Golf in Cloudcroft

Cloudcroft perches at roughly 8,700 feet in the Sacramento Mountains above Alamogordo, a mountain village that has served as a cool-weather retreat for residents of the Tularosa Basin and West Texas for more than a century. The Lodge resort, opened in 1899, remains the village's anchor. Two golf courses operate here, both at extraordinary elevation: The Lodge's course approaches 9,000 feet, making it one of the highest resort golf layouts in the country, while Ponderosa Pines Golf Course offers a second high-altitude option. Ball flight at this elevation is substantially longer than sea-level conditions. Ponderosa forest surrounds both courses, and afternoon thunderstorms are a reliable summer occurrence that requires planning early tee times.