Cloudcroft's Top-Ranked Disc Golf Course: Ray Haller Built it
Get to know Haller, the local legend behind Cloudcroft's disc golf courses
“I grew up on Walt Disney’s Motion Picture Ranch,” Ray Haller said, recalling when his father managed the sprawling property in Southern California. His dad’s work brought him to southern New Mexico during the filming of the 1971 movie Scandalous John.
Haller followed soon after.
“I came up here and thought, wow,” he said. “It was different than what I was used to, Southern California, the tropics. It was a small town. There was even a horse stable right in the middle of it.”
Fresh out of high school, Haller did his share of exploring the world. He lived in Mexico for five years, Australia for a stretch, and Kingston near Silver City. But Cloudcroft remained what he considers home base, and it’s where he began managing the town’s ice skating rink in the early ‘90s.
He walked into the Chamber of Commerce in the fall of 1992, with no experience running a rink and a self-described dislike of winter, and talked his way into the job anyway.
“They were so glad to see me,” he laughs. “They got me a coffee and a chair.”
Disc Golf Comes to the Village
It was around 1995 or ‘96 that a friend introduced him to disc golf, bringing a bag of discs up from Lubbock, Texas, where the sport already had a foothold. Ray was intrigued.
At the time, disc golf was gaining popularity, although long before formal courses, Haller remembers a looser version of the game.
“We got tired of just throwing [a Frisbee] back and forth,” he said. “So we’d say, ‘Okay, there’s a fire hydrant over there, you’ve got to hit it from here.’ We made a little course. We didn’t call it disc golf yet.”
By the late ’90s, Haller was all in. During his seven years managing Cloudcroft’s ice skating rink, he used his off-seasons to travel.
“I went around and played almost 300 courses around the country… for two springs in a row,” he said. “Then I decided, well, I think I know enough now how to put a course in.”
The result of that exploration was Cloudcroft’s first disc golf course, now called the Byron Ligon Disc Golf Course, a nine-hole layout in Zenith Park with ten metal baskets that Ray and longtime local teacher Mr. Booky fabricated themselves.
“I got sponsors from different businesses in town, $150 each,” he said. “We had ten baskets… and that’s how it was.”
Decades later, Haller would take on a far more ambitious project: designing what is now the Cloudcroft Community Disc Golf Course near the village’s old baseball field. The idea, he said, came casually over a beer with then-mayor Dave Venable.
“I said, ‘You could put in a pretty good course around the baseball field up there in the woods,’” Haller recalled. “Five minutes later, he says, ‘That’s a good idea. Go talk to Jini about it.”
Jini Turri, Cloudcroft’s village clerk, then and now, was, in Ray’s telling, the person who actually made it happen from the administrative standpoint.
“She was really responsible for making it real,” he said.
The Village agreed to cover the materials, including the baskets, signage, tee pads, and some tools. Ray contributed the design and all the labor.
“It took six and a half months to put in,” Haller said. “And when I realized I was going to have to build the thing, I was like, oh God.”
Six-and-a-half months and countless hours of chainsaw work and trail-cutting later, the Cloudcroft Community Disc Golf Course opened its 18 holes to the public in 2019.
“I had no idea what to expect,” Haller said. “We’re kind of far away from major cities.”
Now, Top-Ranked Community Course
Today, it holds a 4.6-out-of-5-star rating on UDisc from more than 500 reviews, consistently ranks as the second-best course in the entire state of New Mexico, and draws players from Holloman Air Force Base, Albuquerque, Texas, Oklahoma, and, on at least one memorable occasion, Budapest, Hungary.
“It’s kind of an odd horseshoe-shaped piece of property,” Haller said. “I jigsaw-pieced it together.”
Unlike flat, park-style courses, Cloudcroft’s layout leans into the mountain environment, with elevation changes, dense trees, and uneven footing. The result is a course that challenges players physically and has earned a reputation far beyond the village.
Haller doesn’t claim perfection in the course’s design. Still, he stands by it, noting the difficulty of working around the property boundaries of the national forest and the village maintenance yard. His advice to others on course design is simple. Choose the right land, and understand the game.
Haller’s happy with what the course has become, and he’s still playing, still learning, even after decades in the sport.
“I need that kind of exercise… going up and down those hills,” he said. “I’m glad people like it.”
Haller’s contributions to Cloudcroft stretch far beyond disc golf, but the course is his most visible legacy. In some ways, the Cloudcroft Community Disk Golf Course reflects the town itself. Scenic, a little rugged, occasionally crowded, but never dull.
“It’s a great area,” Haller said. “We’re an oasis.”
“If I can do it, anybody can.”
Cloudcroft Reader is proud to be sponsored in part by great companies like High Altitude:
The Reader is proud to be sponsored in part by:
Cloudcroft Art Society
Located in Old Red Brick Schoolhouse: Holiday and Saturday art showsNoisy Water Winery
Family-owned winery crafting thoughtfully made wines from New Mexico grapes, inspired by mountain living.Be in the Mountains Yoga & Massage
A cozy space for yoga and massage therapy at the Village PlazaOsha Trail Depot
Your destination for unique, hand-crafted treasuresThe Stove and Spa Store
We offer a variety of services to ensure your hearth and spa dreams are met!The Lodge at Cloudcroft
Landmark Choice Among New Mexico ResortsCloudcroft Art Workshops
Enhance your artistry while enjoying the beauty and coolness of the mountains!Sacramento Camp & Conference Center
Come to the Mountain — Let God Refresh Your SoulLaughing Leaf Dispensary
Discover a world of wellness at Laughing LeafInstant Karma
Adventure Within: Transformative Yoga, Ayurvedic Wisdom, Nourishing Organics, Fair Trade BoutiqueOff the Beaten Path
Eclectic gifts & original artworkFuture Real Estate
Raise your expectations.Ski Cloudcroft
The Southernmost ski area in New Mexico.Cloudcroft Therapeutic Massage
Maximizing Movement, Quality of Life ImprovementHigh Altitude
Your favorite little outdoor outfitter on Burro AvenueBlushing Yucca Esthetics
✨ Book your glow-up today✨The Elk Shed
Purveyors of Southwest + Mountain Provisions, Goods & FineryThe PAC
Pickleball Addicts of Cloudcroft—Pickleball in the CloudsPeñasco Valley Telephone Cooperative
For all the ways you love to connectBre Hope Media
Professional photo and video services
Discover Cloudcroft:
Elevate Your Visit
