Angel Fire Golf Resort

Perched in the southern Rocky Mountains at roughly 8,500 to 8,600 feet, Angel Fire Resort Golf Course ranks among the highest regulation courses in the United States, where the thin mountain air sends shots noticeably farther. Credited to noted architect Ted Robinson Sr., the par-72 layout plays about 6,600 yards and offers two distinctly different nines. The front meanders through unspoiled canyons of aspen, spruce, and pine, while the back opens into more links-style ground with smaller greens and plentiful bunkering. Its most talked-about hole is the sixth, a dramatic downhill par-3 playing some 200 vertical feet from tee to green through stands of aspen and towering pine. Part of a four-season resort that grew from a 1960s ski destination, the course pairs high-country scenery with cool summer temperatures.