Ashmoria
04-06-2005, 16:33
Think golf is for old men wearing socks with their sandals? not in socorro new mexico its not! at least it isnt on the 11th of june.
Rattlesnakes, scorpions, blood-seeking cacti, biting black gnats, rock slides, and no relief from a harsh desert sun isn't the typical description for a golf shoot, but the annual Elfego Baca Shoot is far from typical.
As it has been since the mid-1970s, competitors are loaded into four-wheel drive vehicles to ascend Socorro Peak, 7,243 feet above sea level. Here they will battle in a one-hole shoot. The hole, a fifty foot patch of dirt, is located on the New Mexico Tech campus, about 4 hours long, 2550 feet down, and almost three miles away.
The shoot is based on a rugged course, Socorro's M Mountain, and has aptly been named as "one of the world's most unusual golf events" in the Book of Lists.
.....
Most competitors arrive for the event equipped with a few old drivers, heavy socks, boots, pants, long sleeved shirts, caps, canteens, walkie-talkies, and binoculars. They also bring along an element which really determines their success - three spotters. After all, it is hard to keep track of a ball that can possibly fly 1000 yards down the mountain off the first tee. The competitor's entourage also includes an official scorekeeper and a member of the Emergency Medical Team.
Since the terrain of the M Mountain is rocky and golfers are allowed to tee the ball for every drive, it is recommended that a participant bring a piece of rug or a broom with a short handle into which he can mount his tee. Also, because of the landscape, the ball can be moved laterally from its position or away from the hole in order to get a better shot. This comes in handy for those unlucky souls whose ball falls into one of the old mine shafts or a sage bush. These are rules that one can only experience at the Elfego Baca.
no wimps need apply.
Rattlesnakes, scorpions, blood-seeking cacti, biting black gnats, rock slides, and no relief from a harsh desert sun isn't the typical description for a golf shoot, but the annual Elfego Baca Shoot is far from typical.
As it has been since the mid-1970s, competitors are loaded into four-wheel drive vehicles to ascend Socorro Peak, 7,243 feet above sea level. Here they will battle in a one-hole shoot. The hole, a fifty foot patch of dirt, is located on the New Mexico Tech campus, about 4 hours long, 2550 feet down, and almost three miles away.
The shoot is based on a rugged course, Socorro's M Mountain, and has aptly been named as "one of the world's most unusual golf events" in the Book of Lists.
.....
Most competitors arrive for the event equipped with a few old drivers, heavy socks, boots, pants, long sleeved shirts, caps, canteens, walkie-talkies, and binoculars. They also bring along an element which really determines their success - three spotters. After all, it is hard to keep track of a ball that can possibly fly 1000 yards down the mountain off the first tee. The competitor's entourage also includes an official scorekeeper and a member of the Emergency Medical Team.
Since the terrain of the M Mountain is rocky and golfers are allowed to tee the ball for every drive, it is recommended that a participant bring a piece of rug or a broom with a short handle into which he can mount his tee. Also, because of the landscape, the ball can be moved laterally from its position or away from the hole in order to get a better shot. This comes in handy for those unlucky souls whose ball falls into one of the old mine shafts or a sage bush. These are rules that one can only experience at the Elfego Baca.
no wimps need apply.