Turtleback Mountain Golf Resort
Elephant Butte, New Mexico · 18 holes · par 72 · Resort. Designed by Richard M. Phelps, ASGCA, opened 2007.
A caddie's yardage book for every hole: plays-like distance from USGS lidar elevation, reach and carry numbers for every bunker and water hazard, green front, middle and back, which way each green falls, and the lay-up zone on par 5s. Distances are from the back tees along the mapped hole; for a shorter tee, take off the scorecard difference.
Course profile
- At about 4,360 ft the ball carries about 5% farther than at sea level, so a 150-yard shot plays like about 142. Golfers visiting from low elevation should expect to club down.
- Biggest climb: hole 14, where the green sits 64 ft above the tee and plays about 21 yards longer.
- Biggest drop: hole 7, where the green sits 71 ft below the tee and plays about 24 yards shorter.
- 14 greens tilt 2% or more. Each hole below says which side of the hole leaves an uphill putt.
Maps: tee at the bottom, green at the top. The dashed line is the mapped hole; the gold band is the lay-up zone; the arrow on the green points downhill.
Scorecard
| Hole | Par | Hcp | Black | Blue | White | Red |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 15 | 378 | 353 | 304 | 258 |
| 2 | 3 | 5 | 218 | 193 | 158 | 113 |
| 3 | 5 | 9 | 568 | 541 | 500 | 419 |
| 4 | 4 | 17 | 326 | 308 | 275 | 235 |
| 5 | 3 | 11 | 219 | 195 | 165 | 127 |
| 6 | 4 | 1 | 458 | 427 | 395 | 329 |
| 7 | 4 | 3 | 435 | 415 | 393 | 311 |
| 8 | 4 | 7 | 432 | 387 | 357 | 285 |
| 9 | 5 | 13 | 594 | 565 | 516 | 455 |
| 10 | 5 | 10 | 605 | 575 | 540 | 478 |
| 11 | 3 | 8 | 236 | 218 | 176 | 110 |
| 12 | 4 | 4 | 433 | 409 | 375 | 297 |
| 13 | 4 | 12 | 390 | 365 | 295 | 244 |
| 14 | 5 | 16 | 536 | 510 | 474 | 417 |
| 15 | 4 | 2 | 451 | 433 | 410 | 334 |
| 16 | 4 | 14 | 404 | 370 | 330 | 245 |
| 17 | 3 | 18 | 171 | 141 | 120 | 95 |
| 18 | 4 | 6 | 452 | 432 | 381 | 313 |
Tees
| Tee | Yards | Rating | Slope | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | Male | 7306 | 74.9 | 146 |
| Blue | Male | 6837 | 72.2 | 142 |
| White | Male | 6164 | 68.7 | 130 |
| White | Female | 6164 | 74.9 | 141 |
| Yellow | Female | 5627 | 71.4 | 131 |
| Yellow | Male | 5627 | 65.7 | 119 |
| Red | Female | 5065 | 67.7 | 126 |
Hole 1 · Par 4
- Plays like
- 392+41 ft
- Green · Black tee
- 365 · 378 · 395front · middle · back
- Green size
- 40 × 29yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 39 ydswide at 225
- Green slope
- 2.5%falls to the front
In play
- Water right: 121 to reach, 504 to carry
- Bunker right: 213 to reach, 239 to carry
- Bunker across the hole in front of the green: 366 to carry
- Bunker left of the green
Playing notes
- Plays about 14 yards longer: the green sits 41 ft above the tee.
- Fairway bunkers and water on the right: 121 to reach, 504 to carry. Drives that finish short of 121 stay clear; otherwise the left side is the safer line off the tee.
- The fairway is about 39 yards wide at 225.
- Hazards guard both sides of the green; aim for the middle.
- The green falls from back to front, about 2.5%. Finish on the front side of the hole for an uphill putt.
- The green is 40 yards deep: a back pin can play about 3 clubs more than a front pin.
Hole 2 · Par 3
- Plays like
- 217-4 ft
- Green · Black tee
- 201 · 218 · 232front · middle · back
- Green size
- 31 × 23yards deep × wide
- Green slope
- 3.5%falls to the front-right
In play
- Water left: 49 to reach, 108 to carry
- Water across the hole: 106 to reach, 110 to carry
- Water left: 144 to reach, 169 to carry
- Water front-right of the green
- Bunker across the hole in front of the green: 196 to carry
- Bunker front-left of the green
- 2 bunkers left of the green
- Bunker right of the green
Playing notes
- Water crosses the hole: 106 to reach, 110 to carry.
- Hazards guard both sides of the green; aim for the middle.
- Bunkers short of the green; take enough club to carry it.
- The green falls from back-left to front-right, about 3.5%. Finish on the front-right side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Hole 3 · Par 5
- Plays like
- 587+57 ft
- Green · Black tee
- 558 · 568 · 580front · middle · back
- Green size
- 29 × 35yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 16 ydswide at 276
- Green slope
- 3%falls to the front-right
In play
- Water across the hole: 85 to reach, 230 to carry
- Water left: 242 to reach, 380 to carry
- Bunker right: 338 to reach, 359 to carry
- Bunker left: 472 to reach, 490 to carry
- Bunker across the hole: 522 to reach, 530 to carry
- Water across the hole in front of the green: 518 to carry
- Bunker front-left of the green
- Bunker across the hole in front of the green: 560 to carry
- Bunker back-left of the green
- Water back-right of the green
Playing notes
- Plays about 19 yards longer: the green sits 57 ft above the tee.
- Water crosses the hole: 85 to reach, 230 to carry.
- Water crosses the hole: 477 to reach, 518 to carry.
- Fairway water on the left: 242 to reach, 380 to carry. Drives that finish short of 242 stay clear; otherwise the right side is the safer line off the tee.
- The fairway is about 16 yards wide at 276 and narrows to 10 at 246.
- Hazards guard both sides of the green; aim for the middle.
- Bunkers and water short of the green; take enough club to carry it.
- The green falls from back-left to front-right, about 3%. Finish on the front-right side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Holes 4 to 18
4 · Par 45 · Par 36 · Par 47 · Par 48 · Par 49 · Par 510 · Par 511 · Par 312 · Par 413 · Par 414 · Par 515 · Par 416 · Par 417 · Par 318 · Par 4
The rest of this guide has the same caddie detail for every hole:
- 15 plays-like yardages
- 79 hazards with reach and carry
- 14 green slope reads
- 2 par-5 lay-up zones
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Hole maps, hazards and playing notes come from mapped course data and USGS 3DEP elevation (public domain), not a visit. Plays-like numbers use the Skitty caddie's rule of one yard per 3 ft of rise, from the longest tee; altitude uses 1.16% of carry per 1,000 ft. Tees, hazards and conditions change; check with the course before you play. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0) via OpenGolfAPI. Scorecard yardages and ratings as published. See a mistake? Email [email protected].