Sunrise at The Club at Las Campanas

The Club at Las Campanas sits in the high desert foothills northwest of Santa Fe, where the landscape rises toward the Jemez Mountains. Jack Nicklaus designed two eighteen-hole courses for the property in the mid-1990s, with the Sunrise Course opening in 1995. The routing takes advantage of the dramatic elevation changes and natural arroyos that define this terrain, moving through pinyon and juniper-studded hillsides at an altitude above 7,000 feet. The thin air at this elevation affects ball flight noticeably, and the course requires careful club selection and an understanding of how distance plays differently than at sea level.

Nicklaus shaped the holes to work with the existing topography rather than impose heavily manufactured features on the desert landscape. The design incorporates native grasses and vegetation into the playing corridors, with fairways that often follow the natural fall lines of the land. Several holes offer long views across the high desert toward the Sangre de Cristo range to the east. Water comes into play selectively, and the bunkering style reflects Nicklaus's preference for strategic placement that rewards accurate driving and approach play.

The club operates as a private residential community, drawing members who appreciate the combination of mountain climate, proximity to Santa Fe's cultural amenities, and access to two distinct Nicklaus layouts. The Sunrise Course is generally considered the more dramatic of the two routings, with greater elevation movement and more pronounced desert character throughout the round.