Fairfield Gyms and Fitness

Since its 1965 founding in Venice Beach, California, Gold's Gym has dotted the globe with more than 600 locations where professional athletes and exercise newbies gather under the umbrella of personal strength. Nearly 3.5 million Gold's members chart and aim for their fitness peaks, perspiring beneath the gaze of certified personal trainers or pedaling beside peers at cycling sessions. In a diverse lineup of group classes, patrons strengthen cores with Pilates, finger-paint pictures of ninjas in martial arts, and amp up heart rates. Many Gold's Gym locations stockpile futuristic amenities, such as cardio machines with individual iPod docks and televisions that help keep patrons motivated.

Genesis Health Institute's co-owners, Dr. Douglas L. Weed and James Aguilar, promote personal health as they leverage wisdom acquired from a combined half-century of practice in the wellness industry. The institute’s captains draw from backgrounds in physical rehabilitation, chiropractic care, and integrative therapies as they design weight-loss plans based on ultrasound body-composition tests. Three health programs emphasize the institute's four pillars of health—detoxification, diet, proper exercise, and the use of targeted nutraceuticals—to help clients lose weight, boost metabolism, or contour the body. Supplements streamline success toward these goals, providing all the essential vitamins and minerals to increase bodily health and decrease cravings for orange crayons.

The letters in The LAB stand for longevity, attitude, and balance, highlighting the studio's three-pronged approach to health and fitness. Inside an impressive warehouse, trainers wrangle a belief-beggaring stock of workout equipment and accessories for use in tailor-made routines for individuals and small groups. Each program strives to steadily enhance overall wellness through body-sculpting drills and an emphasis on correct form, as coaches devote personal attention to participants, ensuring a motivational workout and expert advice on which font is best suited for monogramming newly formed biceps.

Golf legend Arnold Palmer, known in the cleated world as the King and winner of the PGA Tour's Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, designed the undulating ryegrass fairways at Hiddenbrooke Golf Club. Ranked as one of Golf Digest’s Readers’ Choice Top 50 Public Courses in 2009, the course unfolds scenic views of rolling hills as players give their balls detailed directions, hand them compasses and trail mix, and send them hiking toward the pin. The 12th hole’s pin challenges orbs with one of the toughest locations on the course, and eight sand bunkers guard three sides of the 18th hole’s green. After working up a sweat, swingers can remove their gloves and Kevlar vests and celebrate or commiserate their score at The Grille, where diners gaze out over the greens while munching sandwiches and quaffing beer.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par-72 course
• Length of 6,678 yards
• Course rating of 72.8
• Slope rating of 142
• 25 hitting stations at driving range
• See helpful course map and notes