If it’s wide open spaces, blue skies, scenic golf and spicy food you’re after, New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment, might be just what you’re looking for, especially if you make time for some sightseeing and pop-culture treasure hunting.
The fifth-largest state in the union by size is also just the 14th smallest by population. It’s wedged between Texas and Arizona, and it probably gets less attention than its Four Corners brethren, but don’t think of New Mexico as flyover country.
As you travel the highways and byways of this corner of the U.S., you’re going to find those wide-open spaces, with miles of open roads between stops.
The list of Golfweek’s best public-access and private golf courses in New Mexico typifies this spread-out sensation. Our list goes 10 deep with four situated around the greater Albuquerque area. If you were going to play all 10, keep the gas tank full, the cooler iced and the podcasts downloaded, but don’t forget to enjoy the sights, sounds and smells. After all, there’s nothing like driving with the window down and the smell of moisture in the air as you watch an afternoon rainstorm brewing in the distance.
Albuquerque is famous for ‘Breaking Bad’
It’s considered one of the best television shows ever. Perhaps the best.
“Breaking Bad” enjoyed a five-season run, and by the time the 62nd and final episode aired on Sept. 29, 2013, it had cemented its position among the great fictional stories of all time.
The show was filmed exclusively in the city of Albuquerque, and the various set locations are popular tourist attractions. There’s even a “Breaking Bad” tour bus that leaves from Old Town daily.
Walter White’s house is a famous spot. Actually, it’s too famous for the current homeowners, who over the years have had to add multiple security cameras, a wrought-iron fence and gate, orange cones so no one parks in front and signs pleading with people to take pictures from across the street.
The car wash called A1A in the TV show in real life has had a few names and is currently part of the Mister franchise. Fans of the show will no doubt do a double-take when they approach it.
That’s just down the road from the White house. So are the iconic rows of concrete blocks at the John B. Robert Dam, built as a flood overflow. In “Breaking Bad,” it’s the location of the pickup location for Jesse and later Walter.
University of New Mexico’s Championship course is a gem
A 20-minute drive south, past the University of New Mexico campus and next door to the Sunport (Albuquerque calls its airport a Sunport to promote the 280 days of sunshine every year) is the UNM Championship golf course.
This Red Lawrence design opened in 1967 and over the years has been a regular in the NCAA postseason. Arnold Palmer, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods have roamed these fairways. The UNM course hosted the 1950, 1976 and 1992 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship, the 1987 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship as well as the 1998 NCAA Championships.
The back tees, labeled Black – or Lobo, after the school mascot – play from a beefy 7,555 yards, although the course is at an elevation of 5,300 feet and plays shorter than that yardage might indicate.
Rated No. 2 among public-access courses in the state by Golfweek’s Best raters, the UNM course will provide all the challenge you’re looking for, with views for miles. On several holes the skyline of downtown Albuquerque is in view. On others is a great view of the Sandia Mountains.
The first hole, a slightly downhill par 5, is a strong start. The par 3s are all a kick, with the first only 150 yards but with a severe uphill approach. The par-3 eighth is a beast, 267 yards in length and guarded on the left side by a deep bunker. Chances are you won’t go long on this hole, but if you do, there’s trouble behind the long green, the terrain thick with shrubs and trees.
Both the ninth and 18th are fun par 5s, the ninth a dogleg right and the 18th a dogleg left but requiring a more uphill attack.
Home to the Isotopes, thanks to the Simpsons
Albuquerque is famous for another pop culture phenomenon. Long home to Triple AAA baseball, the city once claimed the Dukes, for several decades the Dodgers’ top farm team. Tommy Lasorda cut his managerial stripes there. Mike Piazza played 94 games for the team in 1992 before getting called up to replace legend Mike Scioscia. Pedro Martinez, Raul Mondesi and Jose Offerman all roamed the diamond there.
The Dukes left Albuquerque in 2000, and it wasn’t until 2003 that the city got a AAA team back. The Dukes name, however, didn’t return. Instead, after a vote by fans, the Isotopes were chosen to be the nickname, after the fictional Springfield Isotopes in the popular animated TV show “The Simpsons.”
Sandia Golf Club offers stunning views of its namesake mountain range
Just north of town lies the Sandia Pueblo, and in 2005 the community opened a Scott Miller design with stunning views of the Sandia Mountains, which run north and south along the eastern edge of the city. With their highest point at 10,678 feet, the Sandias stand tall and look especially impressive on the first tee as you hit your first shot directly towards the mountain range.
Sandia is Spanish for watermelon, and the mountain range turns that beautiful hue at sundown every day like clockwork. If you should snag an afternoon tee time, you’ll see for yourself this transformation at dusk.
The first hole should hopefully get your game going. It’s 380 from the back tees, and while uphill, it’s all out in front of you. The third is a par 3 with a huge undulating green, but the heat maps on the digital scorecard on the golf carts really come in handy for this. Not so much to read the putts but so that you pull the right club for various pins on this 189-yard hole.
Checking in at No. 7 on the Golfweek best list for New Mexico, Sandia can stretch to 7,755 yards and has five sets of tees. It’s also No. 33 on Golfweek’s Best Casino courses. Because it’s on the Sandia Pueblo, you don’t have to worry about hitting into someone’s backyard. The surrounding land is likely to remain untouched, and the layout will require some strategy. This is desert golf with some arroyos snaking through. The sixth hole has a split fairway, and big hitters will be tempted to go left but there can be a stiff wind in your face, so the better bet is knock it out to the right side.
The city as a whole has a pretty dramatic elevation change from the foothills near the Sandias to the Rio Grande River, and this golf course takes a similar tack, especially the home hole, a 505-yard par 5. A big drive is likely to crest the ridge and let your ball run out some more. A long second shot may be required to this final green, but even with a shorter iron, you have to avoid the giant pond left that also wraps around the back of the green.
There are a couple of greenside bunkers to the right. As you await your turn to putt out in the shadows of the resort, you can scope out the patio as you think about your 19th-hole beverage.
New Mexican food just hits different
There’s Tex-Mex, there’s Mexican food and then there’s New Mexican fare, powered by Hatch green chiles and crafted to deliver true Southwestern culinary delight. Hatch, New Mexico, is a town located about two-and-a-half hours south of Albuquerque and has a population of just about 1,500, but is mission critical when it comes to packing the heat in New Mexico cuisine.
The phrase “If you know, you know” hits home here.
Perhaps the most famous restaurant in town is called El Pinto, founded by Jack and Connie Thomas in 1962. Later, twins Jim and John, two of the six kids, took it over. It was their grandmother, Josephina Chavez-Griggs, whose recipes make this place special.
The twins expanded the place over the years and can now seat as many as 1,200. The best spots are outdoors under a canopy of huge trees on a cool summer night.
Located in the northwest part of the city, it’s close to the Rio Grande river, which flows through the heart of the city south all the way to Mexico. El Pinto brags about having the largest Tequila Bar in New Mexico with over 175 different 100-percent Blue Agave tequilas and 50 different Mezcals, according to the restaurant’s website. The magnificent bar is a great place to sip on some agave while you wait for your table.
El Pinto is a perfect way to end your day after 18 (or more) holes of golf. And the food … oh, this place is all about the food. The recommendation here is the chicken enchiladas in stacked blue corn tortillas, topped with a fried egg. Sopapillas, not a dessert in these parts, come with the meals. The sweetness of the honey that you put on those little pockets of heaven are a savory contrast to the green chile kick of your meal.
Twin Warriors is double the fun
Twin Warriors is about 15 minutes north of Albuquerque in the Santa Ana Pueblo and offers amazing views of the Sandia Mountains. Like the Sandia course, Twin Warriors is on Native American land. There a sister course called Santa Ana Golf Club, home to The Native American Open. It’s New Mexico’s only native-only golf event.
Twin Warriors, though, is the main attraction and it’s a romp with elevation, changing landscape and a great variety of holes. It’s ranked No. 9 on the Golfweek’s Best list for New Mexico, and the par-5 opener gets your attention with desert on each side of the fairway, requiring accuracy from the tee. The fairway is bisected by a wash about 100 yards out, then as the hole bends right to the green, a series of bunkers must be navigated. Your best bet is to stay well left and attack the pin from that angle.
The par-3 fourth is a treat, 197 yards from the tips into a multi-level green. Even with a front pin, take an extra club to make sure you find the dance floor.
The views start to change on the par-4 sixth, which features a split fairway and a bunker down the middle. It plays 449 yards from the back tees, but it’s a more manageable 399 from where most people would consider playing. You can see beyond the hole a large outcropping of red rocks, shaped by erosion, and by the time you reach the green you realize the first six holes offered a more wide-open golf course but now it’s getting interesting as the holes wander and weave through desert cliffs.
The home stretch is great fun. The par-3 15th has a ridgeline all the way down the left side to the green. A bumpy hillside to the right gives golfers a clear lane, a valley if you will, in which to aim a tee shot. It plays 244 yards for the big-hitters, and the green has a distinct upper shelf in the back. Hitting the green is great but being on the correct side is key for making par here.
The 16th hole is the final par 5 of the day, and it’s also the longest at 648 yards from the back, about 542 from the middle tees. As with the previous hole, there’s a ridge running down the left side and the shape of the hole continues to hug that side as it doglegs down to the green, which sits up against the red rocks and offers a nice backdrop.
While you may lose a ball or two in the desert scrub, you never have to worry about hitting a house. Just like Sandia, this is wide-open desert golf, a place where you can find solitude, scenery and cool breezes.
Borrowing its name from Spain
Originally the city’s name was spelled with an extra R, just like its namesake, the small Spanish town of Alburquerque. The New Mexican Albuquerque was founded in 1706 in an area that is now called Old Town, and the city grew outward from there. But there’s a much deeper history in the state than many people realize. New Mexico ranks fourth in the U.S. in terms of Native American population and has places like the Taos Pueblo, whose ancient ruins “indicate our people lived here nearly 1,000 years ago,” according to taospueblo.com.
We’d be remiss in a story about Albuquerque, New Mexico, if we didn’t International Balloon Fiesta, a two-week gathering of thousands of hot-air balloons each October. Keep that in mind if you plan your golf trip around that time.
Golf elevated at Paako Ridge
If you’re making the New Mexico trek and you have Paako Ridge on your list – and if you are but you don’t, this is a final plea to not skip this course – save it for last. It’s the runaway winner for golf in the state and it’ll leave you wanting to plan a return visit.
Ranked No. 1 among the state’s public-access courses by Golfweek’s Best raters, this layout has 27 holes playing among the forested Sandia Park east of the Sandias. Most of the city of Albuquerque is on the other side of this mountain range, but this side attracts skiers in the winter, either but taking the tram up from the western slope or driving around to this burgeoning community of huge homes and a home-run golf course.
Designed by Ken Dye, it opened in 2000 with 18 holes, now has 27 and offers an 18-hole rate, a daily rate and memberships. It’s only a half-hour drive from Albuquerque, but while you’re here, why not try the all-day rate and get your money’s worth?
The course has generous fairways and sloping greens that roll true. There’s plenty of places to lose your golf ball if you stray from the fairway, and there’s plenty of elevation change to keep it interesting. Get a morning tee time, grab a bite after nine, play some more and perhaps find a snack and a beverage after the second nine, then keep going.
Most of the 27 holes are carved through the oakwoods and pinon trees, with all sorts of sloped lies. Don’t stray from the fairways because this is no desert golf course. If your ball finds the wooded areas, it’s probably gone. But there’s plenty of fairway to hit out here, all mowed in a cross-cut design to provide visually striking targets.
The course manuevers through the terrain, so you’ll find yourself having to flight over an arroyo here or navigate a blind shot there. If the wind is blowing, all the better.
The second requires a stout second shot uphill over an arroyo and past several bunkers fronting the green. Once safely on the putting surface, a back pin will ask for a strong uphill putt on the tiered green.
The first par 3 you come to is the fourth, which has four tiers. The back-left position requires a precise shot to the correct shelf. The green is absolutely huge, but if you’re on the lowest tier, you must pound your golf ball to climb those slopes.
The fifth tee box is one of the highest points on the course, and the tee shot is going to be blind for big hitters. The second and third shots veer right into the dogleg downhill, then the green is elevated. Nothing wrong with running your second shot into the valley fronting the green, but you’re going to want to make sure you know where to hit your third on what will be a blind pitch shot.
There’s water on the ninth hole that could be trouble for some. That same lake is down the right side of 10 but not really in play. There’s water again behind the green on the par-5 15th, another long dogleg right. There’s a rocky ridge behind the lake, offering a nice background.
The tricky par-3 16th also has water, mostly down the left side of the hole. A back left pin will seem doable, but from the back tees it’s 228. However you decide to attack it, this is a really great looking golf hole.
If you decide to venture into the restaurant, you’ll find a menu that’s as vast and varied as the golf course itself. The lunch menu features wild game such as smoked rattlesnake and rabbit sausage, oysters on the half shell, a Korean BBQ chicken sandwich and a green chile cheeseburger. For dinner, the choices include oysters, fried alligator, ribeye steak and grilled elk rack.
There’s no messing around here.
Blue skies for days
If the main attraction for a trip to the 48th state in the union is golf, you’ll have a blast traversing this place with several top-rated courses all less than 30 minutes from the airport. Or hop in a rental car and head to Farmington in the Four Corners area to play Piñon Hills or perhaps drive north of Santa Fe to tackle Black Mesa in Espanola and Taos Country Club.
Is it an underrated space in the U.S. for golf? That’s for you to decide.
Just remember to keep the sopapillas coming at dinner time.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Golf in New Mexico: Great layouts, amazing food and some pop culture with ‘Breaking Bad,’ etc.
