Golf in Isla Vista

GolfTEC has thirteen convenient locations in the Los Angeles area, all staffed by experienced golfing professionals and computers who’ve sworn allegiance to the Three Laws of golfing robotics. Motion sensors and high-speed cameras monitor your swing and break down your form on a high-definition video display. GolfTEC’s PGA specialists point out your flaws, strengths, and coach you on how to permanently improve your game, from tee to green. Sensors chirp with approval when you’ve executed a perfect stroke or cracked an especially witty golfing joke.

Tucked amid the shadows of eucalyptus trees and mexican palms, Buena Vista Golf Course roams across 6,710 yards of dramatically undulating terrain. Throughout the par-72 layout, golfers grapple with uneven lies wrought by the hilly topography, as well as large, contoured greens that require a soft touch with the putter. As players make their way from tee to green, hillcrests offer glimpses of the surrounding farmland, the two lakes that comprise Buena Vista Aquatic Recreation Center, and distant mountains as they ripple out into the horizon and hide the unsightly edge of the earth. Guests looking to polish their game can consult Buena Vista's two PGA Class A professionals, who offer private lessons and club-fitting services.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par-72 course

• Total length of 6,710 yards from the back tees

• Course rating of 72.9 from the back tees

• Slope rating of 124 from the back tees

• Four sets of tees per hole

• Scorecard

As the inventor of the Swing Thing training aid, PGA professional Dennis Dawson often uses the device during lessons to correct imbalanced swing mechanics and develop consistent, successful swings. Drawing on 35 years of instruction, Dennis focuses on the fundamentals of a fluid swinging motion, particularly the importance of spinal angle, balance, and a follow-through that includes a seamless pirouette. While students hit shots during a lesson, Dennis diagnoses particular maladies responsible for undesirable flight patterns. Students first practice swinging without the ball or a caddy on their shoulders to get a feel for correct mechanics and then repeat the motion until proper form is built into muscle memory.

Twin Lakes Golf Course is much more than the sum of its parts. With a 9-hole, par 28 executive golf course and practice facilities that include a driving range, 8,500-square-foot putting green, and chipping area, it gives players countless ways to better their game. Visiting players can hone short, half-swing approaches and full, walloping drives on holes ranging from as close as 70 yards to as far as 360, much as they would on a full-length course. The driving range also expedites the learning curve with full-flight Pinnacle range balls primed and ready to be pummeled from real grass or synthetic tees. In the short-game area, Titleist Pro V1 golf balls simplify the act of chipping onto the green or into target nets, even as players line up shots from nearby bunkers, slopes, and grasses akin to the rough and fairway. And when players are left with nothing else to do but admire themselves in the reflection of the nearest water hazard, Twin Lakes’ resident instructors—Don Parsons, Buff Platt, and PGA head professional Jim Ley—are there to take the reins and help clients shave off a few more strokes.

Within Bogey Bob's Golf Center's indoor studio, golfers improve their skill sets with indoor practice, instruction, and merchandise to pair improved swings with the latest clubs and equipment. Once a decorated player on the junior circuit, resident ace and owner John Cummings imparts hard-won golf wisdom to clients in lessons conducted within the center's indoor driving range, practice green, and rabid-turtle-infested water hazard.

The center boasts video swing-analysis technology, which allows pupil and pedagogue alike to study the science of their swings as computers provide data such as swing tempo, launch angle, distance, and club-head path. With a slew of clubs from the game's top brands, clients can find a much-improved replacement for the rusting short irons and oversize bananas currently populating their golf bags.

Rising like an ivory and adobe mirage amid the towering hills of Southern California, Ojai Valley Inn & Spa curates recreation and relaxation across stately grounds that date back to 1923. Guests can trade forehand hits on one of the resort's four lighted tennis courts or hunt for birdies across the acclaimed 18-hole golf course that has hosted seven Senior PGA Tour events and welcomed rarefied guests such as Bob Hope, Will Smith, and the mashie niblick from a bygone era.

Massage therapists and aestheticians tend to weary travelers at the resort's sprawling spa, which instills tranquil thoughts with everything from plush massage beds to the ornately patterned tiles in the Kuyam chamber room dedicated to mud- and clay-mask treatments.

Locally sourced produce and herbs harvested from the inn's garden are infused into dishes at the inn’s restaurants, which feature both indoor and outdoor dining experiences. The resort also encompasses 308 guest rooms that embody the rustic refinement of Spanish colonial style for those looking for a relaxing weekend or a romantic getaway with their beloved tennis racket.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 70 course
• Length of 6,292 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 71.0 from the farthest tees
• Slope rating of 132 from the farthest tees
• Three tee options
• View course layout