This is hard to say for a 30plus year Riviera vet, but there is a new sheriff in town! I had a fortunate invitation to look around recently and I was absolutely blown away. Every single hole has some new dynamic that has enhanced, recovered or retrofit that hole to make it far superior to what was there for the last 40 years. Bravo to all of those involved, especially the membership who had the guts and foresight to pick Hanse, Shackelford, et al and embrace what they had in mind. LA North will now definitely be worthy of the high praise it has received through the years.
Ron Rhoads, RIP, was the DoG at Riviera for many he years and a lifetime member at LACC. He always mentioned how amazing the 2nd, 6th and 8th holes were in the original forms. He was so right. I felt like I was in a time warp getting to see those holes put back into a version of their former selves.
The 2 biggest things that I was blown away by were the newly cut-back scale of the place, and the genius of the routing with the return of 2 & 8.
With a good chunk of trees removed in just the right places, this property feels like it goes on forever. Also, the views from one hole to another feel enormous, and the 6th hole now seems like it is set in a cathedral. In terms of Routing, the meeting of holes 2, 3, 8, 16 & 17 is just brilliant flow wise and really fun in allowing groups to interact with a bunch of different friends on a Saturday morning.