The 4th hole at Riviera could get tougher in 2024.
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At last year’s Genesis Invitational, it wasn’t just difficult to find the green on the par-3 Rivieria fourth in regulation. it was almost impossible even for some of the best players in the world.
On the hole that measures 236 yards on the scorecard, just 37 of 241 tee shots — 15.35 percent — for the week found the putting surface.
And it could get harder next year.
Revealed in a tweet by podcaster and golf writer Andy Lack and later confirmed to GOLF by the PGA Tour, Riviera has built a par-3 back tee brand. The new scorecard string? A 265 meter thick.
According to Genesis Invitational head judge Steve Rintoul, the new tee at No. 4 “has been talked about for many years.” In addition to adding about 30 yards to the scorecard space, the tee has also been moved to the right, on the hillside at the edge of the property. Rintoul also added that the PGA Tour’s design team, agronomy staff and rules staff have been “locked in” with the club after changing course.
“Its location high on the hillside and the strong right-to-left sweep of the area just short of the green allows the hole to play more like a ‘redan,'” Rintoul told GOLF via email. “It offers a variety of tee spacing to fit the hole ranging from 210 to 265.”
Rintoul continued, asserting that the weather ultimately determines the course setup, especially considering the traditional spot on the calendar for Genesis in February, which is typically the wettest and coldest month in Los Angeles.
Last February, No. The 4 played around the scorecard range all week, somewhere between 230 and 245 yards.
“I suspect the players at The Genesis Invitational Signature Event will see a little bit of everything over the course of 4 days,” said Rintoul. “However, the upcoming summer events at the Riviera (US Women’s Open, Olympics and US Open) will allow for stronger, warmer conditions where the ball will play along the ground, following the green, be more effective.
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“As always we will evaluate the playability of the hole and gather input from the player on the design, but our usual strategy is to use big changes. The 265-yard tee is unlikely to be used over 4 days. We will be moving the length of the setup based on the weather as needed.”
Part of the difficulty in finding the green in #4 is due to the pattern of the “Redan” template. The design calls for either a right-to-left tee shot to land just short of the right of the green and take the steep right-to-left slope of the green complex to roll into the putting surface or a tall form from left to right trying to use the slant to stop the ball. But the problem with the first option is that the grass around the green is sticky Kikuyu grass, which means shots hit high, short and right don’t always release. But shots that landed on the green still rolled.
Given the woeful greens in regulation numbers last February — only six players found the green during the final round — the hole was panned by PGA Tour pro Adam Schenk, calling it “terrible.”
“Who says you have to use the same FW grass around all greens?” Schenk tweeted after missing the cut. “Normally, I’d say it might be too difficult to maintain and too expensive…but the Riv is where that excuse came from.”
The hole played as the third-toughest hole of the week at .204 strokes over par, but it’s not among the 10 toughest par-3s on the PGA Tour this season. It ranks as the 18th-difficult par-3 on Tour, the same position it held in 2023. There were no double bogeys or worse in 2024, and 32 of the 45 players who missed the green Sunday moved up down.
On the other hand, the hole produced just 11 birdies in 2024, the second fewest on the PGA Tour among courses that hosted four rounds of an event.
In his email to GOLF, Rintoul didn’t mention any changes to the grasses around the greens, but we’ll have to wait and see next February on the reaction of the 2025 Genesis PGA Tour pros to the new tee.
Viktor Hovland’s 15th shortstop was cut short
Rintoul also confirmed two other changes the club made during what he called a “renewal”.
18th tee moved back about 15 yards and to the left, basically on top of where the old 4th tee was. This has expanded the scorecard space from 476 yards to 490 and will also make the shot more direct on the left-to-right sloping fairway.
But more intriguing was a change made around the 15th set.
“The ‘ditch’ to lay down the 17th hole while playing the 15th is filled with three ripe figs,” Rintoul said.
This loophole was used by some players in Genesis 2022 to get it an alternate route to the 15th green playing down the 17th fairway, most Viktor Hovland.
In 2023, without making the 17th internal road out of bounds, as it was long done this season’s tournament championship on East Lake’s 18th holeThe PGA Tour placed a large scoreboard to the right of the 15th set to prevent players from following the path. Hovland (and two other players) didn’t care, and images of Hovland aiming directly over the scoreboard went viral. In total, the players played on the road just four times that year.
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However, last season, no player hit the ball on 17 and no one will for the foreseeable future with the new trees seemingly blocking any chance.
