Riviera Country Club

Pacific Palisades, CA Private

Overview

A compact and shrewd design by George C. Thomas Jr. and associate William P. Bell, Riviera features everything from a long Redan par 3 to a bunker in the middle of a green to an alternate-fairway par 4. With its 18th green at the base of a natural amphitheater, and its primary rough consisting of club-grabbing Kikuyu, Riviera seems tailor-made as a tournament venue. It hosted a PGA Championship in 1995, a U.S. Senior Open in 1998 and a U.S. Amateur in 2017, but no U.S. Open since 1948. Riviera was recently awarded the 2031 U.S. Open, and it will also host the 2028 Olympics. But it’s the site of an annual PGA Tour event, which is even better exposure to the golf world.

About

Holes 18
Length 7400
Slope 144
Facility Type Private
Year Opened 1926
Designer George C. Thomas, Jr./William P. Bell, ASGCA

Awards

100 Greatest
Best Courses in Every State

Ranking history:

100 Greatest: Ranked since 1969.
2023-'24 ranking: 18th (highest ranking, along with 1985-'86).
Previous ranking: 22nd.

Best in State: Ranked third, 2011-'16. Ranked fourth, 2017-'24. Ranked inside the top 5, 1977-'85, 1995, 1999-2003, 2009-'10. Ranked inside the top 10, 1987-'93, 1997, 2005-'07.
2023-'24 ranking: Fourth.

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Panelists

Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists

4.8

100 GREATEST/BEST IN STATE SCORES

Shot Options
8.0362
Character
8.1316
Challenge
8.0468
Layout Variety
8.1164
Fun
7.9912
Aesthetics
7.7352
Conditioning
7.9506

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