Riviera Country Club is a favourite among players on the PGA Tour.
Located in the heart of Los Angeles, this is one of the few legendary courses which has stood the test of time against the rapid advancement of technology. It’s not a particularly long course, but it forces golfers to use every club in their bag and think their way around.
This is the case for many reasons. There are no water hazards, but the positioning of trees that line the fairway block any chance of a “Tiger line”, and bunkers are placed effectively on the fairways and around the greens.
Plus, the greens themselves will always cause a challenge. The putting surfaces pose a unique threat to players, and the reason why surprised Rory McIlroy when he returned to the course this year.
Why Riviera Country Club surprised Rory McIlroy when he returned in 2026
Because of the LA fires in 2025, last year’s Genesis Invitational was played at Torrey Pines rather than Riviera. This means players like McIlroy are playing this course for the first time in two years.
And upon his return to this venue, the complexity of the greens took the Masters winner by surprise. When asked why he thinks this course has stood the test of time, he said, “I think the green complexes are a big part of it.
“Yeah, we haven’t been here in a year obviously and I just, I don’t know why I was surprised but some of the movement and some of how much break you have to play on a lot of the putts out here, it just, I don’t know why I didn’t remember but it’s like wow, this is —
“So the greens provide a challenge in themselves. Then you get a little bit of wind and it starts to swirl in this valley a bit and it starts to play pretty tricky.”
In that sense, this course is a little like Augusta National, so McIlroy should be confident of his chances.
Rory McIlroy calls Riviera hole change ‘horrible’
Big changes have come to this iconic course this year, as the fourth and 18th holes have been extended. The change to the par three fourth, once called the best par three in America by Ben Hogan, was particularly controversial.
It’s been extended 40 yards, making it a 270-yard par three, and McIlroy isn’t a fan of the move. He said, “I don’t think four plays any differently, you’re just hitting a slightly longer club. I actually think it’s a horrible change.”
He was asked to elaborate on this, and said, “Well, like 15 percent of the field hit the green last time when it was played at its original yardage at 230.
“Like if you want it to be a 275-yard par-3, you have to change the apron leading up onto the green.
“It can’t be kikuyu, it has to be another type of grass that can help you run it onto the green because again, in the right conditions, you try to fly that ball on the green with a 3-iron, it’s going to land — it’s going to finish up on the fifth tee box. That’s sort of what I mean by why it’s not a great change.”
Making par threes ridiculously long is very rarely a popular move, and this time is no exception.
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