If you do any research into the Genesis Open, you will meet more articles on honest architecture than perhaps any other tournament. It’s deserved. Pine Valley, Augusta National and Cypress Point tend to be the go-to answers when ranking American golf courses…but those layouts are fortunate to have the “ambience”—as Golf Digest labels it—that comes from unsullied treelines and Pacific Coasts. Riviera suffers in rankings as a result of the surrounding Los Angeles real estate…but it may be the best course in the country based on design alone.
That is an argument for another day. But, if you were going to make it, No. 10 would be at the top of the evidence list. Many cite it as one of, if not the single best short Par 4 in the world. At 315 yards, the competition can absolutely reach the green. But will they try?
