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Baxter Spann Completes Design Of Black Mesa Golf Club In New Mexico
Grand Opening Weekend -- May 10-11, 2003
Contact
Nancy Nuzzo
713-781-9427
nancy@foregolf.net
HOUSTON (April 16, 2003)
- Golf course architect Baxter Spann of Finger Dye Spann, Inc. has
just completed what "could very well turn out to
be the finest course, public or private, in the state" of New Mexico,
according to Golf Digest. Spann makes Black Mesa Golf Club the firm's
fifth design in New Mexico. The course's grand opening weekend is scheduled
for May 10-11, 2003.
"I have been designing courses for more than 20 years," said Spann. "More than any other project, I eagerly anticipated every trip I made to this site, always knowing I would find something new to experience. I hope that golfers will feel the same way about Black Mesa."
About the Design of Black Mesa Golf Club
Located on the Santa Clara Pueblo north of Santa Fe, the combination of onsite landforms and offsite views at Black Mesa Golf Club is second to none. The environment at this 18-hole course is pure, absent of any man-made distractions, and the first glimpse of the course gives golfers a taste of this vast, dramatic property. The course has a wild Irish links look to it, particularly in the spring after a wet winter when the native grasses are leafy and blowing in the breeze.
A great course tests both the mind and the body, and this statement holds true for Black Mesa Golf Club. From the first tee shot, golfers realize that mental strategy is essential, while the course's expansive fairways and greens allow it to be played more easily than it appears. The course plays through dramatic sandstone ridges with Black Mesa visible from several locations. Spann made each hole different, featuring characteristics that make every one both strategic and memorable in its own unique way. Spann designed the course to be fun and challenging in both calm and windy conditions, and the site showcases distinctive bunkering, native arroyos as hazards, and green contouring in keeping with the scale of the natural landforms.
Located at an elevation of 5,400 feet, the course routing features an elevation change of over 125 feet, and 12 of the holes play slightly downhill. The course plays at 7,359 yards, par 72, with 105 bunkers. Spann also designed the course's short game practice area which presents golfers with all of the same challenges around the green that they will face on the course, as well as a spacious, 60,000 square foot teeing area that accompanies the range and two practice putting greens.
Other Finger Dye Spann Projects
In addition to Black Mesa Golf Club, the firm has designed four other courses in New Mexico, including Paa-Ko-Ridge Golf Club, Pinon Hills Golf Course, Marty Sanchez Links de Santa Fe and the new nine holes at Riverview Golf Club. Outside of New Mexico, the firm is currently working on a new design for Stoneridge Golf Club in Trinidad, Colorado, as well as renovations in New York at Ardsley Country Club, Old Westbury Country Club and Mahopac Golf Club.
About Finger Dye Spann, Inc.
Based in Houston, Texas, Finger Dye Spann, Inc., http://www.fingerdyespann.com/, has more than 40 years of combined experience in the practice of golf course architecture. Finger Dye Spann combines backgrounds in landscape architecture, engineering and competitive golf to create a harmonious blend of artistic and technically sound designs. The firm has designed more than 100 golf courses throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada, and many of the firm's courses have been recognized in various "best course" listings of leading golf publications.