Every golfer has a dream course—or, more likely, dream courses.
It’s part of golfing tradition, where you stand at the tee box of your local nine-hole spot or driving range (or maybe from the 19th hole) and pretend you’re limbering up from a historic course: St. Andrews, Pinehurst No. 2, Sawgrass, perhaps Pebble Beach or Augusta, and beyond.
And while the possibility of actually playing at some of the top courses around the world is a challenging goal—teetering on impossible—that doesn’t mean it’s a total shank back into reality. That we can’t, at least, take a virtual trip through some of the most exceptional 18 holes that golf has to offer.
Like, say, Riviera Country Club.
Nestled in Pacific Palisades, California, the nearly 100-year-old course is one of the most iconic in all of golf—from the famous members to the clubhouse to the residences that surround the course in the Santa Monica Canyon. This week, the PGA Tour will tee it up there for the Genesis Open.
Hopefully, they won’t mind if we (virtually) play through…
(Note: Yardages are from the Gold Tees)
No. 1: 503 yards, par 5
It’s one of the best opening holes, and one look from the tee box explains why. Some 70 feet above the fairway, with the historic clubhouse behind you, this par 5 is an immediate test of skill (double-bogeys are not uncommon) that also displays an incredible panoramic view of the grounds.