Riviera Country Club: 8 Things To Know About The Historic Genesis Invitational Venue

The clubhouse at Riviera — Riviera Country Club is one of the game's most famous venues. Here are seven things to know about it

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Los Angeles' Riviera Country Club isn't just one of the most best courses in California, but also the US.

The course is particularly known as the host of the PGA Tour Signature Event, the Genesis Invitational, having become the tournament's permanent home in 1973.

Ambitious Beginnings

There were grand ambitions for Riviera Country Club from the moment it was founded, in 1926, by members of the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

After identifying the Santa Monica Canyon site, they commissioned George C. Thomas Jr to design the course, and they didn't hold back on the expense.

When it opened for business in 1927, the total cost had come to $243,827, almost four times the average cost to build a course at that time.

There's little argument that it was worth the expense, as it opened to huge acclaim and nowadays is considered Thomas Jr's masterpiece.

A year after the course opened, the famous Spanish revival-style clubhouse followed for $450,000.

Centenary Year

The US Women's Open trophy comest from Riviera Country Club in its centenary year

The club is celebrating its centennial in 2026.

One big reason to celebrate comes with its hosting of the Genesis Invitational, something it wasn't able to do in 2025 because of the LA wildfires, which forced the tournament to temporarily move to Torrey Pines.

The Genesis Invitational is not the only big event taking place at Riviera in its centenary year. The US Women's Open also comes from the Pacific Palisades venue for the first time.

Olympic Sports Venue

Equestrian at Riviera Country Club — Equestrian was held at Riviera Country Club at the 1932 Olympics

While Riviera Country Club soon gained a reputation as a brilliant venue to play golf, for a short time, the course hosted another sport.

When the 1932 Olympics came to Los Angeles, Riviera Country Club was used for its equestrian event and the riding section of its modern pentathlon event.

Big Tournaments

Xander Schauffele and Justin Rose at Riviera Country Club — The 2028 Olympics is one of several big occasions coming to Riviera Country Club

Riviera Country Club is set to remain as the permanent home of the Genesis Invitational indefinitely, but it's not just the big PGA Tour event we can look forward to being played there in the coming years.

It is also host venue for the 2026 US Women's Open, while it will host the US Open for the second time in 2031.

Riviera Country Club will also host the golf tournaments at the 2028 Olympics.

Previously, the venue hosted the US Open for the first time in 1948, followed by the PGA Championship in 1983 and 1995. It also hosted the US Senior Open in 1998 and the US Amateur in 2017.

Famous Members

Mark Wahlberg at the Match Superstars — Mark Wahlberg is one of many famous Riviera Country Club members

Riviera Country Club's prestigious and exclusive location also make it a haven for famous members.

Among the former rich and famous people who were members of the club were movie stars Humphrey Bogart, Rita Hayworth, Gregory Peck and Katherine Hepburn, and musician Glen Campbell.

In the present day, the likes of boy band singer-turned-actor Mark Wahlberg, Happy Gilmore star Adam Sandler and former NFL quarterback Tom Brady are members.

Starring Role In Movies

The set of Pat and Mike — Katherine Hepburn's movie Pat and Mike was one of several filmed at Riviera Country Club

As well as being the venue of choice for an array of golf-loving movie stars through the years, Riviera Country Club has also been a star of the silver screen.

Soon after it opened, 1927 silent movie Spring Fever was filmed there. It was also the main location for Katherine Hepburn's 1952 movie Pat and Mike, while 1953 movie The Caddy, which featured a cameo from Ben Hogan, included scenes from the course, too.

Larry David's TV comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm has also featured scenes filmed at Riviera Country Club.

Significant Redesigns

A bunker at Riviera Country Club — The course has undergone several redesigns

The course has undergone several renovations, particularly over the last four decades.

In the early 1980s, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw restored the greens and bunkering to something approaching Thomas Jr's original layout. Tom Fazio has also made several revisions to the course through the years.

Ahead of the 2026 tournament, more changes were made, not all well-received.

The fourth and 18th were both lengthened in time for the event. On the change to the par 3 fourth, which now measures a whopping 273 yards, Rory McIlroy described it as "horrible," saying: "I don't think four plays any differently, you're just hitting a slightly longer club. I actually think it's a horrible change."

Even with its changes, Riviera has largely stayed true to the routing of Thomas' original design.

Tiger Woods' PGA Tour Debut

Tiger Woods at the 1992 Los Angeles Open — Tiger Woods made his PGA Tour debut at Riviera Country Club

Tiger Woods made his PGA Tour debut at Riviera Country Club. The 15-time Major winner made his bow there at the 1992 Nissan Los Angeles Open (now the Genesis Invitational).

Nowadays, Woods is the host of the event, and he's not the only player with a claim as the greatest of all time who began his PGA Tour career at the event.

Jack Nicklaus' PGA Tour debut came at the 1962 Los Angeles Open, albeit at Rancho Park Golf Course.

Incredibly, neither player has won at Riviera Country Club despite the pair racking up a combined 227 professional titles.

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.

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