Number 14: Riviera Country Club

Ceiling: 94.5

Rating: 91.5

Trend over Time: 6

Riviera is one of the more interesting courses in the USA to rate. The club, or lack thereof, is under foreign ownership and really doesn’t feel like much of a club at all. It’s fully corporate and costs an arm and a leg to play. That said, once you get to the playing part of things, goodness me is it a heck of a golf course. George Thomas is most well known for his trifecta of LA gems in Bel Air CC, Los Angeles CC, and Riv. While I (as you’ll see in a number of days…) sit on team LACC for the best of the bunch, Riviera is one of those courses that’s greatness is simply not up for debate. It is one of the most consistently stout tests on tour every year in all the right ways and has all the elements you would want out of a great golf course. Hard but fair, beautiful without futile eye candy, and consistent as they come. I am not a fan of courses that are great on their best day but not up to snuff if the conditioning or what have you isn’t there. Riviera’s worst day is still better than all but, by my quick math, 13 golf courses IMO.

Culture:

This is not Riviera’s best bucket. I mentioned the corporate nature of the club that takes away from it’s ambience relative to many of the other courses mentioned thus far in this series. That being said, one of the things I care about is the way in which a golf course distinguishes itself from others, and this is certainly something that separates Riv from others. When you are on property at Riv, there is only one place you could be, and it is never in question. LA. Los Angeles. The city of Angels. La La Land. Riv is so LA it may be more LA than LA, whatever that means. From the way people dress, to the houses that rim the property’s upper deck, to the topography and natural environment. There is simply no mistaking where you are, and I love that.

Competition:

High marks in this department. What speaks as well to a course as I can imagine is the fact that when you play Riv casually, it feels like a challenge but not overly so, yet it also has a US Open on the calendar in 2031. Riv feels to me like a wonderful golf course that can certainly be screwed up by a lot of user error, but it isn’t there to punish you like many courses. The drivable 10th for example is a hard hole, but also so resolute. Nothing about it is unfair or unreasonable, it is simply a masterclass in forcing a golfer to make decisions and execute at the highest level. Usually one or both of those fall flat. The pros play Riv every year and rarely do you see guys take it too deep. Sometimes a guy or two will get a feel for it and shoot pretty low, but it has stood the test of time better than all but a few courses and without having to make significant changes in distance either. It’s just good. Really damn good.

Architecture:

The word that comes to mind for me with Riv from an architectural standpoint is balance. Everything about it is just balanced and harmonious. It’s difficulty, the balance between short and long grass, the number of bunkers, the influence of trees without being overly used, it just has an incredible balance to it in every way. It’s not the best golf course I’ve ever played but it is one of the most perfect. Two things in particular struck me at Riv. One, several interesting fairways that make tee play a joy. 1 with it’s thin and angled fairway, 5 with it’s ledged fairway, the split fairway 8th, 10 with whatever is going on that no one can figure out, and the back nine’s bending corridors through the Eucalyptus trees, the variety created by the fairways is special. Second, the difficulty and aesthetic framing of greens created by the bunkering is something special. Many greens, the 10th being a strong example, are guarded by a number of resolute bunkers that in form with the rest of the course aren’t excessively difficult, but can be the cause for many difficulties if not avoided. The enclave bunker at the 6th is certainly a highlight, and the way Thomas’ bunkering frames the 16th maybe best communicates the golf course’s ethos.