His counterpart at the PGA of America, Kerry Haigh, has been utilizing the short par-4 option as far back as 1995 (Riviera's 10th). Haigh requested a special tee be built for the sixth hole at Oakland Hills (356 yards), which he used to torment players in the 2004 Ryder Cup (that tee survived Rees Jones' recent redesign, so watch for its use at August's PGA Championship). Haigh also is eyeing Valhalla's unforgettable 13th -- a downhill 352-yarder to a green built on a rocky island in the middle of a creek -- as a possible 2008 Ryder Cup equivalent to The Belfry's 10th. (He has the blessing of American captain Paul Azinger, who still doesn't expect many players to take a shot at the green.)
"From the 17th at Oakmont to the sixth at Winged Foot to the 16th at Doral, they're all so different and each has its nuances," says Hicks. "I still don't think there are enough of them. Every good golf course should have one sprinkled in there because it's such a great departure."
RIVIERA'S 10th: NOT ALWAYS PERFECT
Revered for creating Riviera CC's 10th hole, the golf architecture duo of George Thomas and Billy Bell actually envisioned a slightly different hole when the course opened in June 1927.
The original design featured a crowned, bunkerless green that amateur greats Bobby Jones and Charlie Seaver were able to drive in Riviera's pre-Kikuyu grass days. Prior to the 1929 Los Angeles Open at Riviera, Thomas outlined the addition of four bunkers carefully installed under Bell's supervision: a new far-left bunker that players still try to lay up short of to secure the best approach angle and three small greenside bunkers guarding the middle and rear hole locations.
The new hazards immediately established the 315-yard hole's ingenious demands. A golfer who overcomes the instinctive desire to play straight toward the hole, and instead takes the slightly longer route to the left still consistently secures the best approach angle. Riviera's 10th also disproves the theory that to be interesting, a hole must be narrow and feature dramatic elevation change or even extravagant natural hazards. Sure, the fairway bunkers are impressive in scale, but the hole drops just 15 feet from tee to green and the largest fairway bunker is not in play for most golfers.
Over the years, encroaching Kikuyu and exploding bunker sand reduced the size of the putting surface and deepened the greenside bunkers. In 1993 Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, as part of their redesign of the course, went to work on the 10th. Working with superintendent Jim McPhilomy and Riviera's then-director of golf, Peter Oosterhuis, the group restored the fairway to its original width, which returned the "sucker" option of laying up down the right side. Also restored was a tight grass chipping area that collected most approach shots that rolled off the putting surface.
Prior to the 2007 Nissan Open, architect Tom Marzolf added new bays (the peninsulas of grass weaving in and out of the sand) to the large fairway bunker, shifted the left lay-up bunker a few yards and eliminated the greenside chipping area Coore and Crenshaw had restored. The result was a 20-percent increase in players going for the green with their tee shots.
On top of its many fascinating design elements, Geoff Ogilvy suggests that No. 10's place in the round adds to the its brilliance.
"The eighth and ninth holes are very hard, but you know that the 10th and 11th [a reachable par 5] offer a couple of birdie or even eagle chances. So it sits in the round at the perfect time," says Ogilvy. "It's definitely a much better hole than it [would be] if you teed off there to start your round when the dynamics just aren't nearly the same."- Text Size:
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