The Riviera Country Club
Cut into the floor of Santa Monica Canyon above the Pacific, Riviera is the great strategic course of Los Angeles and one of the finest George Thomas ever built. Opened in 1926, home of the Genesis Invitational and a major championship venue across a century, it defends par with subtlety rather than length and remains the standard by which classic American design is judged.
Photograph: The Riviera Country Club, via Google
The verdict
Riviera is the most admired course in Los Angeles and one of the genuinely important works of American golf architecture. George C. Thomas Jr., the gentleman amateur from Philadelphia who also drew Bel Air and Los Angeles Country Club, routed it in 1926 through the barranca on the floor of Santa Monica Canyon, with his construction partner William P. Bell shaping the ground. What he left is a course of ideas rather than muscle: tempting angles, half shots and decisions on almost every hole, defended by tightly mown kikuyu grass, deep bunkering and a set of green complexes that punish the lazy approach. A century on, the routing has barely changed, and that is the highest compliment the modern game can pay it.
For the travelling golfer, Riviera matters because it is both a living museum and a working championship venue. It hosts the PGA Tour's Genesis Invitational every February, staged the 1948 U.S. Open that Ben Hogan won so emphatically the course earned the nickname Hogan's Alley, hosted the PGA Championship in 1983 and 1995 and the U.S. Amateur in 2017, and is set to stage Olympic golf in 2028. It is a strictly private club, so a round is a privilege arranged through a member rather than a tee time you can buy, but as the centerpiece of a Los Angeles golf trip, or simply as a place to watch the world's best in February, it is unmissable. This is design that has aged into greatness.
Riviera at a glance
- Opened
- 1926
- Designers
- Thomas & Bell
- Type
- Parkland / canyon
- Par
- 71
- Yardage
- Around 7,400 yds
- Access
- Private, member guest
Designers, opening year, par and championship yardage verified June 2026 from the club, the Genesis Invitational and course databases. Riviera is a par 71 stretching to around 7,400 yards from the championship tees. It is a private members club with no public green fee; access is as the guest of a member, and any cost is arranged privately. Policies change, so always confirm directly before planning a visit.
The holes worth the trip
Riviera's reputation rests on a handful of holes that architects and tour players quote like scripture. The short par 4 10th is the most famous of them, a hole of barely 315 yards that Jack Nicklaus called one of the best 10th holes in major championship golf. It tempts the long hitter to drive the green, then defends itself with a tiny, angled putting surface, deep bunkers and a slope that turns a brave miss into a double bogey. More birdies and more disasters happen here than on any par 4 twice its length, and the decision off the tee is pure Thomas: risk and reward laid bare.
The par 3 6th is the other signature, unique in championship golf for the small bunker set into the middle of the green, so the pin position dictates whether you can putt to the flag at all or must flirt with sand on the surface itself. Around them, the course unfolds with relentless strategic interest: the long par 5 1st plunging downhill from the clubhouse, the brutish par 4s where kikuyu grabs the clubface, and the uphill, semi blind tee shot at the 18th that climbs back toward the Spanish colonial clubhouse and has produced as much closing drama as any finishing hole in America.
None of it relies on length for its own sake. At around 7,400 yards off the championship tees Riviera is far from the longest course the tour visits, yet it consistently yields the lowest winning scores relative to its difficulty because contour, kikuyu, angles and green complexes do the defending. It rewards the player who thinks, controls trajectory and accepts a sensible miss, which is precisely why it has resisted a century of equipment change.
How to get on
| What to know | Detail |
|---|---|
| Access | A strictly private members club; there is no public green fee or visitor tee sheet, and play is as the accompanied guest of a member |
| Green fee | None published for visitors; any guest cost is arranged privately between member and host, so we quote no figure |
| Booking | Arranged by your member host, well ahead; the course closes to guest play around the Genesis Invitational in February |
| On the day | A walking friendly parkland course with caddies available; a jacket and traditional club dress code applies in the clubhouse |
| Watch instead | The Genesis Invitational each February is the most reliable way for the public to experience Riviera, from the galleries |
| Best months | Year round in the mild Los Angeles climate; spring and autumn give the firmest kikuyu and the most settled weather |
Access rules verified June 2026 from the club and tournament sources; private club policies change without notice, so always confirm directly before planning a visit. We can help shape a wider Los Angeles golf trip around courses you can book. Ask about bookable Los Angeles tee times.
Where to stay nearby
Riviera sits in Pacific Palisades between Santa Monica and Malibu, so the natural base is the coast. Santa Monica is minutes away with full service beachfront hotels, while Beverly Hills and Brentwood put you within easy reach of the canyon and the rest of west Los Angeles. For a February trip built around the Genesis Invitational, book the coastal hotels early, as the tournament fills the area.
Most visiting golfers fold Riviera into a broader California golf trip rather than treating it as a single round, given its private access. Pair a Los Angeles stay with the great public courses to the south and north: the two ocean courses at Torrey Pines down in San Diego, and the bucket list run of Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill on the Monterey Peninsula make a trip you can actually book around the one you cannot.
Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts near Los Angeles.
Build a Los Angeles golf trip
Riviera is private, but the California golf around it is not. We build trips through Los Angeles and on to Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill and Torrey Pines, secure the bookable tee times, and handle hotels, caddies and the order of play. Tell us roughly when and who is travelling and one concierge costs it to the head, with no obligation.
Riviera questions
Can the public play Riviera Country Club?
No. Riviera is a private members club and does not sell public green fees or visitor tee times. The usual route to a round is to play as the guest of a member, accompanied by your host. The club publishes no visitor rate, so access and any associated cost are arranged privately. The most reliable way for the public to experience the course is from the galleries at the Genesis Invitational each February. Always confirm the current member guest policy directly with the club before planning a visit.
Who designed Riviera golf course?
Riviera was designed by George C. Thomas Jr. with his construction partner William P. Bell and opened in 1926. Thomas, an amateur architect from Philadelphia who also created Bel Air and Los Angeles Country Club, routed Riviera through a barranca on the floor of Santa Monica Canyon. The strategic routing has barely changed in a century and is regarded as one of the finest in American golf.
What is Riviera's par and yardage?
Riviera plays as a par 71 and stretches to around 7,400 yards from the championship tees used for the Genesis Invitational. The members play it shorter from a range of forward tees. It is the rare classic course that has held up against modern equipment without major lengthening, defending par through its kikuyu grass, deep bunkers and demanding green complexes rather than sheer distance.
What championships has Riviera hosted?
Riviera has hosted the U.S. Open in 1948, won by Ben Hogan, the PGA Championship in 1983 and 1995, the U.S. Amateur in 2017, and the U.S. Senior Open. It is the long time home of the PGA Tour's Genesis Invitational, formerly the Los Angeles Open, and is scheduled to host the golf competition at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Related
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Designers, history, par, championship yardage and access verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.