Golfing on Desert Greens

Road journeys don’t come more quintessential than the trip from Los Angeles to Las Vegas via Death Valley. From lone roadside diners and highways stretching to infinity, to buzzards circling overhead and distinctive Joshua trees dotting the desert landscape – all the classic imagery is here in abundance. And for serious golfers, this is a true place of pilgrimage. With the world’s lowest elevation golf course and some of the best desert layouts on the planet – the sheer quantity and variety of golf courses in California and Nevada is astonishing.

After loading our clubs into our SUV at LAX, my brother Paul and I cruise north along palm-fringed Pacific Highway 1, passing through Santa Monica, Malibu and Ventura towards the picturesque beachside town of Santa Barbara, dubbed the American Riviera thanks to its low-slung red-tiled roofs, white stucco buildings and gorgeous sunsets.

Santa Barbara makes a good base for our first round at Sandpiper Golf Club, sometimes known as the ‘Poor Man’s Pebble Beach.’ Nestled against the scalloped coastline, it’s an inspiring combination of challenge and beauty with a links style layout. Another is majestic La Purisima Golf Course near Lompoc, which has been crafted out of a rollercoaster canyon interlaced with scrub oak. A demanding test, La Purisima has been used numerous times for PGA and Champions Tour qualifying events. Mountainside Glen Annie Golf Club in Goleta, and the fun Alisal River Course – where the golf scene in the movie Sideways was shot are other good choices.