I Can't Even Tell You What Par is on This Hole

by Ryan Ballengee on Jun 3, 2009 3:48 PM EDT

Jay Busbee has found another example of golf gone horribly wrong. Or maybe horribly right. It's a one hole golf challenge called the Elfego Baca Shootout. The issue? The hole is 3 miles long. The tee box is on the peak of a mountain 2,550 feet in the air - accessible via dune buggy. To a "hole" (read: circle) that is fifty feet wide.

Sure, your tee shot will go 1000 yards. But the swirling winds, heat, lack of a fairway, rattlesnakes on the mountain, rocks, and cacti make playing the "hole" really crazy. I mean, even finding the ball is so tough that a person gets three spotters to help them find the ball - which may wind up in an abandoned mine shaft.

A player gets 10 balls to finish the hole with one of them. Gulp.

How about strategy? Take it from 18 time champion Mike Stanley:

“You’ve got to hit the ball where they can find it,” he said. “You try to hit it right to the top of a cliff if you can, so you’re strategically positioned for the next shot,” he explained. “A lot of times, it’s not how far you hit it but where.”

Here is a small pic from the website.

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Reminds me of a joke where

two golf fanatics, Joe and Jim, are on a golf trip and having a drink in a bar. A beautiful girl is sipping a martini and…

Oh, that’s right, this a mixed golf blogosphere. Heather and Ryan, I’ll email you the joke.

But, the punch line is the same as the title of this post.

by One-Eyed Golfer Guy on Jun 3, 2009 5:15 PM EDT reply actions

RB - when are you going to New Mexico ?

Wow – RB – you left out the rest of the statistics !!! Each player gets 10 balls – lost ball counts as a shot. Right now, the course record is a NINE !!!!!!!! That’s amazing.

“The scores have range from the seventies (the score card goes to 75) to a record 9, set by past champion, Mike Stanley. Officially, each competator is allowed ten balls and they must be able to finish with at least one of them. A lost ball ( a ball not found within twenty minutes) counts as one stroke.”

And get this – “Each competitor is equipped with a team of spotters,an offical score keeper, and a medical team for any emergencies.” A MEDICAL TEAM !!!

OEG – don’t forget the old Willie Nelson story. He said, “the best thing about owning your own golf course is that you get to decide what par is. Yesterday, this hole was a par 23 and I almost birded the sucker.”

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Jun 4, 2009 9:24 AM EDT reply actions