Albuquerque & Santa Fe Golf Courses & Tee Times

Who runs public golf in Albuquerque & Santa Fe

The City of Albuquerque Parks and Recreation Department runs Los Altos (1960), Arroyo del Oso (1965), Ladera (1980) and the 9-hole Puerto del Sol, plus a range and six-hole pitch and putt at the Golf Center at Balloon Fiesta Park. The city sells annual passes good at all four courses: $1,580 for a regular pass, $1,100 for a senior weekday pass (55 and up) and $325 for an afternoon pass, sold at the golf office at 6401 Osuna Rd NE. A weekday 18 at Ladera is $27, or $20 for seniors and $14 for juniors 17 and under. UNM owns the Championship Course and the older North Course, the 1942 layout that hosted Albuquerque's first pro event in 1947.

Public courses worth knowing in Albuquerque & Santa Fe

• University of New Mexico Golf Courses: The Championship Course opened in 1967 to a Robert (Red) Lawrence design, plays 7,555 yards at par 72, and hosted the men's NCAA Division I Championship in 1976, 1992 and 1998 and the women's in 1987 and 2008. Golfweek's 2025 Best in State list put it No. 2 in New Mexico.
• Arroyo del Oso: City course from 1965 in the Bear Canyon Arroyo, 27 holes since the Dam 9 was added in 1987. Golf Digest named it among the top 50 municipal courses in the nation in 1981.
• Ladera: The longest city course at 7,107 yards from the back tees, opened in 1980 on the West Side, with a 9-hole executive course.
• Los Altos: The oldest city course, opened in 1960, with an 18 and a 9-hole executive par 3.
• Santa Ana Golf Club: Opened in 1991 on Santa Ana Pueblo, designed by Ken Killian and Ken Green. With sister course Twin Warriors it hosted the 2023 PGA Professional Championship.
• Cochiti Golf Club: A 1981 Robert Trent Jones Jr. design in the Jemez foothills, about 50 minutes north of Albuquerque.

Booking tee times in Albuquerque & Santa Fe: the local rules

UNM's Championship Course opens tee times five days ahead to the public. Online bookings need a credit card, and you pay $20 a player if you cancel inside 24 hours. We did not find how far ahead the city courses book on a city page, so call the pro shop. Afternoon rates at city courses start 4.5 hours before sunset, never before noon.

Why tee times in Albuquerque & Santa Fe are hard to get

The season in Albuquerque & Santa Fe runs roughly from spring to late fall. The first warm weekends in spring and the cool, dry weekends of fall are the hardest to book.

Each course releases its tee times on its own schedule, commonly a week or two out, with residents of town and county courses often booking first. Leagues, outings and members claim chunks of the sheet in advance, and whatever prime weekend times are left tend to go on release day.

When tee time cancellations happen

Booked-up doesn't mean gone. Plans change: groups cancel ahead of the course's cancellation deadline (often 24 to 48 hours out), players drop when the forecast turns, and a group that shrinks leaves an open spot. Those times quietly come back on the booking page, usually for minutes, not hours.

How to get a tee time in Albuquerque & Santa Fe

Doing it by hand? Here's what works.

1. Know the booking window. Find out how many days ahead each course releases times, and whether residents get an earlier window. Be ready the morning it opens.
2. Look again 24 to 48 hours out. That's when most cancellation deadlines pass and spots come back.
3. Be flexible on group size. Singles and twosomes fit into gaps a foursome can't.
4. Try twilight and weekday afternoons. They're the last to fill and often cheaper.
5. Widen the map. If your first choice is full, check the next town over. Santa Fe has 3 courses on Yoink and Albuquerque has 2.

Read the full guide to getting a tee time when everything's booked