Golf in Long Beach

Perched amid the Santa Monica Mountains since 1977, Malibu Golf Club welcomes players to its hilly hideaway with a William Francis Bell layout that hearkens back to course design of the early 20th century. Golfers sling their tee shots down slender fairways wedged into the bottoms of tight, heavily wooded ravines, leaving little room for error when hitting off the tee or using the ravine as a golf-cart halfpipe. Treacherous though it is, only twice does the course's difficulty arise from water hazards: the par-3 seventh hole's 194-yard tee shot runs entirely over water, and the par-4 ninth calls for a heroic, aqua-laden approach.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par-72 course
• Total length of 6,614 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 72.6 from the back tees
• Course slope of 132 from the back tees
• Three sets of tees per hole
• Scorecard

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.

When 13-year-old Ryan Trengrove began his stint as a caddy, he could hardly know it would only be the beginning of a long career in golf. Now Ryan has not only sharpened his own golf game, he's given more than 10,000 lessons. Using this hard-earned experience, Ryan heads a staff of instructors that uses high-speed cameras and FlightScope analytics to examine clients' golf swings. Clients who are ready to launch golf balls into the air meet up with an instructor at Golf Swing Prescription's indoor studio that features a carpet with green turf. Cameras capture each swing for later review on a 46-inch flat screen, which gives instructors a good, long look at each clients' style to help improve form and follow-through with time-testing instruction techniques and a calculates series of jabs to the shoulder's reflex point. After each lesson, instructors post a summary online, where students can retrieve the information for 24/7 advice.

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

Bill Ranson held his first golf club at age 3 and defeated his father by the time he turned 13. This milestone would mark the beginning of a journey that led Bill from working as a cart attendant at a resort to caddying on the PGA Tour and, finally, teaching and playing as a PGA apprentice. Between lessons, he sharpens his own swinging skills with the ambition of earning his Class A PGA membership and all the free pizza that it entails.

Whether navigating Pebble Beach’s oceanside links or exploring the birthplace of golf at St. Andrews in Scotland, golfers know that a little rain can turn a trip of a lifetime into a water-logged disappointment. Players Club Golf removes sogginess from the equation; the center’s three full-screen golf simulators unlock instant access to more than 60 global courses without the hassles of commuting, fickle weather, and long round times. The facility smoothes the oft-difficult road toward better scores with practice configurations that allow players to immediately see a wealth of shot parameters on each swing, including launch angle, ball speed, and carry. The virtual driving range facilitates improvement through repetition and target practice, which also helps when trying to ring the doorbell of a neighbor across the street without getting off the couch.

When improvement reaches a plateau, players can enlist the expert instruction of teaching professional Brent Mann. Members also enjoy access to a facility gym stocked with $40,000 worth of equipment. Here, golfers improve their endurance on elliptical machines and strengthen postround handshake grips on a full complement of weight machines.