Has the 10th at Riviera been the most impacted hole on tour by distance gains?

[Ben Hollerbach]

Should the tee box for the pro's be extended another ~20 yards, bringing the short left bunker more into play with the driver?

[Jim Hoak]

I think it is great the way it is! 
How many drives do you see that end up on that green?  I saw on television that it is the hardest green on the Tour to hit from 75 yards or so. 
It is one of the greatest short par-4's anywhere as is.

[Cal Carlisle]

Jim,


I didn't know about the 75-yard thing. Interesting. I like it the way it is, too.

[Wade Whitehead]

It's played completely differently now than it was 20 years ago by PGA Tour professionals:   https://x.com/LouStagner/status/1758202495480836270?s=20.   I would be much more interested to hear from a member whether or not the everyday player has seen much change.   WW

[Michael Felton]

It's played completely differently now than it was 20 years ago by PGA Tour professionals:   https://x.com/LouStagner/status/1758202495480836270?s=20.   I would be much more interested to hear from a member whether or not the everyday player has seen much change.   WW

I don't know for sure, but I would highly doubt it. You've got to be long enough to clear that bunker or hitting driver is not the right move (unless you can't reach it with driver). Most likely the members play it the same way they did 20 years ago.


The pros play it differently because they know it's more optimal. 20 years ago many of them would have been able to play it the same way, but didn't because they didn't think it was "right".

[mike_beene]

To me it is less affected by technology than holes like 17 and 15. I don’t recall 17 being a two shot hole until the last 15 or so years.

[Mike Hendren]

Does the green slope downhill from the front toward the back or is it generally level?

[Matt_Cohn]

Does the green slope downhill from the front toward the back or is it generally level?

This was last from last year, before the modest changes made before this year's tournament.

Source: Golfweek

[Tim Gavrich]

The 4th and 10th at Riviera have probably been the two holes in championship golf most clearly affected not specifically by distance gains, but by the fact that the modern golf ball spins so much less.


No one can hit and hold the 4th green because tour pros' long irons have been tuned to perform like small drivers. The ball flies high and with so little spin that it just doesn't bite into the green with a steep enough landing angle.


So it is with #10. No one even wants to take on the full wedge shot into that green because they can't put the requisite amount of chew on a shot from that distance.


Increased green speeds is a culprit, too, but the spin issue really reveals itself every year at Riv.

[Mike Hendren]

Thank you Matt.  I’m going to go off the deep end:  Do the green contours make this the most over-rated “great” hole in America?  Blasphemous I confess. 


To wit, remove every bunker (aren’t they all now superfluous?)on the hole and it still boils down to one design feature that could easily be replicated anywhere - a shallowed angled green sloping down toward the rear. 


Did The Captain design the contours or has the front edge of the green been built up from splashed  sand over time?


If tour players can’t hold the green, what chance does the 18 capper have?
Btw I think the course is fabulous and no, I haven’t been invited to play it.

[AChao]

Even though it is one of my favorite par 4s in golf, if it were up to me, I'd build a tee around 30-40 yards behind the current tee.  My first rounds were played at Riv in the mid-80s and think the distance gains from equipment have made a difference in many subtle and not so subtle ways.  The hole still holds it's own fine, and many would point to that, but I think the hole would be better with a tee 30-40 yards further back (or if it were possible to re-do all the land move the green complex (and everything else) 30-40 yards further).

[Kalen Braley]

This is one plausible spot for a new tee on 10 (roughly 35 yards longer), and given its back more to the right would make the angle to the green a bit more difficult.

[Ben Hollerbach]

This is one plausible spot for a new tee on 10 (roughly 35 yards longer), and given its back more to the right would make the angle to the green a bit more difficult.

That's pretty much what I was thinking, If you move it back ~30 yards that would lead to a 300 yard carry to clear the bunker short and left of the green. It doesn't mean that some players won't go for the green with driver it would just mean that not ALL of them will. You'd end up with a greater dispersion of tee shots as players tested out "new" strategies off the tee.

[Alex Miller]

I think that new tee would be of more use for hole 3 than hole 10 - make the fairway bunker more relevant.