If it’s wide open spaces, blue skies, scenic golf and spicy food you’re after, New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment, might be just what you’re looking for, especially if you make time for some sightseeing and pop-culture treasure hunting.
The fifth-largest state in the union by size is also just the 14th smallest by population. It’s wedged between Texas and Arizona, and it probably gets less attention than its Four Corners brethren, but don’t think of New Mexico as flyover country.
As you travel the highways and byways of this corner of the U.S., you’re going to find those wide-open spaces, with miles of open roads between stops.
The list of Golfweek’s best public-access and private golf courses in New Mexico typifies this spread-out sensation. Our list goes 10 deep with four situated around the greater Albuquerque area. If you were going to play all 10, keep the gas tank full, the cooler iced and the podcasts downloaded, but don’t forget to enjoy the sights, sounds and smells. After all, there’s nothing like driving with the window down and the smell of moisture in the air as you watch an afternoon rainstorm brewing in the distance.
Albuquerque is famous for ‘Breaking Bad’
It’s considered one of the best television shows ever. Perhaps the best.
“Breaking Bad” enjoyed a five-season run, and by the time the 62nd and final episode aired on Sept. 29, 2013, it had cemented its position among the great fictional stories of all time.
The show was filmed exclusively in the city of Albuquerque, and the various set locations are popular tourist attractions. There’s even a “Breaking Bad” tour bus that leaves from Old Town daily.
Walter White’s house is a famous spot. Actually, it’s too famous for the current homeowners, who over the years have had to add multiple security cameras, a wrought-iron fence and gate, orange cones so no one parks in front and signs pleading with people to take pictures from across the street.
The car wash called A1A in the TV show in real life has had a few names and is currently part of the Mister franchise. Fans of the show will no doubt do a double-take when they approach it.
That’s just down the road from the White house. So are the iconic rows of concrete blocks at the John B. Robert Dam, built as a flood overflow. In “Breaking Bad,” it’s the location of the pickup location for Jesse and later Walter.
University of New Mexico’s Championship course is a gem
A 20-minute drive south, past the University of New Mexico campus and next door to the Sunport (Albuquerque calls its airport a Sunport to promote the 280 days of sunshine every year) is the UNM Championship golf course.
This Red Lawrence design opened in 1967 and over the years has been a regular in the NCAA postseason. Arnold Palmer, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods have roamed these fairways. The UNM course hosted the 1950, 1976 and 1992 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship, the 1987 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship as well as the 1998 NCAA Championships.
The back tees, labeled Black – or Lobo, after the school mascot – play from a beefy 7,555 yards, although the course is at an elevation of 5,300 feet and plays shorter than that yardage might indicate.
Rated No. 2 among public-access courses in the state by Golfweek’s Best raters, the UNM course will provide all the challenge you’re looking for, with views for miles. On several holes the skyline of downtown Albuquerque is in view. On others is a great view of the Sandia Mountains.
The first hole, a slightly downhill par 5, is a strong start. The par 3s are all a kick, with the first only 150 yards but with a severe uphill approach. The par-3 eighth is a beast, 267 yards in length and guarded on the left side by a deep bunker. Chances are you won’t go long on this hole, but if you do, there’s trouble behind the long green, the terrain thick with shrubs and trees.
Both the ninth and 18th are fun par 5s, the ninth a dogleg right and the 18th a dogleg left but requiring a more uphill attack.
Home to the Isotopes, thanks to the Simpsons
Albuquerque is famous for another pop culture phenomenon. Long home to Triple AAA baseball, the city once claimed the Dukes, for several decades the Dodgers’ top farm team. Tommy Lasorda cut his managerial stripes there. Mike Piazza played 94 games for the team in 1992 before getting called up to replace legend Mike Scioscia. Pedro Martinez, Raul Mondesi and Jose Offerman all roamed the diamond there.
The Dukes left Albuquerque in 2000, and it wasn’t until 2003 that the city got a AAA team back. The Dukes name, however, didn’t return. Instead, after a vote by fans, the Isotopes…
