Hence, Black Mesa’s original (if not former) nickname, “The New Mexico Monster” - a moniker which undoubtedly proved apt for 20-handicap visitors or sticks having a bad day from the 7,307-yard tips. “But the story of this comeback is really a six-year timetable that began with the absolute worst decline you can imagine. At its lowest, I was the only one here and all we had in the fairway was dandelions and the reason I didn’t cut those was because I didn’t want the topsoil to blow away.”Ĭoncurrent to solving the water situation, a big part of Black Mesa’s re-ascent was creating a more playable spread. Sporting a mere 80 acres of turf, and idyllically-routed and carved around arroyos, ledges, mesas and rustic desert spread, the course’s original design landscape was further met with a whole host of mean fairway bunkering. “We got the water system stable, and that, along with new staff, was the first big quantum leap,” Velarde continues. The down years took Black Mesa to some dark places. “There were actually two separate water problems here,” details Aaron Sunderlin, hired as head golf course superintendent at Black Mesa in ’17 to help bring the course back to its one-time glory. “There was a considerable flood with the original well coming off the river, and that put the course behind. And then, the assumption was that the problem was solved with wells on the property, but those just didn’t produce enough water. So that brought us full-circle back to finding a good-quality water source down at the Rio Grande. That’s where we still stand today, and we work hard to make sure that water source is protected and cared for.”
In 2017, the Santa Clara Pueblo, on whose tribal land the course sits, endeavored reinvestment in the property, which included bringing on new staff. “About five years ago, we lost water we had maybe a hundred and twenty thousand gallons a night, and we need around 450-650. So we had less than a fifth of what we need all we could basically do was keep the greens somewhat alive.” “After being opened a dozen years, that (decline) manifested itself into the golf course being not very good at all,” continues Velarde, who has been at Black Mesa since its inception.
What such things? Well, considering the remote, desert setting, as one might imagine, water can be an issue. “When we opened in 2002, we were at the top of the heap, with a lot of top national rankings to back it, and we stayed ranked in the top-100 for five or six years,” says Tom Velarde, head golf professional at Black Mesa. “At that point, we stared experiencing a bit of a decline in upkeep things were happening that just weren’t good for the golf course.” 1 “Best New Affordable Course” in 2003 by one major outlet, while another graced it among nation’s the “Top Ten You Can Play” in that same year, Black Mesa soon experienced some quarter-horsing. Opened in 2002 to widespread acclaim, the yarn of Black Mesa Golf Club in northern New Mexico spins much like that of the game it purveys: highs, lows, ups, downs and an ultimate vision of finally finding the perfect swing.įollowing a stated debut which saw the Baxter Spann design chart as the No.
0 kommentar(er)
