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Sandia Resort & Casino serves as the ideal base for an Albuquerque golf vacation.
COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | May 2019
award for best New Mexico course, the resort’s Sandia Golf Club boasts a challenging Scott Miller-designed layout and sports a 10,000-square-foot putting and chipping practice green, as well as a driving range with a double-tier teeing area. The course, which has hosted the New Mexico Open the last three years, stretches from 5,112 to 7,755 yards and rolls through the rugged high desert landscape, incorporating 48 bunkers, water features, washes and multi-tiered green complexes. The club’s signature par-4 18th finishes in front of patrons dining on the clubhouse’s stunning outdoor covered patio. Now managed by Troon Golf, the club operates from the stunning Sandia Golf Event Center, a sprawling facility appointed with modern New Mexican décor and posh finishes. Its 5,300-square-foot ballroom can divide into four separate spaces, with an allglass north wall facing the Sandias. Another collapsible glass wall erases the boundary between indoor and outdoor patios. The Event Center spills onto a dramatic private lawn, making for an especially memorable tournament or wedding venue. The building conveniently connects through the bridal suite/dressing room to the equally magnificent Green Reed Spa and its 14 new treatment rooms and salon. Green Reed’s encyclopedic menu of natural treatments and therapies means guests get pampered and rejuvenated in luxury. All 228 of Sandia’s lavishly decorated
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A round on Sandia’s (left) topranked course can lead to such Duke City attractions as Isotopes Park and historic KiMo Theatre. rooms and suites showcase views of the city skyline or the Sandias. Sandia’s plush, 140,000-square-foot casino features myriad gaming options, and the resort’s 4,000-seat outdoor amphitheater has scheduled a retro summer lineup featuring Foreigner, Boys II Men & En Vogue, Rascal Flatts, Steve Miller and Peter Frampton, who’s on his farewell tour. On May 26, Sandia will also kick off the 8th Annual ABQ Beer Week with the ABQ Blues & Brews festival, featuring four blues bands and more than 70 breweries. Other outdoor pleasures await at Sandia’s fabulous pool and, nine stories above, at the lively rooftop patio and lounge connected to the resort’s five-star restaurant, Bien Shur. Specializing in steaks, chops and glorious views, Bien Shur also makes a number of savory appetizers—including the New Mexico Lobster Roll and Tequila Spiked Shrimp Cocktail—available in the lounge. Order up a signature watermelon-mint martini—which matches the magical color of the mountains viewed from the patio during happy hour—or choose a bottle from its Wine Spectator Award-winning selection. Sandia Resort & Casino 30 Rainbow Rd. NE, Albuquerque sandiacasino.com; 800-526-9366 coloradoavidgolfer.com
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF SANDIA RESORT (LEFT); VISITALBUQUERQUE.ORG (TOP); KIMOTICKETS.COM (BOTTOM)
WHILE SANTA FE’S soigné charms seduce the gastronomes and gallery-goers, the golfers keep heading southwest on I-25 to Albuquerque. This isn’t to say New Mexico’s most populous city lacks the culture and vitality of its enchanting state capital. Far from it. The Duke City—so named for Spain’s El Duque de Albuquerque in 1706—also features a historic plaza, as well as a cross-cultural collection of galleries, shops and restaurants in Old Town and on Central Avenue. Attractions include mission-style churches, the intriguing Albuquerque Museum and October’s annual International Balloon Fiesta. You can also catch the Rockies’ rising stars at an Albuquerque Isotopes game or take in a performance at the celebrated Art Deco-Pueblo Revival KiMo Theatre. Tee times await at such layouts as Paa-Ko Ridge, Twin Warriors, Santa Ana, Cochiti, Isleta Eagle and the University of New Mexico Championship Course. However, you’ll find Albuquerque’s top golf offering on the north side of town at the Sandia Resort & Casino. Named for the beautiful watermeloncolored Sandia Mountains that dominate the resort’s eastern views, the Sandia Puebloowned resort continues to the standard for luxury in Albuquerque—and provides a convenient base from which to explore all the area has to offer. Ranked 4½ stars by Golf Digest, and the winner of Colorado AvidGolfer CAGGY
PERKY ALBUQUERQUE
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May 2019 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER