The scores at the Shoot are also distinctive for a one-hole game - they have ranged from the seventies (the score cards goes to 75) to a record 9, set by reigning champ, Mike Stanley. Officially each competitor is allowed ten balls and he must be able to finish with at least one of them. A lost ball (it's considered lost if not found within twenty minutes) counts as one stroke.

The rules of the game are fairly simple - it is the mountain that matters to every player. So why do they crawl, climb, dig, and swing under the hot New Mexico sun? There are only two other such events in the world, one in Alaska and one in South Africa, and the Elfego Baca is the oldest.