The stage is set at Aviara Golf Club as the Kia Classic returns to the Carlsbad course March 25-28.

Nasa Hataoka will look to defend her 2019 Kia Classic title, which was her third victory on the LPGA Tour. The then 20-year-old Japanese player closed out the tournament with a 5-under 67 for a three-stroke victory over playing partner Inbee Park, top-ranked Sung Hyun Park, Jin Young Ko, Azahara Munoz and Danielle Kang.

With the 2020 Kia Classic cancelled due to Covid-19, this year’s tournament marks the eighth time in the last nine years that Aviara has hosted the event. Due to the pandemic, however, spectators will not permitted on site. You can follow the tournament action, though, through Golf Channel’s broadcast and streaming coverage.

SoCal native Max Homa won The Genesis Invitational at Riviera. (Courtesy The Genesis Invitational)

Los Angeles has long been known as the City of Angels, but in the last six months it can also lay claim to the title “City of Champions.” First it was the Lakers winning the Covid-delayed NBA Finals in October for the first time in a decade, followed 16 days later by the Dodgers taking home their first World Series trophy since 1988. 

For golf fans, the holy trinity was achieved when SoCal native Max Homa captured The Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club on February 21, becoming the first hometown kid to win the city’s revered PGA Tour stop since John Merrick did it in 2013.
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Homa, 30, earned his second win on the PGA Tour after a two-hole playoff with Tony Finau following rounds of 66-70-70-66 (272). After missing a three-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole to win in regulation, Homa made a remarkable par save from the base of a tree on the opening playoff hole, the diabolical 10th, then made a par 3 on the 14th hole as Finau bogeyed from a greenside bunker.

In this video, Mike Hansen of Hansen Fitness for Golf in Irvine, provides you with three tips to help you alleviate back pain for golf.

“And they’re not ibuprofen, a cocktail or CBD oil,” he says.
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The tips are a handful of stretches and exercises you can use to help overcome a lower back issue that may or may not be caused by your golf swing. In addition to targeting your back, the exercises focus on your core, glutes, hips and more so you can get back to playing and feeling your best.

–– Mike Hansen is recognized as one of the original golf fitness coaches. Mike owns and operates Hansen Fitness for Golf, which he founded in 2001. Hansen Fitness for Golf specializes in training golfers of all abilities, from beginners to seasoned professional tour players. For more information, call (949) 251-0533.

It’s official: Two Topgolf venues are coming to Southern California.

Topgolf Entertainment Group announced on February 8 that it plans to introduce its technology-enabled entertainment experience to the greater Los Angeles area with state-of-the-art facilities in Ontario and El Segundo.

The two highly anticipated venues will be the first locations to serve Southern California and will bring the total number in the state to four, joining Topgolf Roseville outside of Sacramento and Topgolf San Jose, which is expected to open in 2021. 

When it comes to discussing the most classic and enduring golf course architects of the 20th century, the conversation almost always starts and ends with George C. Thomas, Jr. And three of the most notable courses on his resume are right here in Los Angeles – Riviera Country Club, L.A. Country Club and Bel-Air Country Club.​

Thomas was raised near Philadelphia and began designing a course on his family’s estate as a teenager. He was later was inspired by architecture greats Donald Ross, George Crump, A.W. Tillinghast and others. While his early work focused on courses on the East Coast, he relocated to California in his late 30s and made his name in the Golden State by designing some of most memorable courses in America, each which has stood the test of time.

Veteran golf journalist Joe Passov, also known as “Travelin’ Joe,” has spent the last 30 years teeing it up at courses around the world and sharing his insights with readers, listeners and viewers in a fashion that informs and entertains.

Some of the highlights of his career include being a staff editor for Golf Illustrated, a course rater for Golfweek, and for 13 years answering readers’ questions in his “Ask Travelin’ Joe” column at GOLF Magazine and golf.com about where to play, stay and dine. He also has written extensively for the SCGA's FORE Magazine, spotlighting many SoCal courses throughout the region. 

Currently a resident of Cave Creek, Arizona, Travelin’ Joe has won multiple writing honors, including the 2019 Donald Ross Award from the American Society of Golf Course Architects, and he currently writes and co-hosts a radio show in Arizona. His website, TravelinJoeGolf.com, highlights an array of golf courses and resorts, as well as golf course history and design. He's covered two dozen major championships and Ryder Cups, and remains the youngest person ever appointed to the Golf Digest National Course Ranking Panel, which he did in 1987 at age 24.

We queried Travelin’ Joe to reveal a little more about himself and to get his opinions about some of the top tracks in the game…