Greetings from the Land of Enchantment! Our New Mexico contingent will be hosting its first Roost-, Nest-, and World-wide event the weekend of April 15. The exact details will be weather-dependent, but the plan is to have a 27 hole competition on Saturday 4/15 with additional optional golf on Friday and/or Sunday. We hope to lock in the exact course details 10-14 days in advance but in general: it would be very unlikely to be canceled outright (knock knock). Strapped supporting cast member and ex-UNM Lobo golfer Scott (not tagging) gives a good ABQ breakdown here - take it from him, ABQ golf is a hidden gem.
The City of Albuquerque torched my Plan A by scheduling spring aerification all throughout April, but one course (Los Altos) will be punch- and sand-free at this time. Los Altos is my bronze medal ABQ muni for golf but it gets the gold for atmosphere and spirit. The University of New Mexico has not yet released their aerification schedule, but the excellent UNM North 9 hole course will be a part of the itinerary if schedules are compatible. We will also be monitoring the weather up north in Santa Fe in hopes of playing the elite Marty Sanchez Links de Santa Fe (18+9). The 18 hole course is the leader in the clubhouse for hosting the Southwest Regional Qualifier between @DryHeat and @RACDGLowCal - if you have aspirations of representing your squad, consider planning to come to New Mexico this weekend for a practice round with us! There is always the possibility of late season snow, but I played the course in mid-April last year and it was lovely.
Green fees for these courses are under $40 to walk on weekends and all courses are extremely walker-friendly. Lodging is very affordable as well. Happy to use this thread to be your concierge for planning. Final note: we are at a mile altitude so the ball flies long and straight.
All in.
I took a trip last year to meet up with some of the NM guys and ABQ golf is special and amazing.
Plus the rates at that time of the year can’t be beat.
Doing some early Airbnb scoping just in case I can make it. What are some areas to focus on/avoid? I’ll probably have a rental car or may even have my own car.
@Waffles and I were discussing an Airbnb as well. Could get a place that fits a handful of us if we want. Nob Hill is the area I was directed to look at.
I found out the hard way that my modern driver “hit up” swing is absolutely garbage with persimmon driver. I personally hit the persimmon really nice when I remember to play it back and hit down a little bit (all relative of course). YMMV good luck!
If there are any must-not-miss courses that will be recently aerated in NM i wouldn’t be opposed to playing them sunday AM with punched greens. Willing to defer to the rest of the local crowd of course but throwing it out there!
As long as the current schedule sticks I’ll plan to fly in friday night and leave sunday night. Would be down for air bnb depending on if my friend insists I stay with him or not he usually does.
Honestly I think Marty Sanchez is my favorite course in the greater area. I tend to think of our golf as mostly solid yet unspectacular. The exception to this is Black Mesa (90 mins north of ABQ / 30 mins from SF) and we can check the weather and course status as we get closer. Other popular courses like Twin Warriors (desert target golf) and UNM South (championship style golf course) aren’t my cup of tea. Santa Ana is worth tracking as it has some similarities to Twin Warriors without being as penal.
Curious to hear if any other locals have ideas here.
Got the opportunity to play Black Mesa, last time. Highly recommend it. Absolutely beautiful mountain/desert course. Not a house in sight. Some very fun holes.
on all of these courses. The spring is our windy season too so low bullets will play very well.
he usually does.