Howard Cohen enjoys talking about his experience of driving off a cliff. And despite the perils, he plans to do it again next year.
For a man who considers chess and darts to be his favorite games, Cohen did a 180-degree turn when he became one of ten men to compete in New Mexico’s Elfego Baca Golf Shoot, one of the most unique, demanding and dangerous competitions in the golfing world.
Teeing off on a small wooden platform atop M Mountain’s 7,200-foot Socorro Peak and not being able to see the hole – it’s really a circle 50 feet in diameter three miles away and 2,600 feet lower in elevation – was the least of the Cohen’s worries. Even the near 100 degree temperature didn’t raise much concern for the 47-year-old thrill seeker fromRedondo Beach.
Cohen was more apprehensive about the next few hours when he — along with his team of four spotters, one score keeper and one EMT — would trek down the steep mountainside battling the rocky terrain and doing their best to avoid painful punctures from yucca and cacti, all the while keeping a sharp eye out for rattlesnakes, scorpions, mountain lions, and well-hidden mine shafts. Just as difficult was finding the ball after each shot.
“There were a few times when I asked myself ‘What am I doing here?’” Cohen said. “Teeing off is pretty scary because you’re literally hanging out over this mountain.”
After 4-wheel drive vehicles transport the participants up the mountain, the golfers hiked another 15 minutes to the peak where they all teed off from the same spot using makeshift tees (golfers are allowed to use them on each drive).
Players begin with 10 numbered balls and must finish with at least one. If a lost ball is not found in 20 minutes, it is counted as one stroke.
With a piece of carpet, a sponge and wooden peg, Cohen drove his first shot about 600 yards down the hillside which he estimates to be at about a 43-degree angle.
Cohen acknowledged veteran participant and former winner Dennis Walsh for providing valuable tips for the newcomer.
“He gave me advice on what routes to take and said that having good spotters is the key,” Cohen explained. “The spotters hike down the hill about a half hour before you tee off and position themselves in strategic positions to best track the flight of the ball.”
Making the best use of binoculars and walkie-talkies, Cohen’s team of spotters proved vital for his fifth-place finish.
“It’s not uncommon to find a ball from a competitor and you tell them where it is,” Cohen said. “It’s friendly competition.”
Cohen has golfed since he was 15 years old and, not wanting to ruin his good clubs, bought a driver and 5-ironfor $2 apiece at a thrift store. He used the driver on every shot except the final swing.
The two clubs were carried in a duffle bag that Cohen admits to being packed with more items than he needed.
“It weighed about 20 pounds but most of it was Gatorade, much of it that I eventually gave away,” Cohen said. “But the weight actually turned into an asset because going down the hill allowed me to lean back. I also used the bag instead of my body to brush up against the cactus.”
Nearly six hours after his first tee shot, Cohen reached into his bag and pulled out his 5-ironfor the first time that day. His next shot landed in the circle from 140 yards out, capping off a competition Cohen compared to an event he is well experience in — running a marathon.
“I felt good at the end,” Cohen said. “I was totally in my element. I had gone to Palm Spring beforehand and trained in the heat for a week. Plus, I went up on a mountain and practiced shooting off of that. I parked in the Vons parking lot in Indian Wells, hiked up the mountain and started whacking balls all over the place.”
Cohen completed the event with 25 total strokes, 19 shots plus six lost balls. Seventy five is the maximum number of strokes allowed. The record, set by Mike Stanley, is an amazing nine strokes.
Cohen was the second oldest to begin this year’s competition and oldest of the eight finishers. His fifth-place finish earned his $200 in prize money and inspired him to return next year.
“Dennis (Walsh) told me he was impressed with my fifth-place finish considering it was my first time at the event,” Cohen said. “That made me feel great.”
Although two of his team members were forced to drop out before the finish due to the conditions, Cohen was thankful for his team’s effort and equally impressed with Los Angeles Times reporter Michael Haederle who hiked the entire distance with the group.
The Elfego Baca Golf Shoot has been an annual event since its inception in 1960 when First State Bank and the Socorro Chamber of Commerce created the novelty event as part of the Conrad Hilton Open golf tournament. It is one of only three events of its kind in the world – the others being held in South Africa and Alaska.
The tournament is named for Elfego Baca, a gunman, lawman, lawyer and politician in the wild west who, while holding up in an adobe hut, became a legend after living through a barrage of over 1,000 bullets from an outlaw gang he was pursuing.
For safety and security reasons, the Elfego Baca Golf Shoot is limited to 10 participants as organizers would have difficulty managing more than 60 people on the mountain at the same time.
The 50-foot “hole” is located on the campus of New Mexico Tech University and its Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center (EMRTC).
“We had to have security clearance to drive to the mountain,” Cohen said. “The course is in the middle of a firing range. The area we were in is the first line of defense between terrorism andAmerica.”
An avid athlete who has competed in 10 marathons, Cohen said he gets his inspiration from the late writer George Plimpton and is always looking for a new adventure, be it skateboarding, biking, kayaking or surf skiing.
“I’m at a stage in my life right now where I can kind of do what I want to do,” Cohen said. “I feel lucky enough to physically be able to do these things and would like to do as much as possible before I get too old.”
He plans to enter repeat events at Elfego Baca and the Boston Marathon while maintaining his goals of new competition.
“I’d like to participate in some type of U.S. Open in either golf or tennis,” Cohen said. “I’d also like to compete in beach volleyball, surfing, snow boarding or skiing.”
Prior to entering the real estate profession, Cohen was a photographer and has a strong background in the film and radio industry, video taping many of his adventures he plans on using for a program titled Extreme Travel Destinations.
Cohen is producer and co-host of Travel Bums, a segment featured on Open House Radio airing in San Francisco (www.KDOW.biz), and the American Rock Exchange radio show, where he co-hosts with Jane’s Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins to provide exposure for unsigned bands. The show airs Sunday at midnight on 95.5 KLOS.
To view video from Cohen’s adventure at the Elfego Baca Shoot, visit www.travelbumsradio.com.
