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What is the toughest green to play on? Many pros would mention different courses! But if you ask this PGA Tour pro, he will surely say the Riviera Country Club, that too the 4th hole! Although it is one of the most historic and oldest courses played on the Tour, per the 32-year-old Purdue alum, the fringe of the par-3 fourth hole is “terrible.”.

After trying his luck at the Genesis Invitational, the Vincennes native had a special plea for the event host, Tiger Woods! The request was as to how the fringe around the greens could be maintained. What exactly did the Korn Ferry Tour pro want at Riviera?

1-time KFT winner loves Riviera but asks Tiger Woods to keep the grass short

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The Genesis Invitational has finally ended and crowned Hideki Matsuyama as the 2024 season’s winner. As the dramatic showdown came to be, Smylie Kaufman, 1x PGAT winner, and a sports presenter, brought forward a unique quality of Riviera’s fourth hole. Kaufman mentioned that as per Colt Knost, in 2023, only 16% of golfers found the green in regulation. It is one of the toughest holes in Riviera that “doesn’t reward great shots. It rewards a lucky bounce.”

Reciprocating his feelings, another pro retweeted his post—Adam Schenk, who first-hand experienced the 4th hole troubles. Schenk didn’t bogey the 4th hole in the rounds he played, as he missed the cut with 4 strokes. However, the pro said that even making the par is hard once the ball meets the fringe.

Taking his grievance to X and making an earnest request to Woods, Schenk wrote he loves Riviera, but the 4th hole is “terrible.” He then ranked the 10th hole as “entertaining” and called the 17th a “fun/fair hole.” However, he asked Woods to tell the Riviera management to “grow poana short of 4 for the left 2/3 of green, rewarding good shots, and keep current grass short on the right 1/3 of green.”

After sending the request to Woods’s FYP, the 32-year-old pro also gave one fun piece of advice to the Riviera CC course management on how they can solve the 4th hole dilemma for the golfers, which might not be cost-effective but will become handy for the players.

Adam Schenk asks the Riviera CC for a different type of fringe

Given that Adam Schenk and the pros are always troubled by the grass around the greens, Schenk was hoping that it would change altogether. He suggested that instead of using the same species of grass for the fringes as the fairways, why not use something else? He asked, “Who says you have to use the same FW grass around all the greens?”

Read More: Patrick Cantlay Fell Prey to Tiger Woods’s ‘Ill’ Genesis Fate, Resulting in a Final Round Choke

Though he agreed that changing the grass type around the greens could be “hard for maintenance and cost too much,” since it’s the Riviera Country Club, “that excuse is out.”

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It was a fun request that Schenk made to Woods and Riviera’s management. Will his request be accepted though? Only time will tell! Meanwhile, stay tuned to find out all the exciting upcoming updates of the golf world!

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