
No. 10 at Riviera taken by Geoff Shackelford, who made use of his unique leaping abilities, to snap this shot last year
Ask any player and/or caddie in the field at this week’s Northern Trust Open about Riviera Country Club and chances are he’ll gush over the par-4 No. 10. Measuring a mere 315 yards, the short hole yields just as many birdies as bogeys. Many will pull out driver (or 3-wood for the bombers) and take a shot at the narrow, slippery green guarded by bunkers front, back and right. The danger is missing it short right, where in the words of one caddie, “You’re screwed.” Playing it “safe” and laying up isn’t necessarily the “smart” move because you might not even have a shot with a wedge into the green. Simply put, No. 10 is a great strategy hole.
“It’s one of the best holes in golf,” said Hunter Mahan, who finished second at last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (and opened this event last year with a triple-bogey 7 on the 10th).