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Ran Morrissett

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Riviera Country Club course profile is posted
« on: September 23, 2011, 09:09:36 AM »
Bunkers, if they be good bunkers, and bunkers of strong character, refuse to be disregarded, and insist on asserting themselves; they do not mind being avoided, but they decline to be ignored" - John Low, Concerning Golf – 1903
 
George Thomas never met John Low but you would sure think he did. And wouldn't John Low have been mightily impressed by Thomas's work at Riviera?! If ever you want to appreciate the skill that man can bring to a golf course project, Riviera is it.


This view across the second green shows that the property wasn’t feature rich.

Of course, because of what Thomas and Bell poured into it, and because of the international fame that the course and club then achieved, every move that the club makes is intently scrutinized. That's fine but sometimes the criticism gets too lopsided, leaving one with the impression that Riviera is something other than a fabulous course. Yes, it could be better (just like your marriage could be better, you could be paid better, you could drink better single malt, etc.) but in my book, Riviera still inspires awe. An invite to play there is as cherished to me personally as to any course. Since it represents a masters class in design, I don't see how any design student wouldn’t be blindly captivated as to what was accomplished here.
 
Thomas didn't strive for home lot sales or big design fees (in fact, he famously never accepted a fee). Trite as it may sound, he strove for excellence in everything he did, from roses to golf course architecture. Like few (or is it none?!) architects before or after, he achieved it and, regardless of some ups and downs and some harsh mother nature events, Riviera radiates greatness. So very many memorable, distinguished holes emerged from not great property.


Will someone hurry up and design a better hole than this one? Architects are 0 for 85 years in doing so!

I have several first edition books but none more read than Thomas's Golf Architecture in America. Quotes from that book are laced throughout the profile as there is no better window into Thomas's design beliefs than his own words. For those wanting further information (and who wouldn't!), Geoff Shackelford's club history book entitled Riviera Country Club: A Definitive History is must addition for your library. It remains the best club history book of which I am aware. At one point, you could get it by calling the pro shop and I assume that is still the case as I recently saw a copy there.


One other thing about this profile: Each color photograph pops up to a full size high resolution one by clicking on it. Chris Buie spent untold amount of time getting the code to do that and his time is truly appreciated. We are just glad to try to begin to do justice to a design of this magnitude.
 
Anyway, hope you enjoy this west coast profile.

Cheers,

Yannick Pilon

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Re: Riviera Country Club course profile is posted
« Reply #1 on: September 23, 2011, 10:36:39 AM »
Having played a few dozen courses which can be described as some of the greatest in the World, I can honestly say that few of them bring a smile to my face as much as Riviera.

The setting is not that great.  The site, although good, is not that great either compared to some other of the world's best course.  Here, it is the architecture that shines the most in my book.  Thomas turned a decent site into a great golf course by designing holes that capture the imagination of golfers.

Ran, your review is, once again, very good.  It provides an excellent and thoughtful look into one of the best examples of golf course architecture there is.  Thanks for sharing that with the rest of the world who already did not know this.

YP
www.yannickpilongolf.com - Golf Course Architecture, Quebec, Canada

Michael George

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Re: Riviera Country Club course profile is posted
« Reply #2 on: September 23, 2011, 10:40:12 AM »

I have never heard a bad word about Riviera.  However, this photo looks like the cart paths could use a jackhammer?  Is it deceiving?
"First come my wife and children.  Next comes my profession--the law. Finally, and never as a life in itself, comes golf" - Bob Jones

Jud_T

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Re: Riviera Country Club course profile is posted
« Reply #3 on: September 23, 2011, 11:05:35 AM »
Ran,

Nice work.  Now if they could just get rid of that wire brush masquerading as rough.... ;)
Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

George Freeman

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Re: Riviera Country Club course profile is posted
« Reply #4 on: September 23, 2011, 02:44:20 PM »

However, this photo looks like the cart paths could use a jackhammer?  Is it deceiving?

especially out in front of the green line!
Mayhugh is my hero!!

"I love creating great golf courses.  I love shaping earth...it's a canvas." - Donald J. Trump

Bill_McBride

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Re: Riviera Country Club course profile is posted
« Reply #5 on: September 23, 2011, 05:27:37 PM »
I love Riviera, but kikuyu is crap and wouldn't it be loverly if the bottoms of the barrancas could be restored to sandy washes?

And in spite of all that, it's still one of the best!

Ben Sims

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Re: Riviera Country Club course profile is posted
« Reply #6 on: September 23, 2011, 05:48:38 PM »
This was the perfect place for my honeymoon; easy on the eyes and very fun, but quickly reminded of how inept I am.  Riviera took my best and just rolled her blue eyes at me. 

BTW Ran, your red line on the pic of #10 is into the rough.

Bill_McBride

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Re: Riviera Country Club course profile is posted
« Reply #7 on: September 23, 2011, 06:56:33 PM »

BTW Ran, your red line on the pic of #10 is into the rough.

Red is dead, in the rough to a green falling sharply away over a bunker.   Red is dead. 

Lynn_Shackelford

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Re: Riviera Country Club course profile is posted
« Reply #8 on: September 24, 2011, 12:00:38 PM »
As usual, a fine account by Ran.  He realizes the strength and the why of each hole.  One thing he failed to mention with much detail is the routing.  The more you play it, the more you appreciate the routing.  The course constantly refreshes you with changes in direction and the kind of hole you play.  There are also many opportunities to play little combinations of 2 to 7 holes.  This of course assuming you don't cut in front of Billy Crystal and get suspended for several months as happened to one of my fellow Bruins.
It must be kept in mind that the elusive charm of the game suffers as soon as any successful method of standardization is allowed to creep in.  A golf course should never pretend to be, nor is intended to be, an infallible tribunal.
               Tom Simpson

Kevin Pallier

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Re: Riviera Country Club course profile is posted
« Reply #9 on: September 24, 2011, 06:43:50 PM »
Ran

Thanks for the review - glad to see I wasn't to only one who thought this:

"Thomas swung the thirteenth fairway left along a barranca. Every tree between the fairway and the barranca should be felled."  :)


Scott Warren

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Re: Riviera Country Club course profile is posted
« Reply #10 on: September 24, 2011, 08:11:40 PM »
Great review and some good pics.

For mine, Riviera is the best coming together of quirk and championship test I have seen.

The extra-long Redan 4th, the Alps mound on the 5th, bunker in the 6th green, split fairway 8th, Rubik's cube 10th, Biarritz-inspired 15th green... so many fantastic shots that are a bit different from what you typically see, but also it is a "stern test", "it's all out there in front of you" (is the blindest shot the drive at 18?) and it's brilliantly bunkered (placement -- I know some quibble with the aesthetics).

It's a fantastic course that I think is significantly better than its rankings indicate, IMO, and it is as fun to play as anything I have ever seen, despite being far from a pushover.

Kyle Henderson

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Re: Riviera Country Club course profile is posted
« Reply #11 on: September 25, 2011, 12:21:07 AM »
Ran

Thanks for the review - glad to see I wasn't to only one who thought this:

"Thomas swung the thirteenth fairway left along a barranca. Every tree between the fairway and the barranca should be felled."  :)



I was also immediately in the camp. And, of course, extending the fairway to the very edge of the barranca would keep golfers on their toes.
"I always knew terrorists hated us for our freedom. Now they love us for our bondage." -- Stephen T. Colbert discusses the popularity of '50 Shades of Grey' at Gitmo

Steve Kline

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Re: Riviera Country Club course profile is posted
« Reply #12 on: September 25, 2011, 11:51:56 AM »
Great write up of a great golf course. Kikuyu is not a great golf grass. It makes it very hard to play the ground game. Would love to see the right of the second green as Thomas intended. I thought I also heardthe mound short and right of the fifth use to be short grass or at least the baack of it was. And, I agree with others that it would be great to see all the barancas returned to their natural state. I am not a fan of the automatic lost ball in them.

Sean Leary

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Re: Riviera Country Club course profile is posted
« Reply #13 on: September 25, 2011, 01:31:08 PM »
What would it take to get rid of the kikuyu at Riviera? Is it even possible?

Steve Kline

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Re: Riviera Country Club course profile is posted
« Reply #14 on: September 25, 2011, 01:35:15 PM »
I can't believe it is really possible since it is the fairway and rough. It is just not an optimum grass in my opinion.


John Mayhugh

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Re: Riviera Country Club course profile is posted
« Reply #15 on: September 26, 2011, 12:55:11 PM »
It's a fantastic course that I think is significantly better than its rankings indicate, IMO, and it is as fun to play as anything I have ever seen, despite being far from a pushover.

I agree. 

Great review, Ran.

Brent Carlson

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Re: Riviera Country Club course profile is posted
« Reply #16 on: September 27, 2011, 08:19:25 AM »
The quality of Thomas' book was always amazing to me.  It is literally a how to for golf architecture.

The 10th hole seems perfect for a template hole, especially on relatively flat ground.  Has its design been used elsewhere?

Jason Topp

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Re: Riviera Country Club course profile is posted
« Reply #17 on: September 27, 2011, 03:48:55 PM »
My only experience playing Riviera is on simulator golf.  Based on that experience and television, I have always wondered:

1.  How much does the grass type detract from the course?
2.  Do more trees need to be removed?
3.  How often do balls plug in those bunker faces and does it detract or enhance the golf course?

I consider the 10th hole at my course to encompass many of the strategic decisions of the 10th, at least for those that can carry the ball far enough (260 yards or so).  Aggressive attempts to drive the green probably have a 50% chance of beating a conservative strategy, and the odds are lower when the pin is on the wrong side of the green.  Unfortunately, a pond takes away the temptation for most of us. 

Steve Kline

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Re: Riviera Country Club course profile is posted
« Reply #18 on: September 27, 2011, 03:56:42 PM »
I didn't see a ball plug in my round at Riviera.

There is no advantage to either play off the tee on the 10th at Riviera - at least according to the stats for the Tour. The stroke average is nearly identical for laying up and going for the green. It's the only drivable par 4 on Tour like that. The others you'd be stupid to lay up given that the scoring average is significantly better when going for the green. That is why I think this is the best drivable par 4 ever created and the best holes ever.

Alex Miller

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Re: Riviera Country Club course profile is posted
« Reply #19 on: September 27, 2011, 10:33:28 PM »
My only experience playing Riviera is on simulator golf.  Based on that experience and television, I have always wondered:

1.  How much does the grass type detract from the course?
2.  Do more trees need to be removed?
3.  How often do balls plug in those bunker faces and does it detract or enhance the golf course?

I consider the 10th hole at my course to encompass many of the strategic decisions of the 10th, at least for those that can carry the ball far enough (260 yards or so).  Aggressive attempts to drive the green probably have a 50% chance of beating a conservative strategy, and the odds are lower when the pin is on the wrong side of the green.  Unfortunately, a pond takes away the temptation for most of us. 

1. I don't know how much it detracts since Riviera is it's own unique place, and the kikuyu is actually a part of that. However, I can say that the course would be just as good with another type.

2. I only felt the trees encroached on 12 and 13, and both holes are still very playable and have wide enough fairways. (Also 8, before they took them out.

3. I also did not have a ball plug (to my recollection) when I played. My host, however, did manage to hit a ball an arm's length into/under the lip of a fairway bunker on the par 5 17th. Still never seen anything like that before in my life.

In an ideal world, I think you leave the famous rough at Riviera kikuyu, but use something else for the fairways to allow holes like 2 and 4 play better strategically. I'm not sure of the nature of kikuyu, but something tells me that would be more than difficult to do. Personally, I don't mind the stuff.

Excellent write up, Ran. You're ability to take and choose pictures which highlight the unique characteristics of the course is astonishing to me. Thanks!

Jim Eder

Re: Riviera Country Club course profile is posted
« Reply #20 on: September 28, 2011, 01:04:07 PM »
Excellent write-up on the wonderful Riv. I will admit, I love Riv and am biased, I think George Thomas is a genius. I could play Riv every day for the rest of my life and never feel cheated. So I came into this piece with high expectations and standards and Ran once again exceeded them in this wonderful piece. An honest and descriptive piece that is a must read (just as the course is a must play). The photography is just excellent. And while reading it I was placed on each hole thinking about the challenge that lay ahead. The bar was raised with the excellent work done down Sunset and I hope that some of the excellent points Ran makes encourage Riv to consider making decisions to improve an already wonderful venue.  Congrats Ran on another must read!!

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