This was my 2nd round of the morning on Thursday, 3/10/16, after earlier racing around Sonoma Ranch to beat the shotgun tourney that was teeing off. Arrived at about 11AM and was immediately slotted i... Continue »

This was my 2nd round of the morning on Thursday, 3/10/16, after earlier racing around Sonoma Ranch to beat the shotgun tourney that was teeing off. Arrived at about 11AM and was immediately slotted into a group at 1120 with two of their volunteers and one member, all very nice gentlemen in my age group (LOL). Red Hawk GC is a links-style course on a high plain northeast of Las Cruces, out by itself beyond areas currently being built. But the shop told me that the course and the development you passed thru, and all the land in between, was owned by the same group, and the city is building out toward the course, probably to arrive in 2 or 3 years. The hole routing of the course is also set up to allow housing in between the hole groups(unfortunately), so that isolated links feel will eventually be partly lost. The layout and terrain of the course are similar in my mind to Paiute (Sun Mountain), with very little elevation change overall across the site, although some holes play slightly up or down. In its current stage you feel you are isolated on almost every hole, as subtle mounding separates adjacent holes and other holes are further away and almost unnoticed. Course conditions overall were very good and the course is challenging with large undulating greens, many bunkers, lakes scattered along some holes (anticipating those water views for future residents), and the potential for serious wind on this high flat plateau area. The course is currently very firm everywhere, though my group says that it’s very lush during the summer. The large perched greens rolled well at pretty quick speeds, were so firm that you couldn’t fly the ball up near the hole, and all greens had runoffs and swales along the margins. Lies in the fairways were uniformly good, and rough was cut short and pretty benign, although straying far from the fairway could literally put you in deep trouble. Tees were somewhat narrow but were flat and good to hit from. Sand around greens was thin, damp, and hard, and needed more depth. Along with Sonoma Ranch and the nearby NMSU course, this is a very nice trio of courses for a group golf weekend, all in good condition and at very reasonable prices. Recommended, although I was not greatly enthusiastic about the design of mirror-image holes 9 and 18, tough par 4s with the landing areas pinched by hazards on one side and sand on the other, and greens bracketed by sand and lakes. Maybe it was my dueling (adjusted!) double bogeys that influenced my enthusiasm.