El Paso/Las Cruces golf (Spring, Del Rio: coupons, neighborhood, price)

[LdyJ]

We will be making an "exploration" drive through El Paso and Las Cruces looking to see if we'd like to retire in the area. We love to play golf and to that end, does anyone have a favorite course or golf neighborhood they'd like to recommend. Also, how many days a year is it just not possible to play due to ice or wind? Thanks for the info!
LdyJ

[finmqa1]

Play Butterfield Trail, Painted Dunes, both in EP and Sonoma Ranch and NMSU Golf Course in Las Cruces. About 70 miles north of Las Cruces you can play Sierra Del Rio in TorC, another great course.

[6 FOOT 3]

Here you go LdyJ is the site to Butterfield Trail which just opened in El Paso and was voted one of the top 10 new golf courses by Golf Magazine jan 2008 issue.

El Paso Golf New Mexico Golf - Butterfield Trail Golf Club

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by finmqa1

Play Butterfield Trail, Painted Dunes, both in EP and Sonoma Ranch and NMSU Golf Course in Las Cruces. About 70 miles north of Las Cruces you can play Sierra Del Rio in TorC, another great course.

For a golfer myself who has enjoyed many a fun opportunity to do so in El Paso, I believe that finmqa1 has given some excellent advice. I don't think you can go wrong with Butterfield Trail or Painted Dunes.

A couple of other options:

-Ascarate Municipal Golf Course - This is no way compares in the least to the courses that finmqa1 mentioned, but I have played it before (it is a public muni course) and for a public muni course, I thought it was pretty decent. Obviously this is for saving $$$. Otherwise you'd probably want to go with the others.

-Emerald Springs Golf Club - Emerald Springs is in Horizon City, just outside of east El Paso. That could be another nice option.

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by LdyJ

Also, how many days a year is it just not possible to play due to ice or wind? Thanks for the info!
LdyJ

For ice, almost never. Even up in Albuquerque, which is 260 miles north and 1500 feet higher in altitude, it is almost never that you can't play due to wintery snow/ice...in El Paso it is almost even more rare.

For wind, that is a good question. Obviously El Paso as well as the whole US desert Southwest does encounter some good winds off-and-on in the spring (the Gusty N' Dusty season)...but to a regular golfer who has played many rounds in Albuquerque and El Paso in all four seasons, I have really never not been able to play (or even thought of it) due to the winds, but then again, maybe that was just luck. I have played on some pretty windy days, but never where it was "nuts".

I guess I did have a rec league baseball game in Albuquerque canceled due to a really amazing dust storm where certainly golf would've been out too. I have been in El Paso days where golfing would've been tough if not impossible. Really though, where it is bad enough on a sustained basis where in the day you couldn't actually get a round in, I would say it would be relatively uncommon. Maybe 5 days a year? Other spring days it might be gusty, but not gusty enough to keep folks from playing.

I think El Paso has one of the most favorable climates in the entire US for being able to golf year-round...even better than golfing havens like Florida since rains don't interfere with the golfing typically like they do in the Southeast.

[LdyJ]

Thanks, once again, for the great, usable info. Butterfield looks wonderful and all of the courses appear affordable. Although I didn't specify price as being a factor, it surely is when your paying two green fees! Long ago we set $40 each as the max price we could pay per round, and so far we've been able to stick to that; sometimes we've gotten really lucky with newspaper coupons or on-line deals and have played some very upscale courses very cheap! It pays to shop, even in golf!
J

[EnjoyEP]

El Paso also has some very nice private CC courses. I had the chance to play El Paso CC once and it was very nice. I hear Coronado CC has a nice course too.