Cochiti Golf Club
Cochiti Golf Club combines parkland and desert influences across 18 holes that wind through New Mexico’s high desert landscape. With natural terrain challenges and a welcoming clubhouse, the course offers a unique mountain golf experience suited to a broad range of players.
Course Overview
Perched at an elevation that offers crisp mountain air and wide-open skies, Cochiti Golf Club presents an 18-hole challenge carved into the high desert landscape of New Mexico. This public layout blends elements of parkland and arid terrain, creating a canvas that feels both rugged and inviting. Players can expect undulating fairways framed by native grasses, punctuated by natural sand waste areas that introduce strategic complexity without overwhelming less experienced golfers. The course's unique environment directs attention to shot placement over sheer power, emphasizing thoughtful play through varied elevation changes and southwestern vistas.
While the terrain offers visual appeal, conditions can fluctuate, particularly after winter months when the course recovers from seasonal stresses. Maintenance efforts focus on preserving the course’s character, though recent reports suggest some challenges in keeping fairways and greens in peak shape. Despite these issues, the layout remains approachable for a broad range of skill levels. Golfers will find opportunities to navigate both risk and reward, with holes that demand precision around contoured greens guarded by sandy bunkers and occasional rocky outcrops.
A practical visit to Cochiti Golf Club is enhanced by friendly staff and a welcoming clubhouse that features a grill area, providing a comfortable spot to relax after your round. The higher altitude requires players to consider altered ball flight and stamina, but walking is encouraged for those wishing to engage fully with the course’s natural rhythm. Walking shoes with good traction are advisable due to some uneven terrain and sandy patches.
Cochiti’s setting—where deserts meet mountains—offers more than just golf. It invites players to experience a rugged slice of New Mexico’s outdoors. Though the course’s current state calls for some patience, it remains a worthwhile destination for golfers looking to explore a scenic, thoughtfully crafted layout that challenges the mind as much as the swing.
Course Highlights
Cochiti Golf Club stands out for its blend of mountain and desert elements, featuring natural sand waste bunkers, elevation changes, and native grasses. The course rewards precision and strategic thinking, with greens protected by natural contours and sparse rough. The layout showcases panoramic southwestern vistas and an honest representation of New Mexico's high desert environment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Guest Reviews
P C
This is a very special golf course to me. It’s a majestic setting and layout. The conditions right now are unplayable. I lost three balls just inches off the fairway. It also makes the pace of play terrible. I’ve finished 18 here in 2.5 hours before but that’s impossible now. I really hope they get their mowers fixed.
Steve Hudson
A fun little course. Great condition overall. Greens rolled nicely, not to awful fast. Highly recommended if you are in the area. Nice grill area as well!
Bradley Scott
Permanently closed.
Joe Minkley
Played 4/26/2025. Do not go there! The course is in horrible condition. No range balls. Putting green is terrible. The worst shape of any golf course I’ve ever played. Starting with the practice green it just got worse. All greens are dead or mostly dead. Too much sand was put in the greens and they have not been kept, verticut or in the case of sparse bumpy grass, they have not been mowed consistently. It is literally like putting on sand greens. Totally unacceptable. The fairways are terrible. The way the fairways have been torn up in an attempt to aerate has left them plowed up with holes everywhere. Big chunks of dirt have been left where they gouged out holes. You cannot get any decent lie to hit a ball. Best you can do is hunt for a small patch of grass to tee up a ball or hit it off hard pan. For some reason it is cart path only. There is nothing good in the fairways to protect. We never saw a single maintenance person working on the course. Pitiful condition! Do not waste your money here. And this used to be my favorite course in New Mexico.
Eric Kenney
Cochiti is a great place to play. The staff is friendly, and the views are stunning. Cochiti is at a higher elevation; the course takes a little more of a beating over the winter. Be patient, it is still a wonderful place to play it just takes a little longer to recover in the spring.
Michael Eras
The course was very dry with many burn spots. Tee boxes not well kept up and bunkers were hard with weeds in them. Too bad to see such a beautiful course fall into poor condition. 6/29/25. Absolutely unplayable. It’s gotten worse. See photos.
Michael Eras
The course was very dry with many burn spots. Tee boxes not well kept up and bunkers were hard with weeds in them. Too bad to see such a beautiful course fall into poor condition. 6/29/25. Absolutely unplayable. It’s gotten worse. See photos.
Josh Johns
Avoid at all costs until the course is gotten back into shape. Like Marty Sanchez in Santa Fe, another local gem that’s gone to pasture. Unplayable.
Eric Kenney
Cochiti is a great place to play. The staff is friendly, and the views are stunning. Cochiti is at a higher elevation; the course takes a little more of a beating over the winter. Be patient, it is still a wonderful place to play it just takes a little longer to recover in the spring.
David Jaramillo
My friends and I have called several times to make tee times. (Yes more than once.) We were told no tee times were available. But on line 7 to 12 times were open. When I questioned about it. Person on phone said. "I didn't see those times." Lazy or rude. Take your pick. The course is in bad condition anyway. Not worth price.
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Course Details
Access & Location
5200 Cochiti Hwy, Cochiti Lake, NM 87083, USA
Main clubhouse with grill area and lounge facilities
Walking is encouraged and recommended to fully appreciate the course’s terrain. Sturdy shoes with good support advised due to uneven ground and sandy areas.
Open to public with standard tee time booking. Walk-ins accepted depending on availability.
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