Riviera Country Club, The

Build the round around landing windows and approach angles. Before each tee shot, identify where your normal shot finishes, how much room surrounds that landing point, and whether the next shot remains open after your common miss. Choose a club only after answering those questions.

On the short tenth, decide where the second shot should begin before deciding whether to attack the green. On the split eighth, commit to one fairway rather than aiming between them. On longer holes, an approach from grass you can strike cleanly can be more valuable than a shorter shot from a poor lie. The 19th Hole Golf Show's 2018 Riviera account describes how unfamiliar kikuyu lies and automatic driver choices cost strokes; treat that as a reason to inspect the lie, not as a prescription to copy the speaker's club selections.