An Afternoon at Paradise/Riviera
This place is so nice. So classy. So plush. I honestly believe the greatest punishment O.J. Simpson actually suffered, after his non-murder of Nicole and her friend ... was getting thrown out of Riviera. Where he used to golf, like, daily.
For starters, this is one of the nicest neighborhoods in Southern California. A couple of square miles of some of the choicest real estate around. Monster houses on winding streets up and down the hills that march down to the Pacific.
And the course here almost always is in impeccable shape. A tract of near-perfect greenery that can make you forget the rat race for an hour or five. Even with thousands of people quietly shuffling around.
Phil Mickelson is leading by a couple of shots, 11 holes into play today.
I'm going to follow him, the final five holes. Lefty never has won here. He lost in a playoff a year ago. Tiger isn't here, so this is another great shot for Mickelson.
Tiger never has won here, either. He's 0-for-11. Phil is 0-for-9, including an amateur appearance.
Riviera is known for being a challenging course. Lots of up-and-down, including the famous finishing hole up the hill to the clubhouse. And it's so easy on the eye.
I'm not sure I've ever seen an ugly golf course ... but then there is Riviera. Unlike a lot of the new courses, carved into huge tracts of empty space on the edges of civilization (think Palm Springs) ... this course seems to fit specifically into this bit of ground. It seems RIGHT here, not like some artificially sectioned-off tract breaking up the flow of some neighborhoods. This acreage ought to be a golf course. It just feels right.
Anyone would love to live here, if he had $10 million lying about. Unless manicured lawns and majestic trees are an effront to you.