Can You Play Torrey Pines South on Awesome Golf? Here’s How

Torrey Pines South is a municipal golf course that hosts a PGA Tour event and a U.S. Open. It does not make sense, and that is why everyone loves it.

Awesome Golf includes Torrey Pines South in its standard library. The course is a 7,800-yard brute that combines California coastal beauty with genuinely punishing length. The par 3s along the cliffs are some of the most photographed holes in golf. The iconic Torrey Pines trees — those gnarly, wind-sculpted cypress trees that look like something from a fantasy movie — are everywhere.

How It Plays on Awesome Golf

The length is the first thing you notice. Torrey Pines South is long on a real course, and on Awesome Golf the LIDAR data does not cheat the yardage. The 18th is a 570-yard par 5 with a fairway that slopes right to left. On Awesome Golf, the second shot decision is the same as the real course — go for it and risk the canyon left, or lay up and trust your wedge game.

The 3rd hole is the iconic cliffside par 3 that plays toward the Pacific Ocean. Awesome Golf’s rendering of this hole is solid for an iPad-native app. The ocean is visible behind the green. The wind off the water affects the shot. It is not 4K quality, but the hole reads correctly and the playability is there.

The greens at Torrey Pines South are not Oakmont-fast but they are firm and large. Awesome Golf’s green physics handle the large putting surfaces reasonably well. The 12th hole, the par 3 across the canyon, requires a carry that looks intimidating on the iPad screen and plays just as scary.

How to Access It

Open Awesome Golf on your iPad. Select Virtual Golf. Browse the course list for “Torrey Pines South Course.” Set conditions to firm with tournament wind. The course is long enough without soft fairways.

The Awesome Golf Limitations

The ocean views are the main sacrifice on Awesome Golf. On GSPro or FSX Play, the Pacific Ocean at Torrey Pines is rendered in high resolution with wave animation and sunlight reflections. On Awesome Golf, the ocean is a flat texture. It is recognizable but not beautiful.

The Torrey Pines trees suffer the same limitation. The distinctive cypress trees that give the course its character are present but lack the visual detail they would have on a PC-based sim. You will know they are there. You will not stop to admire them.

For the price of entry — $199 a year for the entire library — Torrey Pines South is a welcome addition. It is not the best-looking version of the course on any platform. But it is included, it is playable, and the 3rd hole still delivers.

For the full list of courses worth playing on Awesome Golf, read The Best Courses on Awesome Golf. Need the full software breakdown? Check the Awesome Golf Review.