The greens at Riviera are Poa annua, common for the West, but the fairways and rough are Kikuyu grass. A tough, dense pasture grass originally from East Africa, it had been used at a nearby polo field in the 1930s and was also planted on hillsides to prevent erosion. Over the years, it gradually invaded the course and became the dominant species.
^ McAllister, Mike (February 13, 2018). "Tiger Woods is back at Riviera, a course he's never tamed". PGA Tour. Retrieved February 18, 2019. ^ a b "Club History". Riviera Country Club.
The Riviera was designed by golf course architects George C. Thomas Jr. and William P. Bell, it has been the primary host for the Genesis Invitational (originally the Los Angeles Open), an annual event on the PGA Tour in February. The 2021 edition was the 58th held at Riviera.
The Riviera Country Club is a private club with a championship golf course and tennis courts in the Riviera neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, California, a community in the Westside of Los Angeles .
The giant Eucalyptus trees that line many of the fairways are truly monstrous. I made this comment to a long-time resident of the area, who replied: "You should have seen the really big ones that were killed by the blight a few years ago."
sycamore treeAround the time Riviera became known as "Hogan's Alley" (Ben Hogan won the LA Open in 1947, '48 and '50 and the U.S. Open at Riviera in '48), Humphrey Bogart spent so much time watching golf from underneath a sycamore tree on the 12th hole that the club eventually named the tree after him.
Kikuyu grassOfficially Pennisetum clandestinum, Kikuyu grass—which is actually an invasive species, categorized in some places as a noxious weed—has found homes in the warm weather climates of Asia, Australia, South America, South Africa and Southern California.
tycoon Noboru WatanabeToday Riviera is owned by Japanese real-estate tycoon Noboru Watanabe, who paid $108 million in 1989 to the descendants of L.A. Athletic Club founder Garbutt. It was a small price to pay for one of American golf's true national treasures.
Another unique feature of Riviera Country Club's 92-year-old course is its abundance of Eucalyptus trees. The mammoth, white-barked trees are prevalent throughout the property, and in addition to looking and smelling great, they play a strategic role on several holes.
Riviera has had many famous members, which included Humphrey Bogart, Glen Campbell, Vic Damone, Peter Falk, Jack Ging, Dean Martin, Gregory Peck, Walt Disney, Hal Roach, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford.
KikuyugrassKikuyugrass, which is well adapted to the Mediterranean climate of Southern California, is in use on more than 25 golf courses in the area.
Experts estimate the annual dues at a minimum of $25,000 although there have been previous reports setting it at $40,000. Actually, the fee requirement may be the easiest hurdle for the potential members. You can't really be an applicant to the Riviera on your own.
Poa annua is easily the one best-known to golfers, primarily because of its use as the putting surfaces at Pebble Beach. Poa annua is a "warm-season grass," meaning it is a grass that grows better and healthier in warmer climates.
You Can Play at Riviera It's true. You can play golf at Riviera but it won't be easy and it certainly won't be cheap. There are a few ways that you can find your way onto Riv. Know a Member ($350): Like any private club, the best way to gain access is to get an invite from a member.
There are roughly 300 members of Augusta National, and being invited by one of them is the quickest way to get a round in at the famous course. Members are allowed to bring a guest on the course for a relatively small fee of $40.
The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews is the oldest and most prestigious golf club in the world. It is based in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, and is regarded as the worldwide "Home of Golf" founded in 1754.
The greens at Riviera are Poa annua, common for the West, but the fairways and rough are Kikuyu grass. A tough, dense pasture grass originally from East Africa, it had been used at a nearby polo field in the 1930s and was also planted on hillsides to prevent erosion.
The sixteenth is the last par-three hole and can yield birdies, however players will need to hit the small green that is surrounded by bunkers. The seventeenth hole, Riviera's longest, heads uphill, downwind, and northeast towards the clubhouse, while the eighteenth is a world-famous finishing hole.
The last three holes of the front are all par-four. The narrow fairway at the seventh is difficult to hit, and the long eighth hole has two fairways separated by a dry ditch. The ninth, long and uphill, is known for its well-placed fairway bunkers.
The Riviera has hosted three major championships: the U.S. Open in 1948, and the PGA Championship in 1983 and 1995. In addition, it was site of the U.S. Senior Open, a senior major, in 1998 and the U.S. Amateur in August 2017. The club is scheduled to host the Olympics in 2028.
It returned in 1973, where it has remained, with the exception of 1983 and 1998, for a total of 75 times through 2020.
The fourth hole is rather long, which Hogan called the "best par three in America," while the fifth plays into the wind and is almost on the side of the hill. The par-three sixth hole is world-famous for the bunker in the middle of the green. If a player is on the wrong side of the green, they will have to make a tough decision to either putt around or chip over the bunker.
The country club prospered in the 1930s; it hosted the dressage equestrian and the riding part of the modern pentathlon events for the 1932 Summer Olympics. The Riviera Equestrian Center was where prominent riders like Egan Merz trained younger people like Elizabeth Taylor how to ride; Taylor, then a child star, was preparing for her role in the 1944 movie National Velvet .