Steph J.
Yelp
I stopped by Drill on a whim while driving down the Pacific Coast Highway during my vacation in L.A. from Virginia: I wanted to take a surf lesson while in California.
The owner (Craig or Greg???) made a lot of calls to find me a teacher, and after what I think was a about an hour, Nick (my teacher) and I were walking to the beach.
Nick was an attentive, friendly, and detail-oriented instructor. After noting my struggles with balance that I reported from a previous lesson on the East Coast, Nick designed a lesson to improve my technique and stance. We spent the entire lesson (1 hour) on this, and this involved me riding the surf mainly with Nick behind me steadying the board. I only surfed the water immediately after a wave had crashed (this was great for me as a beginner wanting to focus on balance). My only feedback for improvement would be that, before the lesson ends, perhaps the trainer should be a bit more intentional a out giving advice on how to practice alone (since he was literally balancing my board for me much of the time). Nick demonstrated for me and gave me tips on practicing on my own, but it would have been even more helpful if he had watched me from the shore practicing alone.
After my lesson, I had 2 hours alone with the board that was included with my fee. I spent 1 hour practicing alone and had a blast. I would have stayed the entire two hours (and maybe longer?) if I hadn't been alone on the beach.
All the staff at Drill were friendly and helpful. The shop is attractively arranged, and is located conveniently across the street from Zuma Beach.
A note on the beach and surfing traffic:
I surfed in December, and the beach was not crowded at all. I have been told by LA friends it can get crowded and even competitive in Venice or Santa Monica (though I didn't verify this). Zuma Beach was not at all busy or stressful, and it was a lovely place to learn without the pressure of avoiding other surfers or looking foolish.
In sum, I paid $95 for 1 hour of instruction + 2 hours of board/wetsuit rental. I do not know how this compares to other shops in LA. It was more expensive than my first lesson in Delaware (I got the board all day instead of 2 hours, but no wetsuit). Overall, I felt the value was fine, especially considering the effort the owner put into finding me a lesson, the effort his staff put into making sure the surf/tide was good for a lesson, and the quality of the beach/location.