Scenic golf, fiery chiles and a famous balloon festival make New Mexico a feast for the senses.

At its heart, New Mexico revolves around color. Artist Georgia O’Keeffe first introduced America to the region’s palette a century ago with her vivid, large-scale paintings. Bleached white cattle skulls, vermillion mesas and burnt sienna adobe dwellings were among the evocative images O’Keeffe captured on canvas, images that remain fully embedded in the culture today.

The same distinctive beauty that inspired O’Keeffe has also triggered the imagination of some of the nation’s premier golf course architects, who have decorated the high desert cities of Albuquerque and Santa Fe with distinctive designs. While October’s renowned International Balloon Festival attracts hundreds of thousands of high-fliers, that’s not the only item on New Mexico’s must-do menu. Mix in superb dining and a rich cultural stew, each of which melds Native American, Hispanic and Old West influences, and you have a golf vacation destination not soon forgotten.

BEEFY GOLF

The television show Breaking Bad may have kept Albuquerque on the minds of millions a decade ago, but these days the phrase may more closely align with misreading putts at Paako Ridge GC, an easy thing to do given the 6,500-foot elevation and the optical illusions created by the looming presence of the Sandia Mountains.

Located 25 minutes east of Albuquerque — and roughly an hour south of Santa Fe via the Turquoise Trail — Paako Ridge delivers 27 exhilarating holes that seamlessly meld high desert with mountain alpine aesthetics. The 25-year-old, Ken Dye-designed original 18 stretches 7,562 yards — remember, we’re at altitude — with multiple holes that skirt arroyos and rock outcroppings. The 3,876-yard third nine, built in 2005, is equal in every respect. Ranked as New Mexico’s top public course and among the top 100 in the U.S., Paako Ridge also commands the state’s highest green fee, $225, but it’s absolutely worth the splurge.

Named for a pair of mythical Pueblo leaders, Twin Warriors GC is a brawny tribal layout adjacent to the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa, 10 miles north of Albuquerque, with holes framed by native sagebrush. Even at 5,000 feet, the 7,736-yard spread plays L-O-N-G, but it’s acclaimed for its sensitive Gary Panks routing around 20 ancient cultural sites. A highlight is the 244-yard, par-4 15th, which abuts sacred Snakehead Butte, a vast rock formation that indeed appears poised to slither away.

Yet another beefy entry in the Albuquerque golf market is Sandia GC, a 20-year-old tribal casino course designed by Scott Miller. While Sandia is the state’s longest course at 7,755 yards, it’s no monster. Desert-framed fairway landing areas are generous, green surrounds are forgiving and the views are soothing. The 421-yard, par-4 10th aims straight at the Sandia Mountains, and from the back tees at 14, 15, 16 and 17, you can take in downtown Albuquerque and well beyond.

Four other Albuquerque courses to play if you have time: Phil Mickelson captured the 1992 NCAA Championship at the University of New Mexico’s Championship Course, a rolling affair through sagebrush that yields commanding city views; Santa Ana GC, a flattish 27-holer that sports eight lakes and quick greens and sits five minutes from Twin Warriors; Isleta GC, another muscular, 27-hole layout that resides near the Rio Grande, five minutes south of the Albuquerque airport; and Pueblo de Cochiti GC, a player-friendly, 1981 Robert Trent Jones Jr. design in the red-rock foothills of the Jemez Mountains that sits 50 minutes north of Albuquerque.

EAT, STAY, DO

Don’t leave Albuquerque without a trip to The Frontier Restaurant. Sitting across from the University of New Mexico, this 54-year-old institution percolates with value-minded students and professors, who partake of frisbee-sized cinnamon buns and green chile burritos wrapped in house-made tortillas.

For full-service pampering, the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa rivals any golf resort in the Southwest. The hotel dishes out golf, myriad family activities, the rejuvenating Tamaya Mist Spa and the Corn Maiden restaurant, with its exhibition-style kitchen and Pueblo-inspired creations such as the Buffalo Tartare starter and the Mole Braised Duck Enchiladas entrée.

If draw poker draws you in, along with top-name entertainment and on-site golf, Sandia Resort & Casino is a winning bet. Fuel the adrenaline rush at the Sandia Sportsbook, then decompress at the Green Reed Spa.

October’s nine-day International Balloon Festival attracted 838,337 visitors to Albuquerque in 2024. A singular spectacle since 1972, the annual event features more than 500 hot air balloons. To soar into the clouds on your own, Rainbow Ryders and World Balloon are companies that rate very high.

SANTE FE SOJOURN

Amid a backcloth of sagebrush, pine trees and 7,000 feet of elevation, New Mexico’s capital city of Santa Fe wows in every way, starting with its Plaza, a classic town square that dates to 1609. Today, the square is populated with shops, galleries and restaurants, but it was once the final stop on the Santa Fe Trail, as well as a government seat for Spain, Mexico, the territory of New Mexico and finally the state of New Mexico.

Santa Fe’s must-play is Black Mesa GC. Located half an hour north of the Plaza at 5,400 feet, this Tribal-owned, 7,307-yard track was etched from prehistoric sandstone bluffs in the Española Valley in 2003. Rugged yet tranquil and surrounded by the Sangre de Cristo and Jemez Mountains, Black Mesa impresses with bold topography and chaotically contoured greens. The par-3 11th, which ascends into a box canyon ringed with rocky escarpments, and the par-4 12th, which furnishes a striking view from its elevated tee, are standouts.

Four other Santa Fe courses to play if you have time: Every city should have a municipal layout as good as Marty Sanchez Links de Santa Fe. Opened in 1998, the 7,272-yard course features eye candy mountain vistas and the region’s best closing hole, a 478-yard par 4 accented by a stone-walled lake and a gargantuan lakeside bunker. For more Marty Sanchez joy, The Great 28 is 1,600 yards of pure nine-hole, par-3 fun for all levels — with a par 4 to close the round.

For a full-service golf resort experience, plus casino gaming, rest your head at the Hilton Santa Fe Buffalo Thunder, 12 miles north of Santa Fe, which also offers the Towa GC, 27 holes designed by Hale Irwin and Bill Phillips. If your tastes lean toward flat and Golden Age, take the 7,100-yard stroll over Santa Fe CC, which dates to 1928.

EAT, STAY, DO

The cultural epicenter of the Southwest has no shortage of outstanding eats. If you’re celebrating in style, yell, “Geronimo!” The Apache leader’s namesake restaurant is housed in a charming, 270-year-old adobe hacienda in the heart of the gallery district on Canyon Road. Carnivores will relish choices such as Tellicherry Rubbed Elk Tenderloin and New Mexico Four Corners Grilled Rack of Lamb; meatless options include a four-course Vegetarian Tasting menu.

One block southwest of Santa Fe’s iconic Plaza is Café Pasqual’s, a monument to classic Southwestern cuisine with fun, funky décor to match. Breakfast is a must, thanks to distinctive dishes such as Smoked Trout on Gruyere Potato Cakes with two Poached Eggs, or my favorite, Griddled Stone Ground Polenta with house-made chorizo, corn and red chile.

Just steps off the Plaza sits The Shed, an eatery as unpretentious as its name suggests. The restaurant occupies a structure that dates to 1692, and inside you’ll warm to perfectly prepared classics such as green chile stew and red chile enchiladas. Incidentally, New Mexico’s official state question is, “Red or Green?” In other words, which color chile do you want draped atop your enchilada or burrito? (Inside tip: If you want to try both at once, ask for it to be served “Christmas” or “Christmas-style.”)

“Amid a backcloth of sagebrush, pine trees and 7,000 feet of elevation, New Mexico’s capital city of Sante Fe wows in every way”

A fistful of superb luxury hotels grace central Santa Fe and its surrounds, paced by the Bishop’s Lodge, The Inn of The Five Graces, La Posada de Santa Fe, the Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi and the Four Seasons Rancho Encantado Santa Fe. I’m partial to the Eldorado Hotel & Spa, which is ideally situated two blocks from the Plaza and across the street from the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.

Santa Fe is reputed to possess the third-largest art market (retail shops and galleries) in the U.S., after New York and Los Angeles. The bulk of them are situated just off the Plaza on Canyon Road, home to a plethora of shops carrying fine arts, antiques, sculpture and jewelry.