COVER STORY
SoCal
GOLF
INSIDER
NATURAL
WONDER
The canyons and the sea come
together at newly renovated The
Ranch at Laguna Beach • BY JOEL BEERS
T
hough it is the most recent addition to the
roster of stellar resorts situated along the
Southern California coastline, The Ranch
at Laguna Beach has something very few new
golf properties can match: a long and rich history.
Originally homesteaded in 1871, a nine-hole
golf course was built on the property in 1950, and
christened the Laguna Beach Country Club, fol-
lowed about a decade later by a 62-room inn. In
1970, the name was changed to Ben Brown Motel
and Golf Course and amended again in 1978 to
the Aliso Creek Inn and Golf Course.
Laguna Beach native and businessman Mark
Christy was part of the ownership group that
continued on the next page >
