Artesia Country Club

Artesia Country Club is an 18-hole layout in the Pecos Valley of southeastern New Mexico, rooted in the oil-boom era of the 1940s when Ralph Plummer designed the original nine holes on the flat, Bermuda grass terrain of Eddy County. The front nine retains Plummer's open, flowing character, while the back nine — added by George Williams in 2001 — introduces elevated tee boxes, doglegs, and water features that demand more precise shot-making. Together they form a course that has served as the social and athletic center of Artesia's private club community for more than seventy-five years.

Artesia Country Club was founded in 1946, a period of significant economic energy in southeastern New Mexico driven by petroleum extraction in the Permian Basin. Artesia, situated in the Pecos Valley of Eddy County, was a thriving oil and agricultural town, and its civic leaders established the country club as a gathering place for the community's families and business interests. The original nine-hole golf course was designed by Ralph M. Plummer, the Fort Worth-born architect who shaped golf across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and New Mexico over a career that spanned roughly five decades. Plummer was well-suited to work in Artesia: he understood the flat, semi-arid terrain of the southern plains and knew how to create engaging golf on land that lacked dramatic natural elevation changes. His approach at Artesia was to design open, flowing holes on Bermuda grass, incorporating strategic bunkering and routing that created variety and interest despite the relatively level topography.

The front nine at Artesia reflects Plummer's original vision — spacious fairways, well-positioned hazards, and greens that reward accurate approaches. Ralph Plummer's résumé by the time of the Artesia commission was already substantial. He had worked on Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Lakeside Country Club in Houston, and scores of other courses across the region. He designed, built, or remodeled approximately 100 courses in his career, and three of his designs hosted USGA events. His work in New Mexico, including Artesia, reflected a consistent ability to translate his flat-terrain expertise across state lines. For more than five decades, Artesia Country Club operated as a nine-hole facility, a compact layout that served the club's membership through the postwar decades, the oil booms and downturns of the 1970s and 1980s, and the broader changes in the Pecos Valley's economy.

The nine holes provided a complete if modest golfing experience, and members developed deep familiarity with every fairway and green. In 2001, the club undertook the significant project of expanding to 18 holes. The new nine was designed by George Williams, who faced the challenge of integrating a modern nine with Plummer's original design while creating a complementary but distinct experience. Williams introduced elevated tee boxes, dogleg holes, and water features on the back nine — elements that stand in deliberate contrast to the more open character of the front. The result is a course with two distinct personalities that together offer a full and varied round of 6,124 yards at a par of 72. The Gold tees play to a course rating of 70.8 and a slope of 132, metrics that reflect genuine difficulty despite the course's relatively modest yardage at altitude.

The Black tees (68.5 / 124) and Orange tees (67.3 / 115) offer graduated challenges, with the White tees (63.9 / 105) providing an accessible option for higher-handicap players and beginners. Artesia Country Club remains a private facility, with the golf course open to the public on select days. The club's amenities extend beyond golf to include social events and dining that serve as connective tissue for Artesia's civic community. On the course, the combination of Plummer's original front nine and Williams's 2001 back nine creates a complete layout that honors the club's history while offering modern golfers a current and well-maintained test.