Inside the course: Riviera Country Club

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Badz/PGA TOUR

A scenic view of the ninth hole at Riviera Country Club, host of the Northern Trust Open.

Feb. 13, 2011

The TOUR moves from San Diego, Calif., on to Los Angeles for the Northern Trust Open at historic Riviera CC.

Fast facts

Course Superintendent	Matthew A. Morton
Original architect	Captain George C. Thomas (1926)
Redesign	Tom Fazio (2008)
Par value	71
Number of TOUR events as host venue	47 (including 2011)
Course ranking	Ranked 20 (out of 52) in difficulty on the PGA TOUR in 2010
Yardage history	7,029 (1941-1993)
	6,946 (1994-1997)
	6,953 (1999)
	7,055 (2000-2001)
	7,174 (2002)
	7,222 (2003-2004)
	7,260 (2005-2006)
	7,279 (2007-2008; 2010-present)
	7,298 yards (2009)
Grass	Bermudagrass, perennial ryegrass (tees); Kikuyugrass (rough, fairways); Creeping bentgrass, Poa annua (greens)
Tournament Stimpmeter	12 ft
Sand bunkers	60
Water hazards	0
Course tour	Click here

Course record

Player
Ted Tryba

Year
1999

Round
3rd

Finish
T2

Holes-in-one

Player	Hole	Year
Jeff Quinney	6	2008
Retief Goosen	16	2007
Rich Beem	14	2007
Trevor Immelman	16	2006
Darren Clarke	6	2005
Carl Pettersson	14	2004
MattGogel	16	2003
Craig Stadler	6	2000
Bob Burns	16	1999
Jerry Kelly	6	1999
Glen Day	14	1996
Joel Edwards	6	1996
Patrick Burke	6	1996
Craig Stadler	6	1995
Peter Jacobsen	14	1994
Jay Delsing	6	1992
Doug Martin	4	1992
Ed Dougherty	16	1992
Ben Crenshaw	14	1991
Jim Benepe	6	1989
Donnie Hammond	4	1988
Jeff Lewis	4	1987
T.C. Chen	6	1987
Peter Jacobsen	6	1986
Mac O'Grady	6	1986
Mike Reid	6	1985
Payne Stewart	16	1985
Mike Donald	16	1985
Allen Miller	16	1984

2010 Rankings

Most Difficult Hole

	The par-4 475-yard 18th One of golf's most unique and most recognized finishing holes. The green rests below the clubhouse in a natural amphitheater. A blind tee shot from well below the level of the fairway must carry the hill and fly approximately 220 yards to reach safely. The second shot requires a long iron or even a wood to a kidney-shaped green. 2010: 0 eagles, 38 birdies, 241 pars, 122 bogeys, 8 double bogeys, 1 other.
Easiest hole
	The par-5 503-yard 1st A great starting hole, the tee rests 75 feet above the fairway. With a big tee shot, players can set themselves up for a birdie or possible eagle. With out of bounds left and trees right, an errant tee shot could spell trouble. 2010: 20 eagles, 241 birdies, 136 pars, 12 bogeys, 1 double bogey and 0 others.

Riviera Country Club			2010 rankings		Last 28 years
Hole	Par	Yards	Avg. Score	Rank	Avg. Score	Rank
1	5	503	4.349	18	4.489	18
2	4	463	4.159	5	4.272	1
3	4	434	4.029	10	4.084	7
4	3	236	3.139	6	3.240	2
5	4	434	3.92	13	4.060	10
6	3	199	2.973	11	3.027	12
7	4	408	4.063	9	4.056	11
8	4	460	4.102	7	4.068	9
9	4	458	4.227	3	4.186	5
10	4	315	3.932	12	3.851	16
11	5	583	4.805	17	4.803	17
12	4	479	4.237	2	4.155	6
13	4	459	4.085	8	4.078	8
14	3	176	2.885	15	3.016	13
15	4	487	4.212	4	4.219	4
16	3	166	2.89	14	3.011	14
17	5	590	4.861	16	4.859	15
18	4	475	4.251	1	4.234	3

Course origins

The annual site of the Northern Trust Open is a gem designed by George Thomas, a Philadelphian who loved flowers and was engaged in a search for the perfect rose when directors of the Los Angeles Athletic Club invited him to design a course for them. Thomas had by then moved to Beverly Hills, had designed the highly-regarded North course of the Los Angeles Country Club and now set to work on Riviera.

The course is a beauty and a must-study for every serious student of course design. Thomas' bunkering is inventive, with their flashed far ends and their ragged look. The course plays in a bowl in the Santa Monica Valley and rises to a crescendo on the last hole, underneath the massive clubhouse that sits on the high point of the club. Riviera is probably one of the most interesting courses in the game when it comes to forcing a player to think his way around the bunkers and doglegs, along the angled approaches into the greens.

"George Thomas was very talented," said Ben Crenshaw, who was called in to return the greens to their original contours. "Riviera has so many fabulous things about it. The bunkering is wonderful, very bold. They have a grand scope about them, and there is also every conceivable type of hole. The course is so wellbalanced and requires you to work the ball so well."

Riviera Country Club has hosted the 1948 U.S. Open, the 1983 & 1995 PGA Championship and the 1998 U.S. Senior Open.

Tournament course history

Course	Location	Years
Riviera CC	Pacific Palisades, Calf.	1999-present, 1984-1997, 1973-1982, 1945-1953, 1941
Valencia CC	Valencia, Calif.	1998
Rancho Municipal GC	Los Angeles, Calif.	1983, 1969-1972, 1956-1967
Brookside GC	Pasadena, Calif.	1968
Inglewood CC	Inglewood, Calif.	1955
Fox Hills CC	Culver City, Calif.	1954
Wilshire CC	Los Angeles, Calif.	1944
Hillcrest CC	Los Angeles, Calif.	1943
Los Angeles CC (North)	Los Angeles, Calif.	1940

This week's Kodak Challenge hole

HOLE: The par-4, 315-yard 10th at Riviera Country Club
LAST YEAR: The 10th played to a stroke average of 3.932, with players recording 2 eagles, 109 birdies, 229 pars, 56 bogeys, 13 double bogeys and 1 other.
DESCRIPTION: Jack Nicklaus calls this "one of the best 10th holes in major championship golf." A short hole but by no means easy, longer hitters can drive this green, but extreme accuracy is required. The ideal spot to come into this green is from the left side of the fairway. An extremely narrow green with bunkers right, left and behind gives this hole its character. (Click here for Riviera CC tour)