Monarch Dunes Golf Club

There is always fun in discovery, and Monarch Dunes is one of those destinations I readily recommend even though it's residential development golf. It's north of Santa Barbara but not quite to San Luis Obispo, it rests on Pacific sand dunes, which is reflected in the design by Damian Pascuzzo and Steve Pate (a PGA Tour veteran). I've never seen anything quite like it, rolling tumbling terrain lined with enormous eucalyptus trees, each fairway edged and bisected by random dunes with steep edges, The perimeter of each hole is raw sand, the result of recent turf reduction measures to address California's extended drought, I also recommend its 12-hole par-3 Challenge course. Play it as I did, from the forward tees with left-handed clubs to the larger of the dual cups in each green. I felt like a kid again, a kid just learning to play golf. --Ron Whitten