Riviera’s par-3 weakness is back in the spotlight: the fourth hole, once hailed by Ben Hogan as “the greatest par-3 hole in America,” has now become the longest par-3 on the PGA Tour. Riviera Country Club lengthened the fourth from 236 yards to 273 yards ahead of the Genesis Invitational, effectively pushing it past Puntacana Resort’s 11th hole at 265 yards. Only Cherry Hills’ eighth hole—276 yards during the 2014 BMW Championship—has surpassed it among regular Tour stops since 2003.
The hole’s design follows the Redan concept, featuring a green set at a 45-degree angle that slopes from front to back, with a pair of bunkers (one in front and another behind) and a pronounced slope to guide balls toward mid-to-back locations. In this update, the tee box was shifted roughly 30 yards to the right to make room for a new No. 18 tee, which compromised much of Riviera’s classic Redan angle. Greenside adjustments were also made to encourage more ground movement, though Rico Hoey (Riviera member and former USC golfer) notes that kikuyu rough and the unusually soft conditions this week still impede the true Redan style.
“I don’t think it changes much,” said Jordan Spieth, who played for Texas at Riviera and has recorded two top-10s on tour there. “Instead of a 2-iron or hybrid, you’re now hitting a 3-wood. It was always a bit of a crapshoot whether you’d hit the green anyway. It’s the course’s only weak spot, in my view, but it’s just a seasonal thing. When we played the national championship (in late May), you could drop a 4-iron on the right side and have a chance to funnel it back there.”
Two years ago, when Riviera hosted the Genesis for the first time, No. 4 finished 0.204 strokes over par for the week, ranking it the third-toughest hole. It yielded only 11 birdies, and professionals found the green on just 15% of attempts, resulting in a combined score of 49 over par. Notably, there were no doubles that week.
What typically amplifies the challenge is the combination of Tour-fast, firm greens and tee shots that struggle to hold. “If you want it to be a 275-yard par-3, you have to adjust the apron leading onto the green,” Rory McIlroy commented. “If you keep kikuyu there, the ball won’t run onto the green; with the right conditions, trying to fly a ball with a 3-iron could leave you short of the green or rolling toward the fifth tee box.”
This week, despite players still eyeing driver options and Hoey’s wind-assisted mini-driver effort into a roughly 270-yard hole, rainy conditions have softened the surface enough to offer a real chance of holding the green from the air. Yet even with the added length, many feel the difficulty remains largely the same or even heightened.
“Nine times out of ten, it’s too long,” Nico Echavarria remarked. “There’s little sense in a par-3 this long.” And, bluntly, McIlroy echoed the sentiment: “I genuinely think this is a terrible change.”
And this is the part most readers miss: the reshaped hole isn’t just about distance. It reshapes club selection, ball flight, and how players approach the Redan concept on a modern PGA Tour stage. The controversy hinges on whether extending a storied hole preserves its challenge or undermines its historical strategy. Do you think lengthening No. 4 preserves Riviera’s character, or does it dilute the Redan’s classic decision-making for players? Share your take in the comments.
