Riviera’s fourth hole is three-par excellence

Nestled comfortably under a tree branch, beside a bed of flowers, is a new brass plaque embedded in stone just behind the fourth-tee box at Riviera Country Club.

The inscription quotes Ben Hogan: “The greatest par 3 hole in America.”

There’s not a drop of water to worry about, or a tree or a ditch either. It’s simply 236 yards of straight-ahead trouble, if you can measure misery in yardage. Hogan would routinely hit a three-wood there, more if the wind was blowing in.

He held it in such high regard, though, that he chose to film a 1987 commercial for his company there, dressed in his yellow sweater. It was the only time his famous swing was ever shown in his own ads. It’s the one par-three hole that he covered with praise.

And at the place called Hogan’s Alley, who is going to disagree with Ben Hogan?

“I’m not going to argue,” said Charles Howell III.

The PGA Tour puts out a list of the toughest par-three holes every year, and in 2006, the fourth at Riviera made it. Perhaps appropriately, it held the fourth spot, behind No. 2 at Kapalua, No. 3 at Winged Foot for the U.S. Open and No. 11 at Torrey Pines South.

There are other unofficial lists of par-three holes, not weighted toward statistics but more toward feel or atmosphere or the potential for drama. It is a subjective list, but it should always include the fourth at Riviera, one of architect George Thomas’ greatest works. An example of brutality, sophistication and bunkers, it’s likely to be at the core of the action when the $5.2-million Nissan Open begins Thursday.

Ernie Els played a practice round Tuesday with Luke Donald and David Howell. When they reached the fourth tee, Els stuck his tee in his mouth like a toothpick. He placed the ball on the ground. And with the wind blowing off the ocean and into his face, Els pulled a three-wood from his bag. “I’m going to need every bit of this,” he said.

The ball soared toward the green in a high arc and landed safely. There is every chance, however, that such won’t be the case for everyone this week. Besides its length, the fourth has a right-to-left sloping green guarded by a series of gaping bunkers, most notably the one in front about 10 yards from the green.

Els said he might use a five-wood to beat the fourth hole, if that’s possible.

“It’s really quite a well-designed hole,” he said,

He joked that the fourth wasn’t exactly his cup of tea.

“Not really,” he said. “I like them a bit shorter than that. It really tests you. It’s really a classic hole.”

Geoff Ogilvy, the U.S. Open champion, said he enjoyed the significance attached to the hole by Hogan: “And it’s stuff that they haven’t changed. It’s just brilliant.”

Phil Mickelson has that same feeling.

“I love it,” he said. “A tough par-three, but there are options, different ways to play it. If you miss the green to the right, it’s a tough downhill chip. You don’t want to be short because the bunkers are very deep and it’s hard to get close to the pin.”

But if a par-three hole can be judged by the company it keeps, the fourth at Riviera has some associates that are just as daunting and compelling:

* The 12th at Augusta National -- It’s probably the most famous par-three in golf, even if it looks serene, measuring only 155 yards to a kidney-shaped green over Rae’s Creek and bunkers. It’s the second section of Amen Corner, and if you’re going to win the Masters, you need to say your prayers here.

* The 17th at Sawgrass -- One of the more picturesque par-threes, an island green only 137 yards removed from an elevated tee and no place to miss. The tee box is surrounded by stadium seating that blocks the wind, adding to the degree of difficulty.

* The seventh at Pebble Beach -- If it’s calm, it’s a sand wedge. If it’s windy, it can be a five-iron -- from 106 yards. From the elevated tee to the green with bunkers, there’s water on the right and behind, and cliffs. If it goes over the edge, ask the sea otters where it went.

* The 11th at Torrey Pines South -- It’s 221 yards from all the way back and the tee box is so small, there’s a psychological thing going on. You’re always hitting into the prevailing wind, it’s hard to chase the pin positions on the three-podded green and if you go long, you can’t get up and down from there. A better bet: the bunkers are sort of flat.

* The 12th at Memorial -- The tee shot is from a wooded hillside to a two-tiered green 184 yards away, entirely over water. Bunkers on the right front and the left rear of the green mean that if you miss the green, you’re in the water or the sand. Nice choices.

* The 17th at Warwick Hills and the 16th at TPC Scottsdale -- These make the list for the noise factor. An elevated tee with water to the left and a tricky green are part of the scene at the 197-yard 17th used for the Buick Open, but it’s the sound of the crowd that makes it, just like the 162-yard 16th for the FBR Open, which has skyboxes the length of the fairway on both sides.

It’s like the Colosseum in Rome, with fans enjoying their libations.

Said Billy Andrade: “They cheer and they make fun. When they saw him, Scott Gump became Forrest Gump.”

* The 17th at Quail Hollow -- The numbers at the Wachovia Championship don’t lie: 200 yards to clear the water and 217 yards to the pin, stuck on a back-to-front and right-to-left sloping green.

* The sixth at Riviera -- All right, how many par-three greens have bunkers smack-dab in the middle? At 199 yards, it’s on the list.

But this week, the fourth will get special attention. That’s how Brad Faxon always treats it. He’s been known to hit a four-iron or driver there, if it’s blowing hard.

“It’s only 230 yards,” he said, with a smile. “It’s a great, fun, long hole, and, honestly, I’d hate to think they would put up a Ben Hogan plaque if they thought it was anything else.”

Great, fun and long -- the fourth is all that, and more.

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Fred Couples withdrew Tuesday from the Nissan Open, ending a string of 25 consecutive years of playing the tournament.

Couples, 47, who won at Riviera in 1990 and 1992, has been bothered by a leg injury. He couldn’t play at the Bob Hope, missed the cut at Phoenix and had to withdraw at Pebble Beach just before his tee time.

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thomas.bonk@latimes.com

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Tough going

Most difficult par-threes on PGA Tour based on scoring average:

*--* Course Hole Yards Avg Tournament Name 1 Plantation Course 2 218 3.420 Mercedes Championships at Kapalua 2 Winged Foot Golf 3 216 3.368 U.S. Open Championship Club 3 Torrey Pines (South 11 221 3.329 Buick Invitational Course) 4 Riviera CC 4 236 3.328 Nissan Open 5 Atunyote Golf Club 11 230 3.321 B.C. Open 6 Winged Foot Golf 10 188 3.320 U.S. Open Championship Club 7 Pebble Beach Golf 5 188 3.316 AT&T; Pebble Beach Links National Pro-Am 8 The Country Club at 15 185 3.304 The Honda Classic Mirasol 9 PGA West (Palmer 5 233 3.299 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic Course) 10 Plantation Course 11 164 3.286 Mercedes Championships at Kapalua

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Source: pgatour.com