Golf Courses Near Las Cruces, NM
Situated on the Rio Grande at the edge of the Chihuahuan Desert, Las Cruces is New Mexico’s second largest city and the home of New Mexico State University. Las Cruces boasts two of the Land of Enchantment’s finest golf courses. Red Hawk Golf Course, a wide open links-style layout set amidst prairie dunes, was Golf Advisor’s #1 course in New Mexico in 2020 and 2021. Red Hawk is known for its pronounced undulations, extensive contoured bunkering, and large greens. Not only is New Mexico State University Golf Course one of New Mexico’s top layouts, it is also one of the very best college courses in the entire U.S. Thanks to its wide fairways and large greens, golfers of all abilities can handle this tree-lined parkland layout. Sonoma Ranch Golf Course is a desert-style layout that winds through a housing community with the Organ Mountains in the distance.
With 330 sunny days a year and comfortable temperatures in winter, Las Cruces is a year-round outdoor playground. While horseback riding, hiking and biking enthusiasts will find abundant trails, sightseers revel in numerous attractions such as the pure white gypsum dunes of White Sands National Park, and Organ Mountain-Desert Peaks National Monument, which has over 500 archaeological sites and hundreds of ancient petroglyphs. Geronimo and the outlaw Billy the Kidd also each hung out in the Organ Mountains. Downtown Las Cruces features a pedestrian Main Street that is a hub of dining, shopping, and entertainment. The city is known for its farmers market, Mexican food, and craft breweries. Numerous festivals highlight the calendar, notably Cowboy Days in March and Renaissance ArtFaire in November. Finally, for a genuine out-of-this-world experience, if you have several hundred thousand dollars to spend, check with Virgin Galactic about a ticket for a spaceflight from the company’s spaceport located north of Las Cruces.