Pacific Palms Resort is billed as "LA's hilltop hideaway", the only full-service luxury golf and conference resort in Los Angeles County. The setting of the 292-room hotel and two golf courses by William F. Bell and Casey O'Callaghan is set against the San Gabriel Valley Mountains. Live music and jazz sets the mood at the Red Restaurant and Bar.…
Terranea Resort mixes the beauty of California's Pacific coastline with luxurious resort amenities. The Mediterranean-inspired resort, home to 582 rooms and suites, including casitas and villas, debuted in June 2009. Its menus, spa and fitness programs are wellness focused. Four pools and a kids club attract families. The nine-hole, par-3 course…
The Resort at Pelican Hill is one of SoCal's trendiest getaways, whether it's for golf or to unwind. The resort takes inspiration from the 16th century Italian architect Andrea Palladio. Each one-story bungalow guest room or suite features its own limestone fireplace, private terrace and marble bath. The 2- to 4-bedroom villas are secluded within…
The Ranch at Laguna Beach sits tucked in a canyon off of the Pacific Coast Highway across the street from Aliso Beach and the Pacific Ocean. The Aliso Creek winds through the entertaining nine-hole Ben Brown Golf Course. The 97 rooms and suites have all been modernized. A farm-to-table restaurant, outdoor pool, spa and activities complete the…
The Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club is a grand Mediterranean retreat that has earned AAA Five Diamond Awards since 2003 and Mobil/Forbes Five Star Awards since 2007. The Monarch Bay Beach Club is a private beach club across the Pacific Coast Highway where guests have access to a private beach and an all-day food menu in a gorgeous…
The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel overlooks the Pacific Ocean in the trendy SoCal beach town of Dana Point. It is stylish and luxurious, yet welcoming and casual for kids and pets. The hotel, decorated by a revolving collection of works from local artists, is home to a spa, two restaurants, two tennis courts and two pools. The Eco-Adventure Center…
While the city of Angels is more known for its private clubs such as L.A. Country Club, Riviera and Bel-Air CC, the daily-fee golf in the Los Angeles area is pretty good if you know where to look.
Anaheim, California has a pretty obvious theme parks, that is. Theme parks. And Anaheim has some of the best in the world: from Knott's Berry Farm, to LEGOLAND California, to nearby Universal Studios Hollywood to Disneyland. Yes, when you are home to the "Happiest Place on Earth," and you can still offer visitors some tough choices, you are doing something right. That's not to mention the options for sports fans, such as Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim baseball and loads of great golf.
If you're taking the family to Disneyland or planning a business trip to the Anaheim Convention Center, don't forget your sticks. Golf, as you might expect, is plentiful in southern California. Even better, a few courses offer ocean views. But even the ones that don't have some pretty nice vistas. Here's a list of five courses you should consider if you're venturing in Mickey's backyard.
Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles is as brash as a billionaire. It screams "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" the moment you drive onto the manicured grounds and walk into its opulent, 45,000-square-foot clubhouse. Even better -- it calms you with a view of the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island that's as good as California gets. One can find solitude here gazing out over the rugged, soothing views of this scenic coastline.
The oceanfront Terranea Resort is located just a chip shot south of Los Angeles. Given its picturesque location on a peninsula jutting out into the Pacific Ocean, it has become a popular day-trip destination since it opened its doors in 2009. Terranea is not foremost a golf resort. In fact, its prices are so reasonable you'll have plenty of money to spend elsewhere at the resort. Robert Gray has more on Terranea.
When you're playing a municipal golf course in a state, city, county or metropark chain of parks, you're almost always guaranteed a round of golf in a natural setting with no homes and little traffic.
Everybody knows about Bel-Air, Los Angeles Country Club or Riviera. All are great places to play if you're in Los Angeles. The trouble is they are all very, very private. So if you're visiting downtown L.A. either on business or pleasure, where do you play daily fee or public golf? Relax. Mike Bailey has some suggestions.
In Los Angeles, local golfers and savvy visitors are willing to wait a little longer on the tee because they reap the rewards of quality city golf for minimal capital. L.A.'s muni courses range from undulating fairways in the Hollywood Hills to a bucolic getaway on the West Side. Two top-notch choices are Griffith Park and Rancho Park in Cheviot Hills. Robert Gray has more.
Yes, there is plenty of public golf beyond the exclusive private clubs in Tinseltown. And fortunately, in an area where mild weather and copious sunshine are the norm, decent conditions rule, and business is steady for the canniest of the local operators. Los Angeles resident golf writer David Weiss shares where he plays around his hometown when he's not playing on the road.
What's the golfer to do in southern California when corralled into a family trip? Pony up cash for a swank resort and spend much of the time away from the course indulging the family, or seek affordable golf destinations near major attractions?
Heading to Pasadena to see FSU and Oregon in the Rose Bowl Game? There are plenty of worthwhile golf courses in the Pasadena area to play before or after the game.
Looking for golf? The ocean? A romantic getaway? A family vacation? Few California resorts deliver on all accounts as well as the St. Regis Monarch Beach in Dana Point.
A nod to the past has rejuvenated Palos Verdes Golf Club, a historic William Bell/George Thomas design 30 minutes from LAX. Todd Eckenrode used old photos to restore the course to its former glory with a few modern twists. As a result, this semiprivate course is no longer a hidden gem.
Love him or hate him, Donald Trump always makes a splash. That splash at the Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles comes in the form of cascading million-dollar waterfalls, not to mention the stunning ocean views from virtually every hole. This Pete Dye design is as visually intimidating as it is beautiful.
The nine-hole Ben Brown's Golf Course at The Ranch at Laguna Beach might be short on yardage, but a round will be faster and more affordable than other courses near the ocean. Surrounding canyon walls make playing golf feel like an escape.
Monarch Beach Golf Links in Dana Point, Calif. delivers a taste of the good life golfers expect from Orange County. Robert Trent Jones Jr. built a unique routing of three par 5s and five par 3s that's playable for everybody. Deep bunkers sweep in circular motions like waves, guarding fairway doglegs and elevated greens, while ponds and hazards pinch eight holes, ready to pounce.