My Town: John Cook's Newport Beach, Calif.

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Chris Condon/PGA TOUR

Ohio-born John Cook is now a true Californian, able to rattle off both the hottest surf spots and restaurants.

Six-time Champions Tour winner John Cook was born in Ohio but grew up in Southern California. Cook was a three-time All-America selection at Ohio State University and won the United States Amateur Championship in 1978. He was inducted into the OSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986 after winning twice on the PGA TOUR, and went on to capture a total of 11 victories. Cook now splits his time between Windermere, Fla., and Newport Beach, Calif., depending on the time of the year. "We're in Newport Beach about three of four months of the year, usually most of the winter," said Cook, who actually spent part of last winter in Hawaii winning the season opening event on the Champions Tour. Cook posted a two stroke win over Tom Lehman at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai in January. Cook also won the 2010 Charles Schwab Cup Championship to close out last season in San Francisco. The win on the Big Island was his sixth Champions Tour title and it made him the first player since Gil Morgan in 1997-98 to claim the season-ending event the previous year and the season-opening event the following season.

WHY LIVE IN NEWPORT BEACH?

It's Newport. It kind of says it all. The weather is great and we're a beach family. It's halfway in between where our oldest daughter and my wife's Mom live in Palos Verdes, where we actually grew up. We settled into the beach area in Corona del Mar. We're beach people, we love the water and we're just a block or two from the ocean. We walk and run down by the ocean every day. It seems to be the place to be. Other than the occasional day of rain, the weather is great.

GOLF COURSES

Big Canyon Country Club is the place I play. It's on the other side of Fashion Island from Newport Beach Country Club where we play the Toshiba Classic each year. They have terrific members at Big Canyon and they treat me wonderfully. The players there are really good and I give way too many shots to them. Down the street we havePelican Hill Golf Club which is a fantastic public facility. It's a Tom Fazio design and they have the Ocean North and Ocean South courses. There's a couple of holes right on the water. It's a wonderful place to play.

OFF THE COURSE

We love to walk. We walk everywhere. We walk to our favorite restaurants and we walk and run on the beach by the ramps. We're two blocks from the ocean right off the Pacific Coast Highway. Surfing is something almost everyone is into here and anywhere up and down the coast is pretty good for surfing. 54th Street in Newport, Bolsa Chica, Goldenwest, Brookhurst, Huntington Beach pier just up the road, they're all good spots to surf. Newport jetty is a world famous surf spot, also known as "The Wedge", where the surf off the jetty is always pounding. That's the place for people who really know what they're doing when they get out in the water. Big Corona Beach is a good spot for body surfing and boogie board enthusiasts. Down in Laguna the surf is pretty good too.

RESTAURANTS

We have a lot of favorites when it comes to food. Some of the favorite places we go to that we rotate are Side Door -- it's a little English-style gastro-pub in the same building as Five Crowns. It has fantastic bar food with a small menu that changes daily. Every place we go is casual, which we like. A standard for us isBandera. Quiet Woman, which is world famous, is another great spot -- a great place to go and people watch. Gulfstream is good. The Bungalow is very good as well. As far as sushi goes, we head south on the Pacific Coast highway to Crystal Cove and Bluefin is our favorite place. (On their website, Bluefin describes itself as "a hip watering hole for locals and tourists"). Javier's Cantina is the spot for Mexican food. Of course, there's Mastro's Ocean Club too. We don't eat at home very often!

HOTELS

If someone wants a hotel in the area, Balboa Bay Club & Resort is one I would recommend for sure. It's top-notch. There's a Marriott right by Newport Beach Country Club that's very good. If you want something really upscale, theIsland Hotel is across from the Marriott. The Pelican Hill Resort has ocean views and a stay there is always unforgettable. If you go into Laguna, you've got Montage and the St. Regis. But in Newport, the Island Hotel or the Balboa Bay Club are my picks.

ACTIVITIES

Of course, the Toshiba Classic is a Champions Tour event well worth watching at Newport Beach Country Club each year. There's always shopping, shopping and more shopping in Fashion Island -- so bring your checkbook!!