Southern California's No. 1 Source for Golf
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"Everyone has his own choking level, a level at which he fails to play his normal golf. As you get more experienced, your choking level rises." |
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It's difficult to paint a picture of Santa Fe - or the entire state of New Mexico, for that matter - with mere words. The palette is rugged, yet beautiful; vast, but cozy; bold, yet remarkably tame. But if it's a picture you want, the capital city is a great place to start. Santa Fe is one of the country's most popular destinations for people seeking to purchase or admire works of art. Even the Capitol is an artist's shrine, with more than $5 million worth of paintings, crafts, pottery and sculptures displayed on all four levels. Most of the more than 250 art galleries in this city of 65,000 are more quaint than the Capitol, and many have amazing artwork, crafts and carvings out front. Toss in 11 art and cultural museums and dozens of stores selling jewelry, Southwestern apparel and Native American artwork, and it's easy to see why Santa Fe is an idyllic place for travelers seeking simplistic serenity. A lodging option that embodies the city's spirit is the Inn and Spa at Loretto, a modern version of ancient adobe at the end of the historic Santa Fe Trail in the heart of downtown. Shops, galleries, restaurants, boutiques and ancient churches are within an easy stroll of the hotel, as is the Santa Fe Plaza, an area dating to the city's founding in 1610 that is considered the social and cultural heart of the city. For a glimpse of the ruggedness of New Mexico, take the Turquoise Trail National Scenic Byway south from Santa Fe and explore historic sights, rugged trails, national forests and mountain vistas. Make sure your golf clubs are along for the ride because Paako Ridge Golf Club is just off the road about 45 minutes from Santa Fe in Sandia Park. The course, designed by Ken Dye, is a natural beauty that flows up and down through mountainous terrain, high-desert vegetation, arroyos and rock outcroppings that will have your spirit soaring at every turn, especially on one of Paako Ridge's elevated tee boxes. Your shots will soar, too, because at 6,500 feet above sea level, the air is thin and well-struck shots will fly farther, making the 7,562-yard layout from the tournament tees doable for good players. But if you want something more manageable, try one of the other four tee boxes, which play from 5,702 to 7,105 yards. "There aren't too many unhappy customers when they leave this place after spending a day on the course," said director of golf Warren Lehr, who has been at Paako Ridge since 1999, a year before it opened. "It's a challenging course, but if you play the right set of tees, it can be fun from everywhere. I feel like we have an opening hole and about 17 signature holes. A lot of our holes could be a signature hole on any other course." One hole Dye left his signature at is No. 4, a 183-yard par 3 with an oval-shaped green that is 100 yards long, rises 13 feet from front to back and has three tiers. It's one of four outstanding par 3s at Paako Ridge, with the elevated tee boxes at No. 8 (265 yards), No. 14 (251 yards) and No. 16 (228 yards), offering plenty of challenge and dramatic peeks at the landscape. "Almost everyone who comes off the course says, 'Wow, what a great course and incredible views,'" Lehr said. "Almost every hole has a different look and feel, the scenery is incredible and the conditions are top-notch." Paako Ridge is one of six courses on the Santa Fe Trail, which also includes Twin Warriors, Santa Ana, Isleta Eagle, Pueblo de Cochiti and the University of New Mexico Championship Course. "People are surprised by the great variety of courses and our temperate climate," Lehr said. "The air is dry and cool - what I like to call rare air - and we have layouts from mountain courses, desert courses, parkland courses and everything in between. The value and weather can't be beat." Pueblo de Cochiti, about 45 minutes southwest of Santa Fe in Cochiti Lake, is the ultimate in high-desert design, with mesas, washes, scrub brush, rocky outcroppings and elevation changes at every turn. The course, perched on a plateau in the red-rock foothills of the Jemez Mountains, opened in 1981 and plays 6,817 yards from the back tees. It was designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., who instructed his team to maintain the native features of the landscape. "Most of the terrain and elevation changes on the course are natural," said assistant professional Jude Suina. "Jones wanted to keep the look and spirit of the land as natural as possible." Jones returned in 2000 for some renovation work at Pueblo de Cochiti that included adding 12 bunkers and 350 yards to the layout. "He was pleased with how the course looked when he arrived, and very happy with the changes," Suina said. The rock star of all courses in the state, however, has to be Black Mesa Golf Club in La Mesilla, about 25 minutes northwest of Santa Fe. The course design leaves no doubt as to where a player should hit his ball - somewhere on the 18 strips of green that wind through sandstone rock formations, sand dunes, arroyos and native vegetation. Black Mesa is golf at its rugged best, with the namesake Black Mesa seen from many holes on the western horizon and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains visible to the east. The natural look and feel is maintained with gravel cart paths, and your group might feel like they have the course reserved for the day because, even though you can see for miles, the layout makes every hole seem like a separate adventure. "I always find it difficult to explain the course to people who have never seen it before," said Eddie Peck, principal owner and operator at Black Mesa. "It's so vast, so rugged and so breathtaking that people really have to see it for themselves to get a better grasp of what we have here." The course, designed by Baxter Spann, is 5,400 feet above sea level and has 125 feet of elevation changes. Twelve of the holes at Black Mesa, which measures 7,329 yards from the back tees, play slightly downhill, giving the layout an exciting feel that is enhanced by the subtle nuances of the terrain. "This is nature at its finest," said Black Mesa director of golf Tom Velarde. "That's the way the whole course was designed. We didn't make it contrived, and we moved very little dirt. It fits here." Southern Californians who typically think of Phoenix, Las Vegas or Palm Springs as their desert-type golf getaways should find a way to fit New Mexico into the rotation. From golfing, hiking, biking and skiing to culture, relaxation, rafting and fishing, there's something to please all indoor and outdoor enthusiasts in the Land of Enchantment. "It's a different type of feeling in New Mexico," Velarde said. "Many of us are from here and stay here. The New Mexico friendliness is based on helping each other out. I hear that a lot from visitors who play the course. They're surprised by the hospitality, which is second nature to us. We like to make everyone feel welcome." n |
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