the opening weekend of the annual San Diego County Fair at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

The sites are about five miles apart, and the adjacent Interstate-5 corridor is among the most congested traffic sites in the county. The opening weekend of the Fair typically attracts 45,000 to 60,000 people each day, says Tim Fennell, general manager of the Fairgrounds. The Open will draw about 42,500 people each day.

According to Fennell, the USGA agreed to pay the Fairgrounds $50,000 to postpone its opener from June 13 (the second round of the Open) to June 14 to help alleviate congestion during Friday's rush hour. Fennell says his sense is that on the weekend, "Those who don't necessarily need to be in the area will stay home or do something different," and that will help ease congestion.

A more contentious issue involved an attempt to re-allocate preferential tee times at Torrey Pines. San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders sought to reduce the times available each month for association events. The plan included five tee times per day (20 players) at increased rates for the Torrey Pines Hilton that abuts the South Course.

The association sued the city, claiming it was violating an agreement made in 1983 not to provide preferential tee times to hotels. A compromise was reached in February 2007, allowing the association to retain 30 tee times on the South Course or approximately 39 tee times on the North Course one Sunday morning a month (the mayor's initial plan was to eliminate the Sunday times) and two Thursdays a month (down from four) for the next 10 years. The difference in times is because groups go off in 10-minute intervals on the South and every seven minutes on the North. The Hilton will receive its five tee times per day and agreed to pay part of the association's legal fees.

Animosity has dissipated, says association president Steve Roberts, who says that about 200 members have volunteered to marshal the first and 18th holes at the Open. The members "welcome the opportunity to help in any way we can to make Torrey Pines the finest municipal golf course in the world," Roberts says. -- John Strege