Riviera
History of the course
The Riviera Country Club , opened in 1926, was designed by George C Thomas. While designing the course Thomas was helped by world renowned golf course architect Dr Alister MacKenzie and Billy Bell. When Thomas was handed the land it was totally flat and it needed a lot of convincing from the club authorities before he took up the job. However, he converted this flat land into an architectural masterpiece with his expertise. During the time of its opening the club was known as Los Angeles Athletic Club Golf Course .
Sadly, over the years, the course has lost its original look. It has lost its ragged look that was created by Thomas. The seventh hole does not give you the same diagonal risk opportunities off the tee, the dual fairway eighth hole has been tampered with to the point where it makes little sense, the water in front of the 12th green is too clean and lacks its original penal quality, and the 13th fairway has become treelined as opposed to hugging the pond down its entire left side.
Course Trivia
The Riviera Course at the Riviera Country Club has over the years fallen in terms of rankings. It was the 16 th best golf course in the US sometime back but currently it occupies the 47 th spot in Golf Digest magazine's list of top 100 golf courses in the US . As we continue on this tour we will learn about the other top-100 golf courses in the world
