RIVIERA #10
George Thomas / Par-4, 315 yds / 1926
In a time when advances in technology, training, and turf standards converge to allow players of all calibers to achieve tremendous distance gains, it is counterintuitive that the short Par-4 hole is en vogue again. And yet it is.
One vexing paradox behind any masterful short four is how it can cause longer hitters, with what seems like an advantage, to struggle in capitalizing on the scoring opportunity, yet allow a shorter or more precise player to excel. There is no better architectural example of this than the 10th at Riviera [pictured]. No panoramic ocean views, no water hazards, no out of bounds, just essential architectural elements placed in perfect accord, the hole performing as brilliantly now as it did when it was first conceived.
Despite the enormous distance advantages elite players have today, the combination of green angle, contour and angles of attack and approach are central in keeping the virtue of this hole current with the modern game. They put a premium on ball placement and tactically plotting decisions, whether one chooses a conservative lay up or bashes away on an attempt to drive the green. No apparent right or wrong way to play the hole emerges outside of a “do not go there spot” to the right of the fairway. Beyond that, the variety of strategic permutations is what makes this hole interesting and relevant 94 years after its conception.
The consistently wide shot disbursement is another key to the enduring prominence of the hole. Anytime a hole produces a wide array of shots that don’t conform to a predictable pattern, you have revealed a design that causes players to think and potentially to deviate from their comfort zone. This is no easy architectural feat to achieve.
Classics such as Kingston Heath No.3, Victoria No.1, or the 12th or 18th on the Old Course at St Andrews, depending on the wind, have tempted players for decades. More recently there’s the seaside No.3 at Castle Stuart, the 14th at TPC River Highlands, 17th at TPC Scottsdale and the converted 16th at Harding Park, on view during the 2020 PGA Championship. The seeds of Riviera’s 10th have taken root and grown a new crop of fierce short fours.
Riviera’s
No.10 remains interesting and relevant 94 years after its conception
While No.17 [pictured] is not the first island green ever built, the crazed reception by pros and public alike suggested otherwise when Pete and Alice Dye unveiled their creation in 1982. Time has softened its edge but it’s still feared, and still a focal point, even for non-golfers. The genius is not just in the hole itself, but also in the lead-up. How the rhythm and flow of the back nine unfolds, and the status of each player’s round, are important to the full experience. The short 12th, the Par-3 13th (arguably as interesting as 17), two successive demanding par-4s followed by the tricky but gettable Par-5 16th... All of this is part of the emotional experience of 17, which sees some 120,000 balls go in the water each year (45 of them at the 2019 Players Championship).
Notable or notorious, it’s also revered, a fact pointed out by Joel Beall of Golf Digest, who wrote, “Perhaps the greatest compliment to the hole is how often its design is duplicated around the world.” And it is. Even Pete Dye was asked to copy it. Dye’s reprise at PGA West Stadium works and is a noble cover of the hole he and his wife designed, but as with da Vinci and the Madonna, the original remains the preeminent version.
Other architects’ versions around the world—often demanded by developers and owners—have been less successful, and have even diluted the avante garde nature of the feature. It’s a lesson for all of course design that some ideas translate well into new renditions while others should be left to stand on their own—a conversation as applicable to the arts as it is to course architecture.
Inspiration and striving to emulate what one finds interesting and successful can be tricky. With the purest of intentions one can be lead down fruitless paths in attempts to recreate the magic found in originals. With each substandard copy unable to recreate that magic and emotional impact, some ideas can lose their luster and be lost—at least until they are rediscovered anew, for a new generation to reinterpret and to appreciate.