Debate About Riviera’s 18th Makes the Rounds

This week, they are talking about the 18th hole at Riviera Country Club for different reasons.

Players used to rave about the strategy involved in playing the hole and its way of making or breaking tournaments for those in contention in the final round.

Now they talk about how it has changed and how that is akin to changing history. The hole has become one of the most respected and well-known finishing holes in golf, but that may soon change.

The club lengthened the 18th tee box 24 yards, making the hole 475 yards from the tips, and lowered it 4 1/2 feet, making the already intimidating 60-foot-high hill leading to the fairway even scarier. The new tee box also gives a better angle to the fairway on the dogleg-right hole, eliminating the need to shape a shot and allowing big hitters to bomb away.

Some have applauded the changes, but the alterations don’t sit well with traditionalists, who say Riviera should remain a shot-makers’ course.

“You don’t need to make changes out there,” said Corey Pavin, a two-time champion at Riviera and 71st in the field this week in driving distance. “That hole and this course hold up on their own.”

Tiger Woods frowned on the changes last week, saying short hitters were going to have a difficult time carrying the ball up the hill. Hal Sutton, the 1983 PGA champion at Riviera, also criticized the changes, saying he missed the old Riviera. Not everyone, however, is convinced the changes are bad.

Jay Haas said he loved the history and tradition of Riviera but that it would be a mistake for the course not to change with the times.

“I’m hearing too many guys whine about the new tees and longer course and all that stuff and I’m getting tired of it,” said Haas, who ranks No. 72 of 78 in driving distance among players who made the cut this weekend. “I think it needed it.”

The 18th hole on just about any tour course has had its share of spectacular finishes, but the natural amphitheater surrounding the green adds to the drama and makes the finishes at Riviera that much more memorable.

Steve Elkington made a 25-foot putt on the 18th to win a playoff for the 1995 PGA Championship. Lloyd Mangrum made a 21-foot chip shot to win in 1951. Tom Purtzer nearly blew a two-shot lead in 1977 but got up and down from 30 feet on the 18th to save a bogey and won by one.

Four times from 1942 to 1948 Ben Hogan strolled up the 18th fairway en route to winning at Riviera. Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Hale Irwin, Tom Watson and Fred Couples have all won there.

Of the 41 L.A. Opens played at Riviera, 28 were decided by two strokes or fewer. So were the two PGA Championships held there and the 1948 U.S. Open. That equates to 70% of the tournaments played at Riviera coming down to the 18th hole.

It takes nerve to change a hole with that kind of history, but that’s exactly what happened.

“I don’t think they need to do things to a golf course to toughen it up,” Pavin said. “The conditions that are out there, that God throws at us -- rain or wind or beautiful weather -- can dictate the scores a little bit.

“This is a hard golf course. The biggest thing that makes a golf course hard is the way the greens are designed. If you miss the green

The 18th hole has played to a 4.14 stroke average through the first three rounds of the Nissan Open, but that average drops to 3.88 for the 52 players who are averaging more than 280 yards off the tee. The 149 players averaging less than 260 off the tee have a stroke average of 4.29 on the 18th hole.

The threat of inclement weather has kept the tees forward in the tee box, meaning the hole could play 20 yards longer. Still, Pavin needed a five wood to reach the green in two of his first three rounds. He has made two pars and a bogey on the hole.

“The hole plays long,” Pavin said. “It’s just a hard hole.”

Fred Funk, another of the tour’s short hitters, has a different outlook. He has gotten used to tour courses getting tweaked to accommodate advances in equipment.

“For me, it’s a formidable hole, but all the holes that are over 360 yards are formidable for me,” Funk said. “I just have to find other ways to adjust.”