Experience The Course Rated “Best Golf Course” in Santa Fe, NM
The championship course is a full-length regulation par-72 course which plays 7,272 yards from the back tees and 5,025 yards from the front tees. Fairways are wide and generally accepting, with lightly undulating, mid-sized greens, making it a challenge for low handicaps and fair for higher handicaps.
First Place Winner for Best Golf Course in Santa Fe
2019 + 2020 + 2021 + 2022
2019 + 2020 + 2021 + 2022
Par 5 1 556 YDS
Hole 1 is an uphill par 5 with a slight dogleg to the left. A large bunker is visible to the left as you get closer to the green. The large bunker to the left of the green is best avoided. It is better to aim a little to the right. If the pin is in the back of the green, it will be an extra club. Often in the fall, this hole plays into the wind. You will want to make sure you are warmed up to tackle this tough opening hole.
Par 4 2 401 YDS
Hole 2 is a straightaway, uphill par 4 with no bunkers to avoid off the tee. However, the fairway narrows down at the 150-yard marker and stays narrow to about 125 yards out from the green. Strategically, off the tee, the best idea is to lay-up to the 150-yard marker or hit the ball far enough to get to the 100-yard marker where the fairway is at its widest. After a good drive this is an easy approach with no hazards to carry.
Par 5 3 581 YDS
Hole 3 is a long par 5, with fairway bunkers to the left off the tee. Aim right, and hit a sweeping draw down the right side. This shot will take advantage of the slope and give you a big bounce providing an opportunity to hit the green in two. The green is large and well bunkered. Two large, deep bunkers are on the left and should be avoided at all costs. One shallower bunker is located to the right. If you can’t get home in two you want to lay up to the right to about 50-60 yards to leave an easy pitch into the hole.
Par 3 4 247 YDS
Hole 4 is the most difficult par 3 on the golf course. From the back tee it is a 247- yard par 3 with water all along the left side and no bail out area to the right. The best approach is to simply hit a good shot which is easier said than done. Hitting one extra club here is a good idea.
Par 4 5 390 YDS
Hole 5 is an uphill par 4 straight away, with the largest bunker on the golf course off to the right on your tee shot. This is a deep bunker that should be avoided. Hitting a ball in this area is a certain bogey or more. The conservative player can lay up to the left of this bunker. The bold player can drive the ball close to the green and leave only a short pitch to the green.
Par 4 6 382 YDS
Hole 6 is a straightaway par 4, about the same distance as hole 5, a medium to short uphill par 4. There are two large fairway bunkers on the left that need to be avoided. The best way to play this hole is to lay it up to the right and have a middle to short iron into the green. However, for longer hitters they can try and carry both bunkers and get it close to the green with their tee shot. Both hole numbers five and six are excellent gambling type par 4s.
Par 3 7 166 YDS
Hole 7 is the shortest par 3 on the golf course but beware of the back right pin placement. This is what is typically called a “sucker” pin. The back right shelf is very small and falls away from the tee box, making it difficult to hold the green. There is a large, deep bunker on the right that can be problematic.
Par 4 8 419 YDS
Hole 8 is a straightaway, narrow, downhill par 4. A drive with a little draw will roll a long way on this hole. With a good drive, you will have a short iron into a very receptive green and probably a chance for birdie. However, there are deep bunkers to the left of the green from which escape can be difficult.
Par 4 9 460 YDS
Hole 9 from the back tee is a 460-yard par 4, downhill, slight dogleg to the left with a lot of room to the right off the tee box. There is a grass bunker to the left off the tee. However, the left side of the fairway provides a much better look at the green for the approach than does the right side. The native Piñon and Juniper trees will block your path to the green if you stray too far right off the tee. There are bunkers left and short of this green. There is no trouble to the right and favor should be given to that side on the approach.
Par 4 10 400 YDS
Hole 10 is a straightaway, steep, uphill, par 4 with a large fairway bunker to the left and a narrow driving area. The best play off the tee is a draw down the right side of the fairway. You won’t get a lot of runs leaving a middle iron into a green partially hidden by the severity of the uphill slope. There are sand bunkers to the right and a large grass bunker to the left of the green, so this hole requires two good shots for a birdie or par opportunity.
Par 3 11 218 YDS
Hole 11 is the second longest par 3 on the golf course. The green runs diagonal in relation to the tee box, which makes it very receptive to a draw and very difficult if you play a fade. There is a large bunker to the left of the green along with mounds and rough to the right of the green. A conservative shot to the center of the green is the best play. Par is always a good score on this hole.
Par 4 12 391 YDS
Hole 12 is a par 4 straightaway with two large fairway bunkers on the right off the tee and mounds on the left. The hole sets up best for a slight fade off the tee box and then a short iron approach into the green. Number 12 is a birdie opportunity.
Par 5 13 541 YDS
Hole 13 is a par 5 with a downhill drive. It’s a slight dogleg left after that. There is a very large fairway bunker that runs all the way up to the green on the left-hand side and then a desert that pinches in on the right. Your second shot needs lay-up short of the bunker on the left leaving yourself about a hundred yards into the green. If you go for the green in two, it will need to be an accurate second shot.
Par 3 14 185 YDS
Hole 14 is a par 3 over a large bunker in front of the green and bunkers to the left rear and right side of the green. The green has three distinct sections. Make sure you select the right club. This is key. Putt from the correct section of the green otherwise it will be a very, very difficult putt.
Par 4 15 452 YDS
Hole 15 is a long par 4. Often during the winter and spring months you will play into the wind. There’s a large fairway bunker to the left of the tee box that needs to be avoided at all costs. If you hit it in the fairway bunker, your chances of reaching the green in two decreases dramatically. There are no bunkers around the green, but the green is darted by a large mound to the front and right of the green. If you hit a good drive, you should have a good chance at hitting the ball close and have a chance for a birdie.
Par 4 16 423 YDS
Hole 16 the drive is downhill from an elevated tee box. There are no fairway bunkers. There is a large slope to the right. Anything hit over to the right will gather back and come back into the fairway. If you hit it left off the tee, you will be in the desert. As you approach the green there’s a large lake on the left and a large bunker that needs to be avoided at all costs. There’s much more room to the right than it appears as you approach the green. If you want to hedge a little, hedge to the right.
Par 5 17 582 YDS
Hole 17 is a spectacular, long dogleg left, par 5 going uphill and right towards the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The mountains, for a lot of the year, are snowcapped, which makes it a very scenic hole. There’s a large fairway bunker to the left off the tee box and a slope to the right. Anything to the right will gather back into the fairway and that’s the aiming point off the tee. On the second shot there are bunkers both left and right as you approach the green. The wisest course, if you can’t reach the green in two, is to lay up to it about a hundred yards having a good clear pitch into the green.
Par 4 18 478 YDS
Hole 18 is the toughest hole on the back nine. From the back tees, it’s 478 yards. It is a par 4, slightly downhill and a slight dogleg to the left. You have three fairway bunkers to avoid on the left off the tee and again a large slope to the right that will help gather a shot that’s a little left right back into the fairway. You want to aim down the right side. There is a large lake on the right and a large bunker on the right, which need to be avoided at all costs. If you’re having trouble that day, make sure to leave the ball out to the right. You want to be sure to aim a little extra to the left if you can recover from the left side but not from the right. Once you get there you do have a flat green and should have a good chance of making your putt.