Bronco Golf’s Next Round is on ESPN2

 

Bronco Off Course: Desert Scramble is getting a second life on national TV — it airs on ESPN2 Sunday, Aug. 9, from 11 a.m. to noon ET, as part of ESPN 8: The Ocho's 10th anniversary celebration, alongside 22 other new competitions. The event was produced in partnership with Pro League Network.

Below is a story about 2026 Bronco Off Course originally published June 5, 2026.

Golfers hate sand. Shots from a bunker are harder to hit and don’t fly as far as those taken from turf. Plus, as the grains shift under your feet, it’s easy to lose balance. So players learn early to aim away from traps.

But what if the entire course was a sea of sand?

Welcome to the Bronco Invitational. The brainchild of Vaughn Gittin, Jr. and his RTR Vehicles madmen, this golf tournament is set in the wild badlands of the Johnson Valley Desert.

There are no grassy fairways, no rough, no water hazards. Just sand, rocks, and prickly bushes.

Why throw a golf tournament in the desert, you ask?

Jarod DeAnda, the voice of Formula Drift and one of Gittin’s close friends, has been slowly turning the racer on to golf and its increasingly youthful vibe.

"I just was like, dude, what if we created something like off-roading meets golf,” Gittin said. “Who wouldn't love to come out and drive badass off-road vehicles and then play golf?”

Gittin and his merry band of thrill seekers trekked out to Johnson Valley to create a course in the desert paired with a few off-roading challenges.

The result was a banger, and Gittin instantly knew they needed a sequel.

“We learned some things, and we wanted to redo it,” he said. “So this year we did the 2nd annual Bronco Golf Invitational and Scramble.”

But for the 2026 installment, they went bigger, inviting around 20 participants from the worlds of professional golf, social media, and motorsport.

They also created a new challenge. Before each of the three holes on the Invitational’s final day, there would be an off-road racing challenge.

The winner of each would have one shot subtracted from their team’s score on that hole. Second place would stay level while the third-place finisher would have one stroke added.

Each team was composed of a pro golfer, a racer, and an influencer playing in a best ball format. The competition was filmed live to tape and Bronco Off Course: Desert Scramble premiered June 6 on Amazon Prime.

“I think it's the ultimate crossover,” Gittin said. "The golfers loved off-roading and the off-roaders fell in love with golf.”

By definition, the standard golf cart is an off-road vehicle. But it’s woefully underpowered and suitable for driving primarily on carpet-smooth grass.

For this adventure to work, Gittin and co. needed to source more formidable transportation.

“We took the golf cart and replaced it with one of the most badass off-road vehicles that comes off a production line," Gittin said. “And that's a Ford Bronco.”

On the first day, participants tested the mettle of standard Ford Bronco® SUVs over a series of technical driving challenges before each of the three holes a la a rock crawl, a battalion of whoops, and a high speed run.

On day two, the competitors upgraded to Bronco Raptors®, raising the stakes.

“They're incredible, incredible trucks,” Gittin said. “I just can't believe you can buy them off the showroom floor.”

To give the event a professional golf look and feel, a gallery of fans followed the action from hole to hole in a fleet of … you guessed it … Broncos.

“Playing golf in the Bronco Invitational made me feel like a kid again,” said golf influencer Karol Priscilla. “It brought out the child-like playfulness and competition out of me, which I hadn't felt in such a long time.”

Playing out of sand changes the challenge, to say the least. As the grains shift under a golfer’s feet, they lose traction and can’t generate the same leverage and speed throughout the swing compared to playing on grass.

When asked what she did to prepare for the desert romp, Priscilla said, “Absolutely nothing! But maybe I should have hit some more bunker shots than I already do during a round.”

There’s an obvious whimsical absurdity to playing golf almost entirely from the sand, but combine that with jaunts of off-road racing, and the result becomes utterly thrilling.

“Harold Varner and I couldn't stop cracking up like kids in the car, but we’d both lock in when it was time to tee off,” Priscilla said. “There is nothing truly like it, and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.”

After Gittin’s test run of the Bronco Invitational, Ford thought it proved to be a cool concept to better showcase the off-roader, according to Dave Rivers, the automaker’s head of enthusiast brand management.

“We got a chance to demonstrate what a Bronco is all about in its natural environment of high-speed desert running and rock crawling,” he said. “While at the same time, teaching a new owner, or prospective owner, how to enjoy the Bronco lifestyle.”

Live the Bronco Lifestyle yourself at www.WaxahachieFord.com today! 

What First-Time Car Buyers Get Wrong About Financing — and How to Get It Right

 After 20-plus years of working in auto finance, I've learned that the biggest barrier that first-time buyers face typically isn’t lack of credit. It’s lack of confidence.

I’ve heard the same concerns over and over: “My credit is too limited.” “I can't buy a car without a co-signer." "I don’t have several thousand dollars for a down payment."

The good news: Those fears are often based on misconceptions. But the anxiety they generate is real, and that can deter otherwise eligible consumers from making that first-time purchase.

Myths and Misunderstandings

Let’s start with the myth that a first-time buyer with limited credit always needs a co-signer. That’s simply not true. As just one example, we worked with a 28-year-old who had a limited credit history — but he also had a great job and some savings.

He was convinced that he’d have to enlist a co-signer. We got him pre-qualified instead. He not only qualified on his own, but he was also auto-approved, thanks to a clean (if thin) credit record, his stable income, and his ability to make a down payment.

Down payments are the source of another myth — the idea that you must have several thousand dollars up front just to be taken seriously. Again, that’s not always the case.

And too many would-be buyers mistakenly believe that similar to when they’re purchasing a home, they won’t qualify for auto financing unless they can put 10 to 20% down. The truth is that most first-time buyers don’t have thousands of dollars to put down and that fact alone has nothing to do with their ability to responsibly finance a vehicle.

Instead, lenders focus on what we call the three C's: credit, capacity, and collateral. You don’t always have to have a lot of available credit or a perfect credit score, but you do need to demonstrate that you’re financially responsible and have paid your bills. You need the capacity to comfortably afford vehicle maintenance and insurance, not just the out-the-door price.

And while you don’t necessarily need a huge down payment, you have to remember the vehicle itself is the collateral. Whether you’re buying new or pre-owned — particularly if you’re a first-time buyer — lenders look to see whether the amount financed is in line with the collateral value (commonly known as the “loan-to-value” ratio). That’s really the whole picture.

A Long-Term Approach

If there's one habit I'd encourage every first-time buyer to break, it's this: Stop fixating on the monthly payment. Instead, start thinking about total cost of ownership (TCO).

Maintenance and repair costs can add up over time, especially for a used vehicle that’s, say, 10 or 12 years old. That means a slightly higher payment on a new or certified pre-owned vehicle can often cost less in the long run, since it’s likely to need fewer repairs.

Along the same lines, don’t assume that a new vehicle dealership is more expensive than your local used-car lot.

Certified pre-owned programs offer inspected, late-model vehicles backed with manufacturer warranties. New-vehicle dealers typically have access to attractive low-APR financing and manufacturer incentives that the “buy-here, pay-here” lots can't match, particularly for buyers with limited credit.

In fact, dealers can actually be your greatest advocates, helping you navigate the process and understand the options. Keep in mind that a good dealership isn't just trying to sell you one car. They’re a local business that wants to build a relationship with you, and often with your family and friends, for many years to come.

That relationship extends to financing. Local dealership finance offices work directly with lenders and finance companies like Ford Credit and understand how to structure a deal that fits your situation, rather than leaving you to figure it out on your own.

It’s important to work with a lender who’s going to be there for you when you need them, and we actively equip our dealer partners with the tools and programs needed to help first-time buyers succeed.

The Takeaway

Bottom line: If you're looking to buy your first car, please don't assume you won’t qualify for auto financing.

Do a little research, consider the total cost of ownership rather than just the monthly payment, and get pre-qualified so you know what you can afford before you start taking test drives.

You may be pleasantly surprised to learn what’s available to you — and how many people are genuinely ready to help you along the way.