I’m heading out there early tomorrow for 9, then 18 at Twin Warriors Sunday.
Enjoy! It’s shaping up to be a beautiful weekend.
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Played the star nine, only my second round in 10 weeks due to an injury. Not great golf but the course was in pretty good shape. Couple of the greens were a bit bumpy as you noted from the aeration…
Playing the U of NM champion course this holiday weekend. Sounds like a tough test. First visit to Albuquerque and hope the weather cooperates.
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Update- We really enjoyed Albuquerque. We had great weather and the experience did not disappoint. We played the UNM championship course Saturday and Sunday. It was AWESOME. Course is immaculate.
Thanks for the restaurant recommendations. The best was breakfast at Jimmy’s cafe on Jefferson. Grove for Sunday brunch. Sombremesa had great tacos and beer.
Will definitely make the trek up again.
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Sweet. UNM Championship hosted an NCAA regional a few weeks ago so no surprise that conditties are still prime. How did you like #10? I think that hole is insane. I used to live less than a mile from The Grove and completely forgot about it since moving across town. Need to get back over there.
I really dug holes 7 8 9 and 10. Tough 4 hole stretch.
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I’m thinking of playing Black Mesa while visiting Santa Fe in September. Any other suggestions?
Depends on what sorta golf you like.
Nearer Santa Fe:
Marty Sanchez might be burned out, haven’t played it this year but it was pretty rough last year.
Cochiti was fun and in good shape last year.
I was unimpressed with Towa/Buffalo Thunder, I think you could easily skip it.
Near Albuquerque:
Twin Warriors, Sandia, and Isleta are nice resort courses, but a 45-75’ drive from Santa Fe.
UNM course is nice, front is a very tight piece of property.
Pa’ako Ridge is beautiful but spendy, and at higher elevation so you feel strong!
What kind of golf is Black Mesa?
Nice desert course, a lot like you’d find in AZ. If your driver is under control, very scoreable. Beautiful scenery.
Not “target golf” like many resort courses. I’d say Sandia and Isleta are less target golf, Twin Warriors more so.
Oh yeah, played UNM for the first time last week. Played bogey golf through the first 7 holes (good for me) and then triple, triple, double. Proceeded to get punched in the face for the rest of my round haha
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It’s wild, man. It does look pretty desert-y but every hole has ground movement and aggressive/conservative options. Many green surrounds play links-y or at least links-adjacent. I broke down my round here after playing the course for the first time back in May. Time has softened my stance on the landing zones: you should play the right tees or be straight with the driver… or else. Here is a long detailed review I found (regrettably, after I played the course for the first time) that is still pretty accurate after all these years. I had a great time planning the round ahead of time but playing it was a real special experience itself.
I highly recommend Black Mesa to any serious golfer. Cochiti is also a fun round with natural beauty everywhere (and don’t miss Tent Rocks nearby). I had heard they fell on hard times maintenance-wise, but @hannajb8 is our man-on-the-ground and I’d go with his word. Marty Sanchez gets near universal praise as a strong muni but I haven’t played it yet. Conditions during that time of year can depend on how much rain has fallen in our monsoon/thunderstorm season. Last year was unusually dry but this year is off to a good start. In any case the courses play firm and fast when they are dry and ugly, so it’s sort of a no-lose scenario if you ask me. I personally wouldn’t drive past those courses to play Twin Warriors or Santa Ana.
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Good Morning New Mexico. Our 16 guy golf trip is coming up in a month in Ruidoso. A friend in Carlsbad that played Inn of the Mountain Gods about a month ago said it was in awful shape. Anyone here play in recently and think it will be in good shape with the past and future rains or should we start looking to book a tee time elsewhere? Thanks for your help.
Hey guys, I’m new to the refuge. But I’m a NM native. Been back 11 years. I live in Four Hills and am a member at the Canyon Club. I’ve played most of the courses in the state. I love NM. It is a great place. Hope to meet some of you other NLU guys out there sometime.
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Welcome! I used to be pretty active in what are now the premium chats prior to the paywall, but life goes on. How would you compare Canyon Club to the other courses in the area? Scrolling back through this topic, there doesn’t look to be much experience playing there.
Also I am going to play somewhere in/around town this Friday mid-morning. I was hoping to drive up to Marty Sanchez but they aren’t showing any available slots in the morning. If anyone is looking to get out and play this Friday, shoot me a PM.
Welcome, @jstuddog! Would love to tee it up some time. I should be getting into Tanoan in Sept, maybe we do a swap around hosting at each others’ club?
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Some buddies and I are heading out to Santa Fe for a golf/guys trip at the end of August. Wanted to see if you guys could offer any insight on the current plan.
Drive out from DFW - Rawls Course in Lubbock
Friday morning - Paako Ridge
Friday afternoon - Cochiti
Saturday mid morning - Black Mesa
I’d assume Paako is always in great shape, but does anyone have any recent experience with the others? Also, PR is really expensive. We’ve talked about ditching it for Twin Warriors or something, but not sure if we should just eat the $225 to play it. It’s still rated really well on everything we’ve read.
The only meal we have planned right now is to get a reservation at Cafe Pasquals. Any thing on that front in Santa Fe would be nice to know as well. We’re really just yelping everything on that front.
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Paako is awesome and in a class of its own here but yeah, $225 is a serious investment. I will say that the patio is strong to quite strong, so leaving in a hurry could be a missed opportunity. I don’t know the airbnb market over there but spending a night nearby would be nice - very quiet and scenic in the east mountains. Madrid and Los Cerillos are small towns nearby that may be worth a look if you aren’t dead set on spending the night in Santa Fe. Both Paako and Twin Warriors are always in great shape but August is prime aeration season, so be sure to check for that ahead of time. Cochiti is such a fun course that I don’t mind what I’m seeing in recent google reviews - I’d play there as long as greens are decent.
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Man just read those Cochiti reviews on google. They’re definitely a little disheartening to say the least. We’re kind of stuck in Santa Fe to stay, because my buddie’s aunt and uncle are letting us stay at their house for free.
edit: Any knowledge of how Santa Fe Country Club is? It’s pretty close to the house and could be a nice one to play as much as we could after Paako.