Do you want city living or suburbia-
1221 Ocean is VERY nice - I have a friend who lives there, its like living at a 5 star hotel, but it is right in the middle of Santa Monica - thus, city life, and no public golf super-nearby to write home about.
If you are coming in the Summer, you DEFINITELY want to stay near the beach - inland is too dang hot...
In Santa Barbara, you could find something nice and play La Purisima all the time....
In LA, Santa Monica is nice, as is the Hermosa/Manhattan Beach area, but again, aside from Los Verdes or Rancho Park, not much public golf close to either of these (I should know, I grew up in Redondo Beach/Palos Verdes and now live in Santa Monica)
Orange county? Go as far south as you can - Laguna Beach, Dana Point...
Or you could go to La Jolla and play Torrey Pines and some of the SD courses....
Just stay Coastal unless you want to bake and breathe dirty air