One Of The Toughest Par 3s In Golf Is Now 40 Yards Longer

(left) A general view down the 273-yard par-3 fourth hole at Riviera Country Club ahead of the 2026 Genesis Invitational and (right) Rory McIlroy hitting an iron shot at the fourth in 2024 — (Image credit: Getty Images/Doug Ferguson on X)

Riviera Country Club is a famously tough but fair test for the world's best professional golfers, with winning under-par scores at the Los Angeles Open largely ranging from single figures to the mid-to-high teens since returning here on a consistent basis in 1973.

But, in 2026, it's going to be even harder and maybe just a little bit less appealing thanks to a significant change made on one particular hole.

Courses regularly make small tweaks each year to ensure the balance between entertainment and challenge is just right, but the alteration made by the Genesis Invitational's tournament committee at the par-3 fourth may go down as mildly controversial.

Playing 233 yards on the most recent occasion the Genesis Invitational was contested here in 2024, it was ranked as the third-hardest hole on the course.

Reminder, this is a par three 👇In 2024, it played as the 3rd hardest hole on the course. The BEST players in the world played the hole in 49-over par for the week and hit the green... just 15 percent of the time (37-of-240).So they lengthened it 40 yards?! https://t.co/SRdKYk8rQlFebruary 16, 2026

Per Golf Digest's Jamie Kennedy, the entire field hit the green just 15% of the time through four rounds (37 of 240) last time and the total score on it was 49-over-par.

But instead of chopping a few yards off by moving the tees forwards a little bit, Tiger Woods and co. doubled down on their vision and have lengthened the par-3 fourth hole by a cool 40 yards.

It now measures, according to the official PGA Tour scorecard, at 273 yards long and is one of the longest par 3s in professional golf. A picture of the view from the tee box on No.4 at Riviera was first shared by the AP's Doug Ferguson.

Sharing his view on the change via X, 2010 US Open champion Graeme McDowell suggested the extension was something of a mistake by officials.

McDowell wrote: "Few holes that you would like to lengthen on this great course but this wouldn’t be my first choice. Obsession with total yardage can destroy individual great holes."

To offer balance, none of the other three 'short holes' at Riviera exceed 200 yards as standard, with the sixth coming in at 199 yards, the 14th measuring 192 yards and the 16th just a flick of a wedge at 166 yards.

Despite the variety, the fourth may still come in for a fair amount of criticism if historic comments relating to similar-length par 3s are anything to go by.

Back in 1962, Jack Nicklaus navigated Oakmont Country Club (and its 253-yard par 3) successfully to win the first of his 18 Majors.

Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus at the 1962 US Open — Arnold Palmer (left) and Jack Nicklaus at the 1962 US Open

Nevertheless, the man who would go on to be nicknamed 'the Golden Bear' wasn't too impressed with Oakmont's 8th, or any other long par 3 for that matter.

At the time, Nicklaus said: "I think it’s difficult to make a good, long par 3. I think it’s a very difficult thing to have a hole where you’re standing back, hitting a wood at a par 3."

Commenting on the same hole in the year Oakmont's 8th was stretched out to 300 yards, Viktor Hovland stated that holes which require pros to "take head covers off" are "a little silly."

Viktor Hovland hits a driver off the tee

He said: "Yeah, I mean, it just becomes hard. I just don’t think when you have to make a hole that long, it just doesn’t become that great.

"It just becomes like, okay, you got a certain target here and then you got to hit a shot around there and make a par and get out of there instead of a shorter par 3 that entices you to get close to it, but if you’re a little bit off, you’re either in the water or in a short-sided spot or if you bail out, yeah, you still have a tricky little putt.

“I just think all the best par-3s are under 200. You can maybe have it just over 200, but as soon as you start to take head covers off on par 3s, I just think it gets a little silly."

Speaking on the topic more generally, Justin Thomas once argued that he "couldn't tell you a par 3 over 250 yards that's good, I would say, architecturally."

However, opponents to that view might argue that the par on a hole is effectively irrelevant and everyone has the same task in terms of navigating the ball to the 18 holes in as few strokes as possible.

Either way, going low at Riviera's par-3 fourth hole this week is going to be an extremely tough ask.

Jonny Leighfield is our Staff News Writer who joined Golf Monthly just in time for the 2023 Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup. He graduated from the University of Brighton with a degree in Sport Journalism in 2017 and spent almost five years as the sole sports reporter at his local newspaper. During his time with Golf Monthly, Jonny has interviewed several stars of the game, including Robert MacIntyre, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, and Joaquin Niemann. An improving golfer himself, Jonny enjoys learning as much about the game as he can and recently reached his Handicap goal of 18 for the first time.

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