Return to Black Mesa !

[Mark Smolens]

Thanks guys, but they live in Germany now -- and purport to be of hardy stock.  My frat brother's a trumpet player, but claims he gets to play 4-5 days per week, and says he and his son either play or practice 2 or 3 times a week in the winter, so let 'em struggle with some chilly weather at Black Mesa.  

For myself, I think perhaps I'll wait until my March visit to Phx to schedule a side trip over to experience Black Mesa.  It's only $125 to fly to Alb from Phx.

[tlavin]

This is like Rocky VII...

[Matt_Ward]

Andy:

I am not a mega fan of Isleta but given the dearth of choices to play when the weather is cold I don't think one can automatically rule it out. It's also close to Albuquerque and the expenses to play is far cheaper than a number of the other options.

You mentioned Cochiti and I have to say I never have understood all the fanfare tied to the place. I can remember seeing the course rated in Golf Digest (March '81) as as being one of the best public courses in the USA and several years later I made my first visit to NM and was completely UNDER IMPRESSED with the place.

I'm aware there have been some "improvements" not too long ago but I would need to have more info and be really convinced that the course is that much better than what I saw years ago. Given the overall improvement of NM public golf I don't see a need for a return visit.

Maybe you, or others, can convince me otherwise.

[Andy Troeger]

Cochiti is not one of the best public courses in the USA but its the only course out here that's not 7300 yards with a slope of 140 other than the ABQ municipals. Its fun and pretty to play, probably not an architectural marvel though. It's short though so probably not your cup of tea  

I'd play Arroyo del Oso over Isleta 9-1. Isleta tried too hard to be links-like with fake mounding in the fairways except then you have the goofy island green hole and some lay-up tee shots that I don't care for. The course that's affordable that we're leaving out is Santa Ana.

[Matt_Ward]

Andy:

Well said - on Santa Ana.

I see the Tamaya and Cheenya Nines as being some of the best affordable public golf you can play in all of NM.

Very underrated course and frankly there's more architecturally going on with those two nines than what you see with neighboring Twin Warriors which is mainly a muscular layout with little in terms of real merit -- ditto the waterfall par-3 at TW which is really a bore. I did like the blind aspect of the 10th at TW -- too bad they didn't more of these types of holes.

[Matt_Ward]

Andy, et al:

Has anyone played the new Phelps design called Sierra Del Rio in Elephant Butte and if so what were the feelings ?

Many thanks ...

[Andy Troeger]

I played Sierra del Rio this summer once. Its not entirely new as the course existed before and some of the holes used the existing routing but for the most part its a new golf course for all real practical purposes.

From one play before they officially opened it I thought it was pretty good, nothing unbelievable but given another year or two to grow in better could find its way into the top ten in the GD state ranking. Some of that may depend on how many homes they build on it though as I think that's the idea. Given that its in Elephant Butte, NM I'm not sure how many takers they will get, but its about the only lake of any size for miles so that's an attraction certainly. I'd put it on the same level currently as Sandia or Taos give or take.

[Matt_Ward]

Andy:

Top ten public -- really?

That sounds attractive to play on my next visit -- although heading to Elephant Butte requires a bit of effort.

You linked Sandia and Taos together -- I see the former as a better layout than the latter -- not by much though.

[Andy Troeger]

Matt,
That is contingent on it not being overrun with housing and that it grows in a little more (one green was a temp when I played). The site is pretty cool and there's a nice variety of holes including an Engh-style climb up the mountain tee on the 16th and an interesting par five 3rd that I will have to play again to decide if I like it.

My five NM favorites alphabetically are Black Mesa, Paa-Ko Ridge, Pinon Hills, Pueblo de Cochiti, and UNM South.

There's a bit of a gap after that but my next five would include Sierra del Rio with Sandia, Santa Ana, Taos, and Twin Warriors. Marty Sanchez, Sierra Blanca, and NMSU would be right behind that group as well and are quality courses. Haven't played Las Campanas, Inn of the Mtn Gods, or the country clubs in ABQ.

[Bart Bradley]

Andy:

You need to go try Inn of the Mtn Gods.  I think it might make your top 5.  I thought it was better than UNM South by a good bit...

There is one hole with a large tree in the middle of the fairway and I know that causes some consternation on this site and bothered me some when I played there.  All in all, however, it is very good.

Bart

[Andy Troeger]

Andy:

You need to go try Inn of the Mtn Gods.  I think it might make your top 5.  I thought it was better than UNM South by a good bit...

Bart

Its on the agenda for 2008 already!  

[Matt_Ward]

Gents:

Unless Inn of the Mtn Gods has made a MEGA FACELIFT I thought from the two times I played it that it was the most overhyped course in the state.

Given all the fanfare and its supposed high ratings in select magazines previously I was hope for something that would knock my socks off. Guess what? My socks and shoes stayed firmly in place.

To be fair -- I have not seen the upgrades although the word I have heard is that the bulk of the efforts / $$ went to the infrastructure elements tied to the facility with little real changes to the golf course.

Andy:

When you listed your favorite NM courses you didn't specify if this was your overall listing or just those from the public side fo the aisle?

You need to play Las Campanas - especially the original 18. Not bad for NM golf although Nicklaus team has done far better with more recent efforts.

I do concur with you regarding Santa Ana - very much unheralded course that gets lost in the sauce as the larger profile layouts nearby (TW and Sandia) get much more attention.

[Andy Troeger]

Matt,
I haven't played any of the private clubs in the state (not that there are many anyway). Las Campanas is the other priority for 2008 if it works out.

I've walked portions of Tanoan and Four Hills this year. Four Hills looked like it would fall in the third tier of courses I listed, but without playing its hard to really tell.