GOLF FEATURE
position with Towa as superintendent, Meredith accepted the position of shop manager. Today, she is Towa’s director of golf and her passion is reflected in her enthusiasm for what Towa has to offer golfers of all skill levels. “We have the only island green in the state and people just love it,” she says about Towa. “It’s gorgeous. The green is huge so it’s easy to hit. Number nine on the boulder course has a golfer standing up on a ridge with a 100-foot drop into the par three green. You have the entire valley laid out in front of you. You don’t get that anywhere else in New Mexico. No other course has the views that we do.” For more experienced golfers, Meredith notes, “We have a few holes with blind
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shots, but they’re not tricked up. It’s pretty straight forward and rewards you for a good shot. You definitely want to keep in the fairway because the rough, being desert, can be brutal.” People from all over the world come to Towa to play and Meredith wants Towa to be the golf club of choice for any visitor to Santa Fe. As the only resort in Santa Fe with golf on property, she is in the process of making sure other hotels in the area have Towa’s package information so all visitors can enjoy the dramatic views and excellent golf. For the lucky locals who can play year round, Towa offers a locals’ card which includes three prepaid rounds and a reduced rate on every round after the first
SPORTS, RECREATION & TRAVEL
three. Cardholders get discounts in the golf shop, e-mail updates and invitations to member-only events. Towa has recently undergone several improvements. “Last year we did a complete bunker renovation on all 27 holes,” describes Meredith. “We assessed each and every bunker, making determinations if it made sense for them to be there. Some bunkers did not make sense for playability. For example, we took out two thirds of a large bunker on boulder number one and made it one small bunker by the green. For those bunkers that made sense for the defense of the course, we made sure the floors were lifted up and not too deep. We softened the course considerably.”