Santa Ana Golf Club, Tamaya/Cheena Course, Bernalillo, New Mexico ? a True, Links-Style Golf Course Set Amid the New Mexico Desert

Santa Ana is a true links-style golf course, set amid the New Mexico desert along the Rio Grande River, surrounded by the Jemez Mountains to the west, the Sandia Mountains (including the 10,000-foot Sandia Peak) to the east, the Sangre de Cristos to the north, and the dormant volcanoes of the West Mesa.

The course, which offers three different nines, features the subtle mounding and native grasses common to links courses, along with eight lakes to add to the variety and the challenge. The Tamaya/Cheena combination is considered the best, and the Cheena nine is said by some to be the most challenging nine-hole layout in New Mexico.

The Tamaya/Cheena course plays to 7,079 yards from the Championship tees, with a USGA rating of 74.1 and a slope rating of 132 on Bluegrass fairways and Bent grass greens. Some of the most noteworthy holes on the Tamaya nine include No. 5, a par-5 that plays as the #2-handicap hole. The hole plays to 585 yards from the Back (Blue) tees and calls for a tee shot to a fairway landing area guarded by two bunkers on the right. The second shot plays to a narrowing fairway that doglegs slightly left and is guarded by more bunkers, before playing to a green tucked amid native grasses and guarded by more bunkers.

Hole No. 6 (15 overall) on the Cheena back nine is a par-4 that plays to 336 yards from the Blue tees. This is one of the most picturesque holes on the course, as golfers tee off beside a small lake to a fairway landing area that eventually doglegs right around another lake. Approach shots will be forced to carry that water hazard and find a long green tucked behind the lake and guarded by a sand bunker in front.

Hole No. 9 (18 overall) on the Cheena course is very similar, as golfers tee off beside another small lake to a long, narrow fairway. The par-4 hole plays to 429 yards from the Back (Blue) tees, and the fairway landing area is guarded by a long sand bunker on the left and a few trees on the right. Approach shots must then aim for a green that curves left around another water hazard, and is also guarded by some long sand bunkers on the right.

Since opening in 1990, Santa Ana Golf Club has been accorded a number of honors, including being ranked #33 in the nation by Golf Digest among the Top 40 Resort Golf Courses. And both Golf Digest and Golfweek have at one time or another ranked the course among the Top 100 Courses in the country.

Practice facilities at Santa Ana include a practice range and pitching and putting greens. Instruction is also available, as well as a full-service pro shop which includes club rental and repair, as well as lockers and club storage. There's also a 22,000-square-foot clubhouse with hospitality quarters, a four-star restaurant, casual bar, and grille.

The resort also offers the Santa Ana Star Casino with a variety of casino-gaming, as well as the Feast Buffet, the All Star Sports Bar, a smoke shop, and a gift shop among its amenities.