Saturday, June 2, 2007

Golf's toughest hole - The Elfego Baca Shoot

El Defensor Chieftain Reports

The Elfego Baca Shoot is a one-hole golf tournament on what is probably the longest single hole around — about 850 yards as the crow flies, but about 3 miles to traverse on foot. It's also probably the most challenging hole in golf, even if the hole is 50 feet in diameter, since most of the distance is vertical.

What is now a nationally famous 38-year tradition all started as a gimmick. Nearly every year, the Shoot gets national attention on one of the cable sports or news networks. This year, the event carries with it a $500 prize for the winner.

The Elfego Baca Shoot was the idea of Holm Bursum Jr., president of First State Bank and founder of the Conrad Hilton Open. The Socorro Invitational and now the Socorro Springs Open have replaced the Hilton, but the Shoot is still around.

The event begins at the top of 7,243-foot "M" Mountain and ends at a 50-foot target on the grounds of the Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center, 2,550 below. Golfers will be transported from the Tech Golf Course to the peak in 4-wheel-drive vehicles. The group leaves Saturday, June 9, at 6:30 a.m., after being cautioned about snakes and steep slopes.

The golfers tee off at the top, and then chase their shots down the mountain to the target. They are each given 10 balls to use, and every time they lose a ball, it is a one-stroke penalty. If they lose all 10, they're out.

Each golfer can have up to three spotters who track the flight of the ball and help find it after each shot.

The golfer with the lowest score — shots plus lost balls — wins the event.

The course is mainly sand and rocks, with the whole assortment of desert brush and animals that come with the territory.

It takes about four hours for the golfers to play the hole. The Shoot is limited to 10 players to protect the mountain's ecology.

Socorro's own Caleb Gonzales has won the last two years, winning in 2005 with a score of 13 and 2006 with a score of 20.

The Shoot was named after the famous Socorro sheriff of the 1880s, Elfego Baca. Baca is known for a standoff in Catron County that he endured against several banditos who had him pinned down in an adobe hut.

According to legend, Baca survived an entire day's worth of gunfire, then walked out of the hut and arrested the banditos after they ran out of ammunition.

The name was chosen because the Shoot, like the legend of Elfego Baca, is the epitome of the adventurous spirit that is the Southwest.

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