La Cumbre Country Club: La Cumbre
La Cumbre Country Club: La Cumbre
4015 Via Laguna
Santa Barbara, CA 93110-2298
United States
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Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists
100 GREATEST/BEST IN STATE SCORES
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Reviews
Review
“Fun course to play. Par 5 holes are scorable, but def have a risk/reward feature. The closing holes of 7-9 are the best of the golf course. Birdies can be made- but so can doubles. you have all the shots here- uphill/downhill/ sidehill."
Read More2026
Review
“I'm sure the membership loves the super wide fairways! While there was a great mix of left/right. up/down, short/long, the slope of 129 was indicative of the overall course. The 6500 yard tips are what you would expect from a private club catering to its membership. The club is planning to replace much of the grass in the next year as greens have shrunk over the years according to the head pro. Several well designed water holes added to the overall challenge factor."
Read More2026
Review
“La Cumbre Country Club is a classic George Thomas design located in Santa Barbara, CA. It’s one of the best/underrated courses in Southern CA. The par 4 8th hole is the best hole on the course and it’s as good as the holes at Riviera and LACC North. The course has one of the best layouts too. The 10th hole is similar to #1 at Riviera. The back 9 holes wrap around a beautiful lake and the par 3, 13th hole is a very unique fun hole. Is has two greens of them is an island green on the lake. The course has beautiful kikuyu fairways with firm, fast but receptive poa annua greens identical to Riviera. Golfers in Southern CA call Hacienda Golf Club “Mini Riviera” but the real “Mini Riviera” is La Cumbre Country Club. Hacienda Golf Club isn’t even a George Thomas design. La Cumbre CC has hired Todd Eckenrode to complete a major renovation in 2026 and I am very excited to play the course at the end of 2026 or early 2027."
Read More2025
Review
“La Cumbre Country Club is a classic George Thomas design in Santa Barbara, CA that is very underrated and definitely deserves more recognition as one of the best courses in Southern CA. Valley Club of Montecito down the street receives all of the recognition because it’s an Alister Mackenzie design but in reality, it isn’t much better than La Cumbre. I know members that are members at both clubs and they tell me they like La Cumbre more than Valley Club. Valley Club of Montecito is one of the most overrated courses and isn’t a Top 100 course but they are grandfathered in because it’s an Alister Mackenzie design and the members are some of the most successful in society. I’ve played 60-70 of our America’s 100 Greatest Courses depending on the years and Winged Foot West, Quaker Ridge, and Valley Club are the most overrated courses ranked in our Top 100. Quaker Ridge and Valley Club should be ranked between 150-200."
Read More2025
Review
“La Cumbre CC has a storied history from inception in 1908 to it's current layout, last redesigned by George Bell in 1957. This is a quintessential parkland course with mature trees on rolling terrain, the holes simply flow with the terrain and utilize the geographic features;. Most holes run predominately up or downhill and approach shots are to raised greens, well protected by bunkers or slopes, making distance control the most important factor to scoring well. Bunkers and trees are often used to frame the tee shots and some hole have excellent views of the surrounding mountains and terrain. The course is in excellent condition, firm and fast with smooth and true Poa greens, and well maintained (consistent) bunkers, easily the best greens and bunkers I have played in a while. The tee shots and approach shots are well framed by the terrain and landscaping. Some of the shorter par 4s can be very strategic requiring the exact distance off the tee to have a view of the green. Even though there is housing adjacent to the course the houses are rarely in view or in play. My only criticism is that many of the holes seem to play roughly the same distance, more modern courses tend to have more variety in the length of holes, short to long, or have risk reward built into the design; these aspect tend to be a more modern characteristic and not seen much in courses of this generation."
Read More2025
Review
“A clubby old club with a budget to do a renovation soonish and maintain to a high standard. If you are in the area and can secure an invitation, take it. If your time is limited, Sandpiper and La Purisima are better options and open to the public."
Read More2025
Review
“A beautiful course that gives you incredible santa barbara views, however it feels like 2 courses in 1 with the front and back 9 playing over very different terrain. There are a few stand out holes that run through the upper hills section of the course, however many holes feel cramped into the space and require the player to play many of the same shots over and over again."
Read More2024
Review
“George Thomas/Billy Bell design. Golf Course was built when dirt movement was minimized, so there are quite a few up and down holes with elevated green and many blind shots. Good variety of hole movement (left to right and up/down). Course is well protected with strategically placed bunkers off the Tees and around the greens. Trees also framed many of the holes nicely which led to the importance of Drive placement as well as shots to some of the greens. From a conditioning perspective, the course was terrific with tightly mown kikuyu grass in the fairways and the green surfaces were smooth and fast. The bunkers were very well maintained and consistent."
Read More2024
Review
“La Cumbre has a new director of Agronomy that has made a tremendous difference in the quality and conditioning of the golf course. His name is Paul Robertson. The Eckenrode renovation will start 2027 and the plan is to fully restore all the Bell/Thomas holes to their original design. When all this happens, this golf course will be fantastic."
Read More2024
Review
“Located in Santa Barbara, CA, this George C. Thomas/William Bell private course, opened for play in 1916. Course conditioning is immaculate. The course has lots of elevation changes and doglegs. The greens are in excellent shape and roll true. The green complexes are challenging, and the green surrounds allow you putti or chip"
Read More2024
