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The best golf courses in New Mexico

By Derek Duncan and Stephen Hennessey
May 29, 2025
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New Mexico can be a challenging state for our panelists to cover. It's geographically large, the population is relatively small, courses are spread out in all corners and it receives less through traffic than most other parts of the United States. Nevertheless, the golf at the top end is beautiful and played through a unique variety of desert and mountain ecosystems, and a nice trip along the 70-mile Santa Fe-Albuquerque corridor will put some of the state's best courses within reach.

Below you'll find our 2025-'26 ranking of the Best Golf Courses in New Mexico.

Scroll on for the complete list of the best courses in New Mexico. Be sure to click through to each individual course page for bonus photography and reviews from our course panelists. We also encourage you to leave your own ratings … so you can make your case for (or against) any course that you've played.

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9. Championship Golf Course At University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM
4
5 Panelists
Previous rank: NR
The Red Lawrence-designed championship course at the University of New Mexico debuted in 1967 and is one of the starkest tests of golf in the region. Host of the 1988 NCAA Championships, the course is constructed over steep, high desert terrain with undulating fairways guarded by waste areas full of dense vegetation. Wide and gently sloping greens are protected by a series of lengthy and uphill approaches as well as penal greenside bunkering. The highlight of the round is the challenging three-hole stretch that concludes the front nine with two long uphill approach shots into the par-4 7th and par-3 8th, as well as the nearly impossible to reach in two par-5 9th.
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8. Red Hawk Golf Club
Las Cruces, NM
Previous rank: NR
The Ken Dye-designed Red Hawk Golf Club sits at the base of the Organ Mountains just outside of La Cruces and features a truly unique mix of links and prairie-style golf. The fairways and greens at Red Hawk Golf Club are set over harsh, undulating terrain, making flat lies and straight putts rare. The course is playfully designed with a collection of short par-4s and reachable par-5s, resulting in ample risk-reward shots. The course is home to large sloped putting surfaces, often with multiple tiers and devilish pin placements. The standout holes at Red Hawk are the demanding final stretch of par 4s at 17 and 18, playing into the wind and over 450 yards, demanding a golfer's best shots of the day.
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7. Sandia Golf Club
Albuquerque, NM
3.8
6 Panelists
Previous rank: 8
Sandia Golf Club in Albuquerque is one of the best courses in New Mexico. Discover our experts' reviews and where Sandia ranks in our rankings
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6. Cochiti Golf Club
Cochiti Lake, NM
3.5
6 Panelists
Previous rank: 9
Located in the high desert of northern New Mexico is the Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed Cochiti Golf Club. Opened in 1981, the course fits the soft natural contours of the existing land as fairways glide over gentle slopes and offer stunning views of the surrounding canyons. The course features an intriguing layout with risk-reward opportunities, as aggressive lines off the tee are often challenged by snaking waste areas or small creeks and ponds. The standout hole at Cochiti is the par-4 finishing hole, offering stunning views from the fairway and a demanding final tee shot over water.
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5. Twin Warriors Golf Club
Bernalillo, NM
3.7
7 Panelists
Previous rank: 7
Twin Warriors Golf Club, ranked among Golf Digest's best courses in New Mexico, is on the grounds of the Santa Ana Pueblo and has 20 cultural sites, including an ancient cave dwelling on the 15th hole. Set in the high desert, the course has beautiful native features, including dry washes, eroded land and a butte that is ever present on the course.
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4. The Club At Las Campanas: Sunrise
Santa Fe, NM
4.4
2 Panelists
Previous rank: 3
The first of two Jack Nicklaus courses at Las Campanas—his 100th course in his portfolio—was built in 1993 and set within the foothills of Santa Fe, sitting at about 7,000 feet above sea level with numerous elevation changes and a good mix of uphill and downhill holes. Most tee shots provide ample room off the tee, but precision into the greens and par-5s are particularly challenging with narrow landing areas for second shots.
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3. Black Mesa Golf Club
Espanola, NM
4.6
7 Panelists
Previous rank: 4
Black Mesa re-entered our ranking of America's 100 Greatest Public Courses in our last edition and has improved its position this time. Though located not far from the town of Española, there is no development on or near the vast, high-desert property. The Baxter Spann design feels worlds away, flowing through a Martian landscape of buttes, sagebrush-dotted ridges and dry arroyos. If the idea of hitting shots through canyons, along bluffs and over rock outcroppings to blind targets isn’t enticing enough, the weekday green fee of $89 should be.
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2. Paako Ridge Golf Club
Sandia Park, NM
4.3
8 Panelists
Previous rank: 2
Paako Ridge, Golf Digest's Best New Affordable Public Course of 2000, is quite long from the tips and regular tees. Yes, a golf ball carries farther at 6,500-foot elevation, but Paako also plays long because both nines work up mountain foothills for several holes before playing downhill. The 496-yard par-4 seventh is the same shape and dimensions as the 10th at Augusta National, and the back tees of the par-4 17th, atop a butte, affords perhaps the best vista in New Mexico. There are very wide and deep greens here, too, so a depth chart is a must.
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1. The Club At Las Campanas: Sunset
Santa Fe, NM
4.3
3 Panelists
Previous rank: 1
The Sunset course at Las Campanas is located in the high desert of Santa Fe and offers breathtaking views of the surrounding Sangre de Cristo Mountain range, along with other mountain ranges in the far distance. Jack Nicklaus did an excellent job of incorporating these features into his target lines off the tees. The course presents some blind shots but overall provides ample room off the tee.
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Explore Golf Digest's new Course Reviews section where you can submit a star rating and evaluation on all the courses you’ve played. We've collected tens of thousands of reviews from our course-ranking panelists to deliver a premium experience, which includes course rankings, experts' opinions, bonus course photography, videos and much more. Check it out here!

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