Riviera Country Club facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
The Riviera Country Club

18th hole and clubhouse in 2006
Club information
Location in the United States Show map of the United States Location in California Show map of California Location in the Los Angeles metropolitan area Show map of the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Coordinates	34°03′N 118°30′W / 34.05°N 118.50°W / 34.05; -118.50
Location	Pacific Palisades, California
Established	1926, 99 years ago
Type	Private
Total holes	18
Tournaments hosted	Genesis Invitational - (PGA Tour) 1948 U.S. Open 1983 PGA Championship 1995 PGA Championship 1998 U.S. Senior Open 2017 U.S. Amateur
Greens	Poa annua
Fairways	Kikuyu
Website	therivieracountryclub.com
Designed by	George C. Thomas Jr., William P. Bell
Par	71
Length	7,322 yards (6,695 m)
Course rating	75.6
Slope rating	137
Course record	61 (–10) - The Fancy Man       (March 4 , PGA Tour 2022)

The Riviera Country Club is a special private club located in Pacific Palisades, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. It's famous for its amazing championship golf course and tennis courts.

The golf course at Riviera was designed by talented architects George C. Thomas Jr. and William P. Bell. It's been the main home for the Genesis Invitational, a big yearly golf event on the PGA Tour that happens every February. The club has hosted this tournament many times, showing how important it is in the golf world.

Riviera has also hosted some of golf's biggest events, called "major championships." These include the U.S. Open in 1948 and the PGA Championship in 1983 and 1995. It also hosted the U.S. Senior Open in 1998 and the U.S. Amateur in 2017. Looking ahead, the club is set to host the 2026 U.S. Women's Open and even the Olympics in 2028!

Club History: From 1926 to Today

When the Riviera Country Club first opened its doors in 1926, it was known as the Los Angeles Athletic Club Golf Course. William P. Bell worked with George C. Thomas Jr. to design and plan the course. They had to gather a lot of workers to build the course from scratch in the Santa Monica Canyon.

Building the entire country club and golf course cost about $243,827. At that time, this was one of the most expensive golf courses ever built! The course has been updated a few times. For example, in 1992, famous golfers Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore redesigned the sand traps (bunkers) to look like they did when the course first opened.

The country club became very popular in the 1930s. It even hosted events for the 1932 Summer Olympics! These included dressage (horse riding) and parts of the modern pentathlon. The Riviera Equestrian Center was a place where famous riders trained. Even young Elizabeth Taylor, who was a child star, learned to ride there for her 1944 movie National Velvet.

Many movies have been filmed at Riviera. The 1952 movie Pat and Mike, starring Katharine Hepburn and Babe Didrikson Zaharias, was filmed here. So was The Caddy with Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin, which even had a special appearance by golf legend Ben Hogan. Another movie, Follow the Sun, which was about Hogan, also used the club as a filming location. Even a silent movie from 1927, Spring Fever, was filmed at the new club.

Riviera has had many famous members over the years. These include actors like Humphrey Bogart, Peter Falk, Dean Martin, and Gregory Peck. Other famous members were Walt Disney, Hal Roach, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford. Sadly, actor Conrad Veidt passed away suddenly in 1943 while playing golf at the club.

Willie Hunter, a golf champion, was the head professional at Riviera from 1936 to 1964. His son, Mac Hunter, also served as head professional after him. Willie Hunter helped save the course from bad flooding in 1939. He also helped the club avoid financial trouble during World War II.

Riviera and the PGA Tour

Riviera first hosted the Los Angeles Open in 1929 and 1930. Then, it hosted the event for nine years in a row from 1945 to 1953. It returned in 1973 and has been a regular host ever since. By 2020, it had hosted the tournament 75 times!

The course is very famous because of golf legend Ben Hogan. People even call the course "Hogan's Alley." Hogan won the L.A. Open three times (1942, 1947, 1948) and the U.S. Open in 1948 at Riviera.

Many other famous golfers have won at Riviera, including:

• Sam Snead
• Byron Nelson
• Tom Watson
• Johnny Miller
• Fred Couples
• Ernie Els
• Phil Mickelson

Hal Sutton won the PGA Championship here in 1983, and Steve Elkington won it in 1995. Hale Irwin won the U.S. Senior Open at Riviera in 1998.

More recently, Phil Mickelson won his first tournament at Riviera in 2008. In 2020, Australian golfer Adam Scott won the Genesis Open just before the golf tour paused due to the Covid 19 pandemic.

Two of golf's biggest names, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, never won a PGA Tour event at Riviera. Tiger Woods played his very first PGA Tour event at Riviera in 1992 when he was a high school sophomore. He missed the cut, but it was the start of his amazing career!

Major Championships at Riviera

Riviera has hosted several major golf championships. These are some of the most important tournaments in golf.

Year	Tournament	Winner	Winner's Prize ($)
1948	U.S. Open	Ben Hogan	2,000
1983	PGA Championship	Hal Sutton	100,000
1995	PGA Championship	Steve Elkington	360,000
1998	U.S. Senior Open	Hale Irwin	267,500

About the Course: Grass and Rules

The greens at Riviera are made of Poa annua grass, which is common in the western United States. But the fairways (the main playing areas) and the rough (the longer grass on the sides) are made of Kikuyu grass.

Kikuyu grass is a tough, thick grass that originally came from East Africa. It was used at a nearby polo field in the 1930s and also planted on hillsides to stop dirt from washing away. Over the years, it spread and became the main type of grass on the course. Kikuyu grass is great for hitting shots from the fairways, but it can be very tricky to play from if your ball lands in the spongy rough!

If you want to play golf at Riviera, you usually need to be with a member of the club. There's also a dress code to follow:

• You can't wear denim (like jeans).
• You need to wear a collared shirt.
• You should wear either Bermuda shorts or long pants (slacks).

The Golf Course Layout

The Riviera golf course is a par 71 course. This means a professional golfer is expected to complete the course in 71 strokes. The total length of the course changes depending on which tees (starting points) you play from:

• From the back tees (for professional play), it's about 7,322 yards (6,695 m) long.
• From the middle tees, it's about 6,531 yards (5,972 m) long.
• From the forward tees, it's about 5,907 yards (5,401 m) long.

The lowest score ever shot on the course in a competition is 61 strokes. This was achieved by Ted Tryba in 1999 during the Nissan Open. He even got a bogey (one stroke over par) on the last hole! The lowest score for just nine holes is 28 strokes, which was shot by Andrew Magee on the front nine in 1991.

Front Nine Holes

Ninth hole in 2006

• Hole 1: This is a short par five and a relatively easy start. The tee is high up, tempting players to hit the ball far. But watch out for areas that are out of bounds and a dry ditch!
• Hole 2: A long par-four that goes uphill and often against the wind. This is considered the hardest hole on the course.
• Hole 3: A medium-length hole that also plays into a breeze.
• Hole 4: This par-three is quite long. Ben Hogan called it the "best par three in America."
• Hole 5: This hole plays into the wind and is almost on the side of a hill.
• Hole 6: This par-three is famous worldwide because it has a sand trap (bunker) right in the middle of the green! Players have to decide whether to putt around it or chip over it.
• Hole 7: A par-four with a very narrow fairway, making it hard to hit your ball straight.
• Hole 8: A long par-four with two fairways separated by a dry ditch.
• Hole 9: This long, uphill hole is known for its well-placed sand traps in the fairway.

Back Nine Holes

• Hole 10: A very short par-four, only 315-yard (288 m) long. It's a "risk-reward" hole. Strong hitters might try to hit their ball all the way to the green from the tee. But you need to be very accurate because there are many sand traps around the green.
• Hole 11: A long par-five where eucalyptus trees and a dry ditch can cause problems for players.
• Hole 12: A long par-four, often played into the wind. It leads to a narrow green surrounded by a ditch, sand traps, and trees. One tree is even named "Bogey's Tree" after actor Humphrey Bogart!
• Hole 13: A tough driving hole with a dry ditch on the left and eucalyptus trees on the right.
• Hole 14: An easy par-three with Riviera's largest green. However, the green has different levels, which makes putting very difficult.
• Hole 15: This par-four turns to the right (a "dogleg"). It has another large green with two levels, so your ball needs to land on the correct one. This hole often plays into the breeze from the Pacific Ocean, which is just over a mile away. It's often a key hole for deciding who wins a tournament.
• Hole 16: The last par-three hole. Players can get birdies (one stroke under par) here, but they need to hit the small green that is surrounded by sand traps.
• Hole 17: Riviera's longest hole. It goes uphill and towards the clubhouse.
• Hole 18: This is a world-famous finishing hole! The first shot from the tee is uphill and you can't see where your ball will land. Finding the fairway is super important to reach the green in the right number of shots. The green is surrounded by a natural amphitheater, offering a beautiful view of the clubhouse.

Scorecard

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