The Elfego Baca Golf Shoot

For those that enjoy the game of golf, but really can’t stand the fact that it’s so safe and that the courses are all grassy and simply, there’s an event designed just for you.  The Elfego Baca Golf Shoot is one answer to the accusation that golf is a boring sport.  Taking place in Socorro, New Mexico, this event tests the ability of its competitors to deal with some rather harsh obstacles while negotiating their ball down a mountain.

This tradition started in the 70s as a way for the town of Socorro to drum up a little bit of tourism.  Born as a novelty, the competition has since grown to become a rite of passage for hardcore golfers that want to prove they can handle any course thrown at them.  The prize money isn’t much, but people still turn up every year to get a piece of the bragging rights.

To start the Elfego Baca Shoot, contestants must first get into their 4-wheel drive vehicles and scale to the top of SocorroPeak.  There, more than 7200 feet above sea level, they begin the game.  In order to reach the “hole”, they must make their way down more than 2500 feet and travel across approximately three miles of desert.  Due to the harsh and challenging terrain, they have ten balls to do this with and a twenty minute time limit on finding the last ball they hit.

The course they must claim victory over is a rocky, dirty, hot desert landscape filled with unpleasant wildlife and bizarre obstacles such as open mine shafts.  It is so intense, in fact, that each golfer is required to have their own medical team attached.  The unusual course, naturally, requires a few unusual rules.  Golfers are allowed to tee up at every shot or move their balls within certain limits in order to avoid the worst of the terrain issues.  The hole itself is not a traditional one, but instead the golfers must hit a 50-foot patch of land.

The current record for this three-mile course is, if you can believe it, an amazing nine shots.  If you’re a golfer and the idea of extreme golfing appeals to you, you can enter the tourney for $125, but the prize money tops out at only $750.  But before you commit, you might want to check out a collection of photos of the Elfego Baca course at this site.

Golf Course landscape courtesy of hiltonopen.com