The fourth Olympics since the reintroduction of golf to the schedule will come from Los Angeles in 2028, and the course chosen for the men’s and women’s competitions has a reputation befitting such an occasion – and some intriguing Olympics history already.
After London and Paris, the Californian city will become only the third to host the Games three times having previously held them in 1932 and 1984, but neither of those years featured golf as it went on a long Olympics hiatus after 1904, only returning for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
So, how is it that for the course chosen for the venue, the famous Riviera Country Club, it won’t be the first time it has hosted the Olympics?
While that’s a near-certainty to pop up as a quiz question in the build-up to the Games, the answer is that in the 1932 edition, six years after the course opened, it hosted not golf but the dressage equestrian and riding section of modern pentathlon events.
Since then, the course has established a reputation as one of the most renowned in golf, and it’s no stranger to hosting some of the game’s most prestigious events.
In 1948, it was the venue for the US Open, with the PGA Championship held there in 1983 and 1995. It also hosted the 1998 US Senior Open. Two years before the Olympics it will be the venue for the US Women’s Open, while it will become a US Open venue for the second time three years after the Games.
It’s in the spotlight annually, too, as the regular home of one of the PGA Tour’s marquee events, the Tiger Woods-hosted Genesis Invitational, so it’s safe to say the course is well equipped to handle an occasion even as big as the Olympics.
The club also has a long association with glamor thanks to its proximity to the homes of Hollywood stars, with famous members through the years including Humphrey Bogart, Katherine Hepburn, Dean Martin and Adam Sandler.
Other well-known members have included entrepreneur and movie producer Howard Hughes, NFL legend Tom Brady and country singer Glen Campbell, who is credited with reviving the fortunes of the PGA Tour event, then called the Los Angeles Open, in the 1970s, when he took on hosting duties when it was at a low ebb.
The course has one of the most natural layouts in the game, while there are narrow fairways and deep bunkers, including a particularly famous one on the sixth green. Meanwhile, the putting surfaces are generally undulating, so there’s plenty to challenge even the most accomplished player.
Trees are also an important feature, with huge eucalyptus trees with white bark throughout, while there’s a famous sycamore tree on the 12th, where Bogart used to watch events while sipping bourbon. Eventually, the club named the tree after him, and to this day it is still referred to as Bogey’s Tree.
Whether it’s the course’s impressive history of hosting big events, its long list of famous members or its challenging yet wholly easy-on-the-eye layout, Riviera Country Club is tailor-made for an occasion as grand as the Olympics, and, as we’ve discovered, not for the first time.
