Early Birds Enjoy a Slice of the Good Life Cheap at Torrey Pines

They are called the Dawn Patrol. But those who don’t understand their obsession with golf or their love for Torrey Pines Municipal Golf Course would probably call them crazy.

They arrive at this picturesque seaside course at all hours of the night, and they pull into the parking lot with a mission -- to secure one of the first unofficial tee times on the north course or the recently renovated south course, which two weeks ago was chosen as the site of the 2008 U.S. Open. The official tee times, and typically the slower play that the early birds hope to avoid, begin at 7:30 a.m.

Some Dawn Patrol veterans sleep on foam mattress pads in the back of their SUVs. Others curl up in their front seats under blankets. Before bedding down for the night, they chain golf bags -- usually a cheap set or a dummy bag -- to a metal rail next to the starter’s window to secure their place in line. They keep their prized clubs in the car.

The first bags, and thus the first tee times, belong to the die-hards, people like Chris Collette, Earl Graham, Paul Doman and Armando Valencia -- retirees who live for affordable greens fees, ocean views, brisk four-hour rounds and the men’s club camaraderie that the Dawn Patrol affords.

On this crisp, clear San Diego morning, there is anger and controversy within the rank and file. While they snoozed in the parking lot, Collette’s and Graham’s bags were stolen. Over the years, bags have been removed from the rail and tossed on top of the pro shop. But that trick was usually pulled on some newcomer who tried to skirt the rules by leaving the premises during the night. Dawn Patrolers are expected to stay in the parking lot once their bags are dropped off at the starter’s window.

By 5:30 a.m., the real bags have replaced the dummy bags and a line is beginning to form in front of the window. In the lounge, where the golfers meet to sort out the morning’s order of play and discuss their latest rounds, a conspiracy theory is working its way around the room.

“This doesn’t make any sense,” said Collette, 74, a three-day-a-week Dawn Patroler for almost 15 years. “Some of us think the bags being ripped off is part of all this U.S. Open. Maybe some people around here think we’re getting too much attention.”

The last thing these guys want is more attention, but they can’t escape it now that the entire golfing world knows where the 2008 U.S. Open will be played.

The Dawn Patrol was recently featured in a San Diego newspaper’s sports section, the day the United States Golf Assn. awarded Torrey Pines the U.S. Open. Many fear their precious tee times will be squeezed, and they will be priced out of existence by the city of San Diego, which owns and manages the course.

“They’ve been trying to take this away from us for 40 years,” said Richard “Dutch” Wenger, 68, one of the longest hitters of the early risers and the proud owner of a motorized pull cart that comes equipped with cruise control. “We’re a nuisance to the city and their profit-making.”

The early-birds fear that the relatively low playing rates for seniors will be raised to help pay for renovations, which include a makeover of the Lodge at Torrey Pines, a 175-room craftsman-style resort where rooms go for $450 a night.

Greens fees have risen steadily to help pay for changes to the south course. But the course, which hosts the PGA Buick Open every February, is still a bargain for people who live within the city limits. The south course is $40 to walk on weekdays, the north is $29. Seniors can buy a monthly card for the north course that provides 10 plays for $135, and they can play the south for $25. Weekday rates for nonresidents are $95 for the south and $65 for the north course. Weekends are $115 and $75.

A few miles away at Meadows Del Mar, a public course with a nice layout but without the breathtaking ocean view, city residents pay $110 for weekday play and $140 on weekends.

Course officials at Torrey Pines say they won’t capitalize on its U.S. Open fame by jacking up rates. In fact, the city announced this week that greens fees will remain frozen until after the 2008 national championship.

“The city of San Diego is big on benefiting these folks,” said Jim Allen, the course’s operations manager, noting that most public golf courses reserve times for their own Dawn Patrols. “I think there will always be that time available at Torrey Pines.”

Six-thirty in the morning might seem early for twisting stiff muscles and whacking a little white ball through the damp air, but it’s routine for folks used to rising long before the morning paper hits the driveway.

On this morning, Valencia, 80, arrived at 4 a.m. and was in one of the first groups off the first tee of the north course.

“I’ve been up since 1 a.m.,” he said. “To me, it’s worth it to get out here early. This is the best bargain in town. It’s nothing to pay a hundred bucks now at some courses.”

And these days, a $100 greens fee doesn’t always guarantee a fast round, which is another reason the elderly duffers rev up their pull carts so early.

“After 7:30, it’s tourists with carts, people taking pictures of the sea and 5 1/2-hour rounds,” said Doman, 73, a retired fire captain.

If Doman and his buddies wanted to sleep in, they might have to fight to get a tee time using the course’s computerized call-in system

“I just gave up after a while,” said John Kern, 46, one of the younger members of the Dawn Patrol. “It’s like trying to speed dial to win a trip to Europe from a radio station. It’s nuts.”