Brent Baca Memorial Disc Golf Course

Brent Baca Memorial is the long, exposed counterpart to Albuquerque's other courses. It sits inside Montessa Park, a 577-acre City of Albuquerque Open Space property off Los Picaros Road in the South Valley that also holds the city's Open Space administration offices, an off-leash dog park and the only sanctioned off-road vehicle area in the Open Space system. The city describes the disc golf course as a collaborative project between its Open Space Division and the New Mexico Disc Golf Club, with long and short tees on every hole and maps and scorecards available on site. It's free to play, and the property closes at dark.

The layout is 18 holes at par 59 from both the pro and am pads. There are almost no trees to work with, so the design leans on what the site gives it — a natural arroyo, sections of fencing, and a set of constructed obstacles — to create OB lines and force shot shapes across open ground. Most holes ask for distance, and the flat, treeless setting means afternoon wind is a constant rather than an occasional factor. Bring water; there's no shade and no tap. Rattlesnakes and other desert wildlife are part of the environment here, particularly along the arroyo. Late fall and early spring are the most comfortable windows.