Painted Dunes Desert Golf Course - North Course Review

Painted Dunes Desert Golf Course - North Course Review

Using the majestic Franklin Mountains as a backdrop, Ken Dye and Jeffery Brauer carved three unique nine hole courses out of the Chihuahan Desert. and all 27 holes twist and turn through the desert's native foliage. If you spray the ball and miss the fairway, you'll get to experience native cacti, mesquite, creosote bushes, and Mormon tea plants, which signifies the area was once used as a trail by pioneers.  I know from first hand experience that if your ball lands in the cactus or thorny brush, let it rest - the thorns are sharp and reluctant to give up the ball without a number of pricks.  My right arm looks like a pin cushion and my white golf towel is now covered with red blood spots.   During the season and after a good rain, the desert comes alive with some vibrant colorful fauna.

Since opening, Painted Dunes has received a number of awards and accolades from Golf Digest, USGA, and the Dallas Morning News listed Painted Dunes as one of the preeminent golf facilities in Texas and the Southwest. 

Each of the nines is a links style design that puts a premium on putting and shot making, particularly on the approach shots to the greens.   Common to all three nines are a great rate, pretty good conditions, friendly service, challenging green complexes, and a native wild coyote who typically sits on the tee box in front of the pro shop. Here is a link to our review of Painted Dunes West Course. 

Normally the conditions at Painted Dunes are very good - lush green fairways and near perfect greens.  When we played in late March, Painted Dunes was starting to transition from the dormant winter conditions as you can tell from the pictures.  The course was also starting to recover from a very harsh January and February with record lows (minus 9) and snow.  As such the conditions weren't the best but a couple of locals that we played with verified that normally conditions of the greens and fairways would be between a high 8 to 9.   

The North Nine is easier than the West nine thanks to some wide and forgiving fairways and more manageable green complexes.  But it's still no walk in the park and requires you to manage the wind, dog legs, water, as well as avoid the 28 bunkers and stay out of the desert.

The first hole on the North Course at Painted Dunes gives you a feel for what to expect during your round - a 562 yard par 5 double dog leg with a rolling fairway with lots of mounding that twists and turns past several bunkers on the way to a challenging green complex with mounds, swales, and bunkers. During the rest of your round you'll need to manage:

• narrow fairways as well as uneven lies thanks to the mounding and berms and contour
• forced carries over water and natural areas
• some risk reward opportunities
• large bunker complexes that you'll need to avoid
• tough approaches to challenging elevated greens that are well guarded

But don't let all of that scare you - it's manageable and makes playing the North Course a lot of fun.  In addition, there are some very memorable holes and particularly the last three holes:

• #7 a short 345 yard par 4 with a tight fairway that dog legs right around a native area and some huge bunkers - a great risk reward opportunity to try for the green for a birdie or better, but don't miss
• #8 is a 163 year par 3 that looks easy but 5 pot bunkers protect  a severely sloping and undulating green with a big ridge splitting the green in half - pin placement can be a killer
• #9 is an excellent 521 yard par 5 finishing hole with a lake that lines a narrow dog leg left fairway from tee box to green - a temping opportunity to carry more of the lake than you might be able to handle to help you go for the green in two

When we played in late March the course was transitioning from winter to summer conditions.  The conditions of both the fairways and greens were very good and some locals claimed that during the season the fairways are green and lush and the greens are excellent. 

Speaking of the greens, they can be very challenging on the approach - some are elevated and most are well guarded with bunkers, swales, and mounds.  They vary in size from average to large and to get it in the cup you'll have to read the spines, ridges, slope, tiers, and undulation. 

Great track and a must play if you're in El Paso or anywhere near Painted Dunes.  Rating and slope are based on playing the North and West courses.