The Riviera Country Club (RCC) is an elite course in LA. One drives down what seems a mainstream suburban street before they meet a set of gates. Golfing nirvana awaits once inside. This was the last course I saw on my US Trip and I was a very fortunate golfer to finish it in such a style.
You seem a world away once within the confines of the property – a large Mediterranean clubhouse looms over the property and looks down on a very good course. I had the privilege of staying in The Hogan room overlooking the 1st / 10th holes and there are very few better inland course views from onsite accommodation that I have experienced. The RCC has hosted numerous Major golf tournaments and is well renowned its Hogan associations.
Having golfed on a kikuyu course for over 20 years I thought I knew what I was in for……big mistake on my part. When you see sprinkler heads in the rough you soon realise that you are in for a challenge. Thankfully, like some of its San Francisco counterparts RCC has its trees - for the most part - set back from the playing corridors. On some holes those corridors are very tight (eg: #13) but on most others the driving lines are quite wide incl. the fairway width.
The layout is set on relatively flat property in a canyon of sorts but the great thing about RCC no two holes feel explicitly similar – they all have their own uniqueness. Thomas has done a superb job with the routing and Billy Bells bunkers are marvellous. The course has consistent quality throughout touch with a sprinkling of “quirk” which IMO is a great thing.
Holes I noted:
1st = (P5: 503yds) I have never so many P5 starting holes than I did in Ca.? I like this hole with its elevated tee down to a fairway that has OOB left and a line of trees right. One crosses the barranca for the first time and the green is reachable in two by the longer hitters. I like how the hole has one deep bunker right in the middle of the boomerang shaped green.
4th = (P3: 236yds) has some similarities to a Redan styled hole with its significant cant from the right but the primary slant comes from off the green. Being kikuyu based I’m not sure all balls would release onto the green from there ? It is a lovely P3 all the same and even Hogan once famously labelled it “the greatest P3 in America”.
5th = (P4: 444yds) I love the design of this hole whereby it doesn’t need a bunker off the drive to make it difficult. A large grass hill right plays on the golfers mind and almost forces them to go left when the ideal line is as close to it as possible to it for a clear view of the green. The fairway itself has a drop-off short of the hill as seen by the photo looking back up towards the tee.
6th = (P3: 200yds) there’s quirk and there’s good quirk – this hole epitomises the later IMO. I love the intricacy of the bunker placement in the middle of the green coupled with the steeply pitched slope. No matter what side your ball is in relation to the pin you can still putt your ball to the hole range with a degree of imagination on the steep green slopes.
8th = (P4: 462yds) this hole has recently had a cop of trees taken out and been replaced by sand drainage in the barranca reverting to something reportedly akin to Thomas’ original design on the dual fairway hole. I’m also led to believe the tinkering of the greensite is possibly more controversial than the removal of the trees themselves.
10th = (P4: 315yds) is probably the most famous short P4 in American golf. A slightly elevated tee shot to well bunkered fairway and a green that is very narrow and also surrounded by bunkers. Personally, I would never consider using driver here but others more brave than me might just be able to pull the shot off.
11th = (P5: 564yds) after playing with a degree of width off the tee for most of the round thus far this hole tightens up somewhat and then begins a run of tighter holes on the course. This is a straight P5 with the barranca, trees and deep lone front bunker asking questions of the golfer.
13th = (P4: 459yds) is a very tight driving hole and has a very claustrophobic feeling in and amongst the eucalypts. This is one hole I think that could be improved with some loping of trees on the “cape” / inside of the dogleg.
18th = (P4: 475yds) this is a difficult finishing hole with an intimidating drive requiring one to cross a large rise to a tight semi blind angled fairway. Once on the short grass one is then faced with a long approach to an unbunkered amphitheatre green. You would be lucky to get such a slope to help you on your approach as I would have thought that the thick kikuyu surrounding the green will hold up most approach shots.
Whilst the barranca is a constant on many holes I wonder how often water is found at the base of it ? The course routing flows really well and the bunkering is some of the best I’ve seen. A lot of bunkers on most courses are superfluous and I couldn’t imagine any that couldn’t come into play at some stage or another at RCC.
The layout doesn’t favour a particular shot shape though being able to shape a ball either way will put someone at a distinct advantage around the RCC. The brilliance of the design is that you forget that the majority of the holes are on mostly flat terrain. The talent of Thomas is evident in that he has designed such a strategic course without the advantage of large movements in topography. I would suggest that most people would struggle to name a number of “lesser” holes at RCC and as such would support Thomas’ legacy even further.
One golf writer is famous for espousing the following:
“Some may curse it, but they will remain to love it, because, like Old St. Andrews, it beams over with character. The name Riviera will be known throughout the universe of golf as the Pine Valley of the Western coast." (D. Scott Chisholm)
Whilst I wouldn’t go as far as putting it in PVGC class - RCC is a superb golf course in its own right and certainly one of California’s finest.