Riviera Becomes LA 2024's Olympic Golf Course
/While it's a world class course unfortunately owned by not-very-world class people, Riviera gives the LA2024 bid committee a famous layout in the effort to bring the Olympics to southern California.
Unfortunately, this means there will be no effort to resuscitate Griffith Park, the original bid committee plan. Given that the LA City courses are in such a terrible place--five of them have shuttered pro shops because no one wants to deal with the City of LA--the Olympics provided hope that 2024 might leave public golf here in a better place.
But the LA 2024 bid is emphasizing already-built facilities over legacy projects and Riviera fits that bill, even if it'll be surrounded by $20 million homes and down to a tiny membership with entry fees already approaching $300,000 (that's including required "donations" to the club's effort to fund the 2017 U.S. Amateur to procure better waiting list positioning).
None of this will fit the "grow the game" message we heard this year and which validated Rio's effort to build a public course.
es, it was a headache and tough, but wasn't it worth it to show the world that great golf can be played on a course anyone can play? That won't be the case in 2020 or 2024, assuming LA gets the Games.
