Ever flown out west and peered down at the desert from a window seat? See those patches of vivid green? They’re golf courses, and from 35,000 feet they jump out at you.
One of the best places to tee it up is the west Texas town of El Paso. The El Paso Convention and Visitors Bureau serves up some suggestions:
- Ascarate Municipal Golf Course is a terrific course for year-round play in a town that boasts some 300 days of sunshine each annum. This 18-hole course is arrayed along Lake Ascarate, a lovely local watercourse. Learning to play at this place is a tradition that took root long ago among El Paso folks.
- Butterfield Trail Golf is a Tom Fazio creation. Enough said. There’s a bountiful clubhouse north of the 18th hole that can handle meetings, weddings and the like – as well as a full-service restaurant and bar.
- Lone Star Golf Course is a public affair, one replete with tree-lined fairways. It may look flat from afar, but closer inspection unveils this entire course’s subtleness: breaks in greens and fairways, nicely positioned sand traps and such. The staff is friendly, and the food fine.
- Underwood Golf Complex is the sort of place you can vent by blasting tiny, dimpled balls into the deep desert air. The complex sports a lighted driving range, a pair of practice putting greens, golf carts and a computerized handicapping service.
- Painted Dunes Desert Golf Course is a gem, one of the best places to play in on the continent. This is a 27-hole layout, and comes with driving range, chipping, pitching and putting greens. It’s a mere 20-minute drive from the airport.
(Image: danperry.com)
