So got out here for multiple birds on one Prez Day stone, but of course I was going to make it back to Riv... which I played 20 years ago, and is probably the answer to that "what course would you play if..." type of question. I don't know it as well as Geoff Shackleford, but this current visit brings a lot to mind
General:
The difference between the course as a PGA venue and its deserved reputation as a work of art and golfing pleasure for the other 8 billion of us cannot be overstated... even in light conversation on this board...it is pure sophistry to suggest that ANYTHING these players do (good or bad) has/ought to have ANYTHING to do with the GCA matters (once) core to this board...as an enjoyable, thorough, multi-faceted and refreshing engagement with golf. It may or not be perfect for observing elite play, it is as near perfect as any for our play. Certainly other fine courses equal it; I don't think any exceed it.
Routing: For me, the high appreciation starts with the basics in what I think is the strongest, least contrived, and clever routing for a Top 200 golf property of modest movement. The clubhouse display narrative says Thomas went through many versions of the main course before settling on the famous "ribbon bow" arrangement that golfers have enjoyed for close to 100 years; and the dedication shows. More than a pleasing figure on an aerial photo or lunch placemat, this ribbon really serves the player's experience as it takes them across the whole of the property twice, providing all four directions of the compass and offering both uphill and downhill versions of the same section of property.
**While this route maximizes the visual delights/perspectives/strategy of the steep clubhouse bluff and the rolling western end of the property, the whole is a gentle walk...nearly flat in the property center. The ribbon route also has fine "community points" besides the standard return of the nines...2G and 3T are at the "Turn" junction of 1,10, and 18... 5G,6,16G, 17T are another social point... as are 3G, 4T, 17G and 18T. And though there are legit voices worrying about the influence of pro play on Riviera as a bad leadership signal for other virtuous courses, the only actual "on ground," yardage contrivance/compromise to the pro game is the extreme walks back to the 12th tee from 11G and the pro tee on #8 from 7G. Other than those, Riviera plays as most would have it...the next teeing area a short stroll away, with golfers at work in visual proximity.
***At nearly all points of play, you are passing to and fro' the other golfers, gaining curiosity for holes you have yet to play, while gaining perspective on those you already have. An infinitesimal critique could be made regarding the one shot holes in that... three of them (4,14,16) play in the same direction... and perhaps the 8 hole gap between #6 and #14 isn't as desirable as others, in variety.
Greens:
Sometimes we forget in all our discussions of genius routing, ample width, bunker placement, bunker placement, bunker depth, par assignment.. that it all comes back to this, doesn't it? If Riviera had 18 flat symmetrical ovals, it might be enjoyable, but it has either been forgotten or overlooked, how much character and variety these greens possess... This was my second visit to the course after playing it 20 years ago, and so either memory is failing or reno-storation work had been bold but I was shocked at how much sharper and sporty and diverse these 18 greens are, each seemingly matched to the character of the hole as everyday play would encounter it. The green complexes on 4, 6, 9-11, 14-17 were always a beautiful score, and I've watched the work on 8 grow from afar, but enhancements or recaptures or something in presentation has been upgraded/recovered in 1,2, 5, 7, and 12 to bring the entire set up to complete measure... in my opinion, #3 and #13 are the only "plainer" green-sites, and that by comparison. The greens are Riviera's sporty strength and they ought to be examined and championed in that spirit.
Hole Notes:
#1: And right off the bat, I want to restate something I've been prompted to defend/remark in the past about that a priori subjective difference between how the pros play it and it how it stands as everyday architecture. This is a marvelous opening hole, where the ridiculousness and context of any assigned "par" is on full display. It is a generous and inspiring and what could be higher virtues for an opener?...for us mortals it is roomy, the left rough is mild, and easy... for the pros thinking a 7 iron approach is a birthright "4", the drive is more fretful... for us mortals the intermediate bunker 80-100 from the green is the second shot governor, for the pros it is not a thought unless tragedy strikes... this green is the most underrated green in TV canon, it is a swelled, tiered, dynamic Escher print; all over shoulders and tapers cut in, making recovery (for the Pros 4 and our 5) exceedingly delicate, moreso when the greens are rolling a true 12.5 - 13...every single piece of movement in a putt is accentuated.
#2 - While they have room for another 50 yards of Champ/Pro tee... it is a stern, but fair hole for us ams...(for my deteriorated game, it is already a 3 shotter)...however for both parties I can't understand the intermediate bunker pinching in from the right at about 135-140 from the green/360 from the tee, the pros don't reach it and us ams are likely to not give it much thought except out of a wild miss...amazing, sporty green site (scary at those speeds though) and already you get the delightful sense of variety and creativity in the design, though these first two go an up and back in near parallel to one another.
#3 - Holes like this one, #7 and #13 don't get much ink as a matter for GCA or Tour interests, but it is quite another matter in the actual playing...for us, the enormous left fairway bunker is both a visual and practical threat and a player realizes that even though there is scads of room in the light right rough, the green REALLY shuts down its angles from that slicing miss, and its contours work against achieving regulation, though the shot can be 20-30 yards shorter from the inside of the dogleg there. Point being that for a regular everyday player a smart straight drive that threads the right rough line and the left fairway bunker is rewarded with the best shot...as it should be.... this is a hole which should not be construed or apprehended in light of the pro game for four rds in February...it is a fairly straightforward wedgy hole for them and quite a different matter for the lot of us.
#4 - In truth, you don't see many Redans over 205, and that's why nobody calls it that...but THAT is what it really is: a long Redan, with a gentler outcome for a long miss, befitting a model that's 10-15% longer than standard. When I first was building interest in Riviera, this was the hole I wanted to see/study; I read how this was one of Hogan's notables, this one had the most exemplar Bell bunker... this was one of the toughest to par on the Tour, etc. 35+ years, more study, one play/two visits later, that love has matured in the cask. I think Golf and golfers deserve and will profit from more of this hole being provided. Those who know me know I don't give a hoot for assigned hole par and this hole illustrates the meaninglessness...Par 3?... it is merely a gentle, fun 4...easy for the pros, or for you...where a 3 is realistic (much more for them) and a 2 is possible (almost as rare for them)... but all of the shots are fun and challenging, the long hit off the tee, the greenside pitches and chips if you miss that big hit long or right...the vast wonder of what might be America's most spectacular green side bunker... and if any of them are handled, joy usually results...that's a great hole at any yardage, regardless of assigned Par...the apprehension of the sheer size and scoop of that signatory Bell bunker is a treat of Riviera's alone.
#5 - This is a grossly underrated/under-covered hole in a great course's canon. Here again the particulars of the hole offer something worthy to challenging championship golf while offering a different kind of challenge for the everyday player. The former can't go blindly speeding because the stair stepped fairway will catch anything less than a full 325 carry and the hole becomes unnecessarily complicated if off in the rough on either side. At the same time, it is a longer playing hole for the am, but has its compensations in a flat lie and slinging front contours to make that longer approach hit work. With just one play and two visits, I can't know for sure or put my finger on it, but something in the most recent work has made this green site much more interesting, sporty and decidedly improved from memory.
#6 - Even though I was starting to be attracted to Riviera in the architectural sense, I don't think I even knew this audacious hole even existed until the 1995 PGA; one just didn't have front nine TV coverage then and any of the encyclopedia "atlas" type books usually didn't have much to offer either. At first it was the coolest thing I'd seen -- a bunker donut hole in the middle of the green --...then I thought it was a goofy gimmick for a time...then I played it...and took in the contours and the environment of the shot, and thought it again was the coolest thing...which is where I stand today. While I would agree with any who say the green is just presented way too fast to fully enjoy the shot propositions that change with the hole location, it is still a diverse, antique piece of ingenuity; the contours and close movement of putts and recovery pitches are so cleverly rendered around that center hazard. In concert with its place at the quiet and most remote corner of the property, the hole takes on an added charm and a feeling of discovery that is part of what makes this course what it is.
#7