Santa Fe

Accommodations:

El Rey Inn

Location:

Championship Course at New Mexico
Before you make the 60 mile trek from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, you must play this course. Since it's opening of this Red Lawrence designin 1967 the Championship Golf Course has been rated among the finest golf facilities of its kind in the nation. In fact, it was not long ago that Golfweek Magazine rated them the #1 course to play in New Mexico. The Championship Golf Course at UNM has quite a distinguished past as well; it has played host to several NCAA Women's and Men's Golf Championships. For 34 years, the course has played host to the William H. Tucker Invitational, and since 1979 the championship course has been home to the prestigious Dick McGuire Intercollegiate, a major tournament in Women's college golf. The 1998 NCAA Golf Finals were held here and the young limber backs had all they could handle.  The near perfect climate of Albuquerque makes The Championship Golf Course at the University of New Mexico a veritable oasis for golf, be it January or June!  The signature hole is #8, a 248-yard, par 3, which requires a long tee shot to an elevated green, past water and bunkers on the right.  If you don't nail the green, you'd better have a deft short game.

Paa-Ko Ridge Golf Club                                                                                           Surrounded by the mountainous terrain and vegetation of the New Mexican high desert, Paa-Ko Ridge Golf Club is home to one of the most beautiful, challenging and award-winning courses in the U.S. This 27-hole public golf course is situated on the east side of the Sandia Mountains, twenty minutes from Albuquerque and 45 minutes from Santa Fe. The golf is stimulating, the views breathtaking and the experience unforgettable.  Designed by architect Ken Dye at an elevation of 6,500 feet, the layout forces players to control their shots off the tee and navigate around and over arroyos, native vegetation, and rock outcroppings. The landing areas are like islands, surrounded by ponderosa, pinion, and juniper trees. The greens are generally kept quick and feature gentle undulation.  Three of the best finishing holes in the state can be found on the track. The 16th is a fun, downhill par three that measures 228 yards from the back tees. There's water on the left and the green moves all over the place.  You will find the best view of the course on the tee box at 17.  You'll spot all five mountain ranges, three ski areas and a 90-foot drop to the landing area.  Let it rip. The 474-yard par four finishing hole challenges you with an approach/shot carry over an arroyo to a tiered green.  Enjoy your favorite libation at the Grille and think about how much fun you had today.

Marty Sanchez Links de Santa Fe
Experience some of the finest golf in the Southwest! The Marty Sanchez Links de Santa Fe is an exciting challenge for golfers of all levels. Spectacular views of the Sangre de Cristo, Jemez, Sandia and Ortiz mountain ranges make playing golf at the Links de Santa Fe a truly memorable experience. Another amazing fact is it’s a municipal course. The entire course is set among the rolling hills outside of Santa Fe, with panoramic vistas of four mountain ranges.  The course features all-natural vegetation, which is indigenous to New Mexico.  The signature holes are #4, a 245-yard, par 3 with a large lake, and #18, a 485-yard, downhill par 4 with another lake and a very large sand bunker.  This 1998 design by Baxter Spann plays from 7415 yards from the back box ... large.  You will marvel at the inspirational views of the Sangre de Cristo, Jemez, Sandia and Ortiz Mountains, as you make your way through the native piñion and juniper lined fairways. Links de Santa Fe offers a challenge as well as a delight for the eyes.

Taos Country Club
This desert course, located at the base of the Taos Mountains, provides scenic views of nearby Taos Box Canyon.  The desert comes into play on almost all the holes and is played as a lateral hazard.  Rated #4 in the state by Golf Digest, this Jep Wille design opened in 1993.  With rolling desert sagebrush and arroyos, the desert surrounds you, but the lush fairways and greens can overwhelm you.  At 7,000 feet in elevation, this course should be considered a mountain course, but the fairways just slightly vary in undulation.  Count on only a few side hill lies. Hosting such prestigious events as the Sun Country PGA Championship, The New Mexico State Amateur and The New Mexico State Seniors, Taos Country Club is quick a treat.

Pueblo de Cochiti Golf Course
A feeling of isolation hits you while you play this course.  No structures are built on it and no homes or busy roads are nearby.  Elk can even be viewed during the wintertime. The Pueblo de Cochiti Golf Course, designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. and re-designed by Jones again in 2000, lies gently amid the exquisite foothills of the Jemez Mountains.  Soul-stirring views surrond this challenging and captivating desert/mountain course far from the "maddening crowds".  The 18-hole championship course is bunkered at every hole and features three water holes where your ball will end up wet if you don't stay focused.  Narrow fairways are lined with trees and shrubs and demand accuracy from the tees.  Pueblo de Cochiti Golf Course strives to provide a unique, serene and enjoyable all-around experience comparable to that offered by any other course in New Mexico.  Pueblo de Cochiti Golf Course received a 4 Star rating from Golf Digest for 2006/2007 and was selected to appear in Golfweek's "America's Best Courses You Can Play" for 2007.  The design is a spectacular high desert track that is carved delicately into natural landscape and surrounded by cedars, pinions and ponderosa pines.  Sitting at the foothills of the mountains, this may be one of the most scenic courses in the Southwest.  Ranked #5 in the state by Golf Digest, the design is 6,000 feet high.  Thanks to the elevation, it is possible to reach #17, a 503-yard, par 5 in two with a mid-iron.

Pinion Hills Golf Course
This course is a haul from Santa Fe, but very worth the trip.  Rated #1 in the state by Golf Digest, this track is located in the high desert of Farmington.  Since it's opening in 1989, this Ken Dye design has been getting rave reviews.  Golf & Travel ranked it #13 in their Top 40 Daily-Fee Courses and GOLF Magazine places it 18th in their Top 100 Courses You Can Play in the US.