Love keeps coming for El Paso's Butterfield Trail Golf Club

When you think of great golf, you probably don’t think of El Paso, Texas. I certainly didn’t think of El Paso that way growing up there, despite the dominating presence of Lee Trevino at the time. Back in the 1970s and ’80s, there wasn’t much to choose from in terms of public golf.

But that’s changed in a big way in 2007 with the addition of Butterfield Trail Golf Club, which continues to pile up the honors. Together with 27-hole Painted Dunes Golf Club and some nice choices up the road in Las Cruces, N.M., El Paso makes for a pretty decent golf destination. The Tom Fazio-designed Butterfield Trail, however, is the real draw.

Last year, Butterfield Trail was named the third best municipal golf course in the country by Golfweek Magazine, and this week, Links Magazine also ranked it third on its list of the top 25 municipal golf courses in the country. This is no fluke. The golf course, which is owned by the El Paso International Airport and managed by KemperSports, is that good. You can read my review here.

The par-72, 7,307-yard golf course features more than 55 feet of elevation changes, which looks like it was there all along, but was actually the result of moving tons of earth. The fairways are wide, and Fazio’s signature bunkers are everywhere.

Butterfield Trail isn’t typical desert golf. In fact, Fazio calls it “desert links,” which is a pretty good description. There are no homes on it, and I’m told that there never will be. Instead, future plans call for a hotel, shops and restaurants.

And since it’s owned by the airport, it’s also right next to the airport, meaning you can fly in, get a five-minute ride to the course, and get back out on the same day if you wanted to. This time of year, while the temperatures are in the 70s and 80s, is the perfect time to go. Matching the spectacular design are world-class guest services that make every golfer feel like a country club member for a day.

“We remain honored to be listed among the best municipal courses in the United States,” said Val D’Souza, general manager of Butterfield Trail Golf Club. “Butterfield Trail is a testament to the vision and teamwork that the El Paso International Airport has dedicated to the future of El Paso.”