Night Golf Questions

[Bo the Golfer]

I am playing in my first night golf scramble this Friday and had a few questions. Does anyone know the typical distance loss for those glow balls? How is it putting in the dark? Any other issues to be aware of? Thanks in advance for any advice!

[GaijinGolfer]

I dont find any distance loss with a glow ball.  You will notice a decrease in spin though because its pretty much a solid rubber ball with no cover.

Putting can be tricky because its a lot more difficult to read the break of the green.  Make sure you bring a powerful flashlight.

[Bo the Golfer]

Thanks for the tips!

[mad max]

First off I must say I love night golf.  I have done it twice.  If you want to do your best definitely bring a flashlight but if it is just for fun I would recommend not using a light.  I have done it both ways and while it is easier to read greens and hit the ball constantly with a flashlight it is awesome to let your vision get accustomed to the darkness and you see these glowing lighted balls flying around all over the course from other groups, (you can see a lighted ball from much farther away than regular ball) I feel like I am playing on the moon or something.  If you do decide to use a flashlight I would recommend not shining the light directly on the ball but just giving a little ambient light on the ball when hitting.

I would also recommend not using a club with a black or dark finish especially if you are playing without a light.  I tried a few shots with a Cleveland 60* with a gun metal finish and I could barley make contact with the ball because I could not see the club head.

What kind of balls will you be using?  I have seen two types, one has a glow stick for light and one has a battery powered light that goes on for about 10 min. after it is struck.  The course I have played night golf on before said some people had broken their drivers when using the glow stick variety, so if damage to your driver would ruin the evening for you I would recommend bringing an older driver or using a hybrid or iron off the tee.  Also when if you are using the glow stick type before you hit the ball you want to make sure hole where the glow stick goes in is orientated sideways to your intended target otherwise the spin of the ball could cause the light to fly out.

If you are playing a course you are unfamiliar with it helps tons to play a practice round, if you are real serious use a ball that doesn't spin much.  If you get to the course early you could ask if you could practice chipping and putting with the ball you will be using to get a feel of how the ball performs.  A gps also helps a lot to find yardages.  I found both ball types shorter than my usual bal on full shotsl by about 1 club or about 10 to 12 yard

One last tip is don't have too much to drink when you play, it is easy to twist an ankle when walking around a golf course in the middle of the night and have fun.

[GaijinGolfer]

When I played night golf, they gave us balls that you put a little glowstick inside of and one of the other players gave me a tip that before you hit the ball you need to turn the ball so that the glowstick is parallel to the clubface at impact or else the glowstick will burst.

It was a lot of fun though and Id definetly do it again.  Theres a par 3 course here in town that has greens and tee boxes that are lighted.  I play there at night a couple times a year and its a lot of fun.  Im not sure that Id want to play a par 4 or par 5 at night because you might spend a lot of time trying to find your ball but its a lot of fun nonetheless.

[GJBenn85]

I played night golf a couple of years ago during a charity event.  Neat experience, just don't take it too seriously.  I agree the distance with a glow ball is about the same but you have less spin, and the feel is different.  As suggested, take a powerful flashlight otherwise you will risk hurting yourself by mishitting.  Putting is interesting because it is very hard to read the breaks but this is where the part about not taking it seriously comes into play.  Just consider it a unique, fun experience.

[mad max]

Originally Posted by TitleistWI

When I played night golf, they gave us balls that you put a little glowstick inside of and one of the other players gave me a tip that before you hit the ball you need to turn the ball so that the glowstick is parallel to the clubface at impact or else the glowstick will burst.

It was a lot of fun though and Id definitely do it again.  Theres a par 3 course here in town that has greens and tee boxes that are lighted.  I play there at night a couple times a year and its a lot of fun.  Im not sure that Id want to play a par 4 or par 5 at night because you might spend a lot of time trying to find your ball but its a lot of fun nonetheless.

I would have thought it would be hard to find the ball as well but both times I have played night golf with three other golfers in a nine hole scramble format I think my foursome has only lost a total of 3 balls and two of those were visible but under water and the third was hit so deep in a hazard that it would have been impossible to find in the middle of the day.  I found that you could see the ball much easier than during a normal round.  We also played from the forward tee's because the course discouraged the use of drivers due to possible damage to the club.

[WWBDD]

Getting drunk will probably help.

[Bo the Golfer]

Thanks for all the tips. I believe we are getting the balls with the glow stick. I really appreciat the possible driver damage tip so the R11 will stay in the bag! Drinks will be flying I am sure but I've never been much of a drinker. Early forcast looks like rain up here in MA through Saturday so I am not sure we'll get this in.