La Purisima Golf Course

Set within a 300-acre site to the north west of Santa Barbara, the fairways of the La Purisima golf course are routed across a wonderful sandy-soiled property that’s devoid of any commercial or residential development.

This public access course was unveiled in 1986 by Kenneth Hume Hunter Jnr – a developer who also created the course at Sandpiper Golf Club in Goleta and Hunter Ranch in Paso Robles – with Robert Muir Graves designing the layout.

Located in the Santa Ynez Valley wine growing region. La Purisima is noted as a tough track (known locally as “La Piranha” though some have also called it the “Bethpage Black of the West Coast”) which has previously hosted final stage PGA Tour School qualifying.

Feature holes include the 158-yard 3rd, played across water to a shallow green, and the left doglegged par five 7th. On the inward half, the 609-yard 12th is a beast of a par five, with the 410-yard 18th also recognised as a difficult water and sand-protected home hole.