Depends really on your budget and time schedule. I'm sure you can imagine but getting a tee time is pretty hard in orange county / la / sd. Typically tee times open up 7-10 days in advance and they book up immediately.
That being said, also look at the budget because prices are $$$.
San Clemente Muni is always cheap and cool conditions.
There's always Oak Creek and Strawberry Farms in Irvine. Arroyo Trabuco in Mission Viejo, Tijeras Creek in Rancho Santa Margarita.
Those are probably the best public courses within a 20 - 30 min drive from Dana Point.
From there, you're looking at probably a solid 1 hr drive to get somewhere. You could head south to SD and hit up Arrowood, Torrey Pines, Aviara, or Encinitas Ranch. You could head to LA and do all sorts of courses there. It kind of really just depends on your ability to grab a tee time unless you have a private course hookup.
I live in South Orange County about 10 minutes away from where you'd be staying and if I don't act quickly enough, I know for a fact I'm no golfing the following week.