On Sunday night, after the conclusion of the Genesis Invitational, PGA Tour player Adam Schenk took to X to complain about Riviera Country Club’s difficult par 3 fourth hole.

?.?? Riv but #4 is terrible. Can get behind 10 bc so entertaining & adds value. 17 fun/fair holes & hole 4? @TigerWoods Ask them, no tell them to grow poana short of 4 for the left 2/3 of green rewarding good shots & keep current grass short on right 1/3 of green ??????? https://t.co/Pcya3GQWYy

— Adam Schenk (@acschenk1) February 19, 2024

Schenk isn’t alone in thinking that the fourth hole at Riv is too demanding, but there are also plenty of players and fans who love the hole.

Ben Hogan called the hole “The greatest par-3 hole in America.”

Smylie Kaufman also said that he believes the hole is more about luck than skill.

I grit my teeth every time the 4th hole at Riviera CC comes on. @ColtKnost mentioned yesterday 16% of players found the green in regulation last year (I believe was the stat). I’m all for challenging the players but the hole doesn’t reward great shots. It rewards a lucky bounce

— Smylie Kaufman (@SmylieKaufman10) February 18, 2024

Ultimately, there is a fine line between challenging and unfair, and the 4th at Riviera will continue to generate mixed opinions on which category it falls under.

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On Monday, Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee took to social media to discuss Scottie Scheffler’s putting stroke, referencing the banning of “anchoring” in the process.

The USGA and R&A made anchoring illegal beginning in 2016 because the fulcrum established when one anchors simplifies the putting stroke such that one can merely let gravity return the putter to the ball. BUT one can legally simulate an anchored putting stroke by letting the… pic.twitter.com/HzHzohWZer

— Brandel Chamblee (@chambleebrandel) February 19, 2024

“The USGA and R&A made anchoring illegal beginning in 2016 because the fulcrum established when one anchors simplifies the putting stroke such that one can merely let gravity return the putter to the ball. BUT one can legally simulate an anchored putting stroke by letting the putter head move substantially more than the handle and most of the best putters throughout history have done this.”

“So when I look at Scottie Scheffler continue to struggle with his putting (he was dead last in SG Putting amongst those that made the cut at Genesis) I wonder why he simply doesn’t try to get more flow and take the wooden look of dragging the handle out of his stroke. Compare the degree to which Scheffler drags the handle as opposed to some of the best putters of all time in the pictures below.”

Brandel then posted by side-by-side pictures comparing Scottie’s strokes to some of the game’s great putters of the past.

Also, when one drags the handle there is a sense in transition that one needs to create speed, so the grip pressure changes and the path of the putter is susceptible to deviations that it wouldn’t be if the player felt like all he or she had to do was drop the putter on the ball.… pic.twitter.com/1y0f8QvDx1

— Brandel Chamblee (@chambleebrandel) February 19, 2024

Chamblee then posted a video of why he believes Scheffler is more prone to having “heel strikes” in his putting stroke.

Scheffler finished 10th at the Genesis Invitational where he lost 4.4 strokes putting.

More from the 19th Hole

Four time European Tour winner, Ken Brown, is in Kenya this week for the first time since he won the event 40 years ago. The DP World Tour X account shared a post where Brown details how much the yardage books have evolved in that time frame.

40 years since @KenBrownGolf won in Kenya, he compares his 1984 yardage book to the one the players will use this week ?#MKO2024 pic.twitter.com/5EvvG9QG7a

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) February 19, 2024

Brown says jokingly that “what you had for breakfast” is in today’s books and adds “It’s got how far every single yardage is from all the different spots, it’s fantastic.”

“This is a massive, massive improvement. It saves you a lot of work because we used to have to try and do this whilst we were having a practice round.”

Brown said that players used to get together after rounds to compare notes about the course.

“A lot of us used to get together at the end of the day and say, ‘What did you get from that spot?’”

Yardage books have certainly made preparation for tournaments much easier for current professionals.

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