Hilton’s Buffalo Thunder Resort in Santa Fe and Santa Ana Star Casino just north of Albuquerque both offer 27-hole courses
The area of New Mexico north of Albuquerque on the road to Santa Fe is world-renowned for its contribution to and its love of the arts and for a special sensitivity to Mother Nature and her priceless treasures.
Given that ideal, it’s only fitting that the region would also be home to golf courses at or near casino properties that could be considered art in their own right, through solid design and challenging routings amidst high-desert surroundings.
Two of the area’s courses – the Towa Golf Club on the expansive property of the Hilton Santa Fe Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino in Santa Fe and the Santa Ana Golf Club adjacent to the ubiquitous casino hotel on it southern edge – illustrate that the oft-envisioned delicate balance of golf and nature can be a boon to all interests. Both are among the top tracks in the state and fit in great with a trip to the Land of Enchantment.
Three times the fun at Towa
Located in the scenic Pojoaque Valley on tribal land of the Pojoaque Pueblo, the Towa Golf Club surround the opulent Buffalo Thunder Resort, which is New Mexico’s largest and most expensive resort, with an estimated cost of more than $250 million. The property is owned by the Pojoaque Pueblo (which also owns the nearby Cities of Gold Casino & Hotel) and has a Native American feel throughout.
Towa is made up of three nine-hole tracks: the Boulder Nine, the Piñon Nine (both which opened in 2001), and the Valley Nine (2009).
The rolling land is crossed and bordered by ball-grabbing, red-dirt arroyos and piñon trees indigenous to the region. Sandstone rock formations also come into play among a series of ridges that dissect the course as the Sangre de Cristo and Jemez Mountains provide scenic golf backdrops and way-out-there views.
Most of the tee boxes are elevated, and the putting surfaces, which can be demanding, are often raised from the fairways as well. You won’t find huge mounds or ridges on the greens, but subtle breaks make golfers think twice on their reads and learn as the round rolls by.
Three-time US Open winner Hale Irwin designed the Valley and Piñon nines, while Tucson-based landscape architect and golf course designer Bill Phillips fashioned the Boulder course.
All the courses at Towa GC play to a par of 36 and feature five sets of tees for varying ability. Irwin’s work at the Piñon Nine plays at 3,615 yards and the Valley Nine weighs in at 3,575 yards. Those two courses sport the easiest combined rating (71.2) and slope (126).
The Boulder Nine, so named because of the amazing rock formations that frame it, measures 3,640 yards from the back tees and is the hardest course at Towa Golf Club. In combination with the Valley it comes in at a rating of 71.6 and a slope of 132 and with the Piñon jumps up to 72.8 and 135.
The first hole of the Piñon Nine is a breathtaking, downhill 631-yard par-5. The 186-yard par-3 fourth hole on the Boulder Nine has an 8,200-square foot island green, the only such putting surface in New Mexico. The green is in the middle of a huge irrigation lake and is surrounded by sand to keep slightly wayward shots out of the water.
There are three two-shotters on the Boulder Nine that play more than 400 yards (capped by the tough 444-yard seventh) and the Piñon Nine’s highlights include the 460-yard downhill par-4 fourth and the 442-yard dead-straight par-4 seventh.
The Valley Nine’s hardest hole is the 488-yard par-4 fourth, which is sandwiched between two reachable par-4s – the 318-yard third and No. 6, which plays downhill at 357 yards.
Most of Towa GC’s holes look more difficult from the tee than they really are. The secret, simply, is to stay out of the desert, avoid hitting through doglegs, and to keep your focus on the shot at hand, not the 360-degree panorama.
Towa GC also offers a practice facility featuring a driving range situated so players will never find the sun in their eyes and a 7,300-square foot clubhouse with dining room and bar as well as a spacious outdoor patio area. The clubhouse is available to rent for private parties and group meetings.
Merging the excitement and glamour of a Las Vegas casino with the relaxing ambiance and luxury amenities of a world-class spa and golf resort, Hilton Santa Fe Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino offers a 587-acre oasis featuring infinite diversions and indulgences.
With a 24-hour fitness center, indoor and outdoor pools, gourmet restaurants and a nightclub, this place has so much to offer that you’ll never want to leave. Enjoy high-stakes thrills in the 61,000 square-foot casino. Inspired by Pueblo architecture and décor, the casino contains 1,200 slot machines, 18 game tables, and a poker room.
Towa Golf Club and the Buffalo Thunder Resort are located in the heart of beautiful Northern New Mexico about nine miles north of Santa Fe.
Links-style golf is the appeal at Santa Ana
Another golf facility with three nine-hole courses that’s even closer to Albuquerque is the Santa Ana Golf Club, which is on the same property as the Santa Ana Star Casino and just down the road from the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa.
The three courses, called Tamaya, Cheena and Star, can also be combined to play as three 18-hole, par-72 combinations, the hardest of which is likely the Cheena/Star combo, which is carded at 7,145 yards and sports a rating of 73.0 and a slope of 135 from its back set of four tees.
Designed by Ken Killian and opened for play in 1990, Santa Ana is much more of a links-style layout than what you’ll play up the road at Buffalo Thunder, using subtle mounding bordered by native grasses and eight crystal-blue lakes to inspire and challenge players.
The course borders the Rio Grande River and also features some of the most consistently quick and difficult greens in the region. With the wind whipping off the nearby mountains getting free rein here due to of the lay of the land, accuracy and course management are essential for success.
Because of the tests on the putting surfaces, the strategy for Santa Ana is specific; you have to be really watchful of where you end up on the green, because that can determine whether you have a chance to make a birdie, or whether you’re having to hope for a two-putt.
The Tamaya nine’s toughest holes are its long par-4s, as No. 3 weighs in at 473 yards and the seventh plays at 460 yards and left to right around four huge bunkers in the landing area. Then there’s its three-shot holes, the 600-yard third and the 599-yard fifth, both of which move left, then right, then left again before reaching the green.
The final two holes can make or break your round on the Cheena nine. At 633 yards and uphill on the approach, the par-5 eighth usually plays into the wind as well. But pick up a lost stroke (or two) at the 534-yard par-5 ninth – just make sure you avoid the water at front and left of the green.
The tougher Star nine demands several blind tee shots to fairways hidden by desert scrub. Star’s real challenges are on the 401-yard par-4 third (played uphill and into the wind) and its pair of par-5s – the 594-yard sixth and the 538-yard ninth.
Santa Ana Star Casino was the first Native American casino to operate in New Mexico, opening its doors in 1993. Growing from only 64 slot machines, “The Star” features more than 1,400 machines independently certified as the “Loosest Slots in New Mexico” by Strictly Slots magazine. Video poker games, 25 table games, and live-action poker are also available daily.
The Star is also home to three full-scale restaurants. The Feast Buffet offers fresh food and live-action food stations; Sadie’s at The Star features staple New Mexican dishes from the world renowned Sadie’s of New Mexico restaurant; and Mesa Grille serves up its famous $2 Star Burger along with other grill favorites.
