NIGHT GOLF BEST PRACTICES: There are several things to consider when playing golf at night or creating an event.
- TIMING: You have less time than during the day. Most night golf events start at 7pm and should not go any further than 11:30. We’ve found that getting everyone back to the clubhouse or around the night putting green by 10:30 is optimum. This is why adding a cosmic putting event as a tie breaker can be very effective.
- TIGHTEN UP EVENT: Folks at night don’t want to play a full 9 holes. It’s just too much in the dark. We’ve found that older players quit around 6 holes, especially if you start after 8pm. They need their beauty sleep. As a result we recommend keeping your night golf events to a compact 6-7 holes.
- ADD NIGHT PUTTING: To create a more dynamic event and more involvement you can add cosmic night putting to your event mix with 6 – 9 holes. This is easy to set up and it’s a great way to bring in the family and kid contingent. Also, now players can compete over 6 holes in about 2 hours, then do a fast 9 hole putt off after they’ve checked in with their friends and had a nice cool ‘beverage’.
- URBANGOLF IDEAS: Consider a modified urbangolf/putting event using the Glowgear limited distance night balls or our regulation Glow Tour V2. On-course urbangolf events revolve around bringing only two or three clubs and playing each hole from 100 yards and in. We recommend taking target lights and placing them on the fairway with a ring of cosmic putting track. So now every hole is a 100 yard and in scoring shot and then players just need to chip into the circle to hole out. At night, this distance is plenty far and it allows the hot shots to really dial in their game while allowing the beginners to stay away from the drivers and long irons they have difficulty hitting even in the day time. It also saves on lost balls because most players lose their night golf balls when hitting driver and long irons. Now golfers are able to walk the course safely and hit shot after shot without lose balls and searching around.
- HIT AND CHIP GOLF COURSE DESIGN: The other advantage of playing this form or hit and chip target golf is that it can allow you to play more than 6-9 holes in an evening. Best of all it opens up your course to a whole new level of shot making creativity where you can avoid water hazards that tent to eat night golf balls, while giving your regular players a whole new series of holes and hazards to play against than your day course. Now you can have players hitting shots they never imagined at you create shots they would never play during the day.
- CREATE MEMORABLE EVENTS: By using GlowGear night golf lighting and cosmic black lights, your players can now see each other on the greens and tee box, so they can now photograph each other with their cell phones. Combine these photos with your event camera shots and you now have the needed photos to post on your facebook page and promote your next event. Traditional glow stick night golf events are pretty much like brailing around in the dark and as a result it’s very difficult to catch victory putts and all the antics that can happen with you get a crowd around the cosmic putting green.