Pioneer Pass Golf Challenge

Yucca Valley’s salute to golf madness will have its 17th annual renewal on Sept. 27-28 –the Pioneer Pass Gold Challenge.

On the 27th, a total of 60 golfers will play a course of specially constructed golf “holes” along the highway that leads from Big Bear to Yucca Valley.

On the 28th, the field will play 18 holes of conventional golf at Blue Skies Country Club, but the highlight is the 27-mile trip down Pioneer Pass.

Ten holes are designed along the highway. Players originally walked the course when the tournament began, but are now ferried from hole to hole by an army of volunteers, swelling the total participated to around 300.

The common hazards on the 10-hole course includes: ravines, sagebrush, rocks, snakes and lost balls. Each golfer has a spotter to keep track of the ball. Some holes are a few hundred yards along, others more than a mile.

The motto of the tourney is: “It is better to fail magnificently than to succeed only somewhat.”