The event, typically held one Friday night every July at the Albuquerque, N.M., golf course, is having an encore on September 23 due to its popularity. The club lines the fairways, bunkers and flagsticks with glow sticks for the event, and golfers used colored balls that remain lit for 10 minutes after they’re hit.
One Friday night every July, Sandia Golf Club in Albuquerque, N.M., offers a round of evening glow-in-the-dark golf. The event has gotten so popular, that it is having an encore September 23, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
“This is the best $100 I could spend,” said Robert Price, one of a few dozen golfers who descend on the golf course each summer for nine holes of night golf. “It lasts a hell of a lot longer than it does at the casino.”
Along the back nine, the fairways are lined with green glow sticks and the bunkers are surrounded by white glow sticks. The flagsticks are lit up, red and blue. There are green bracelets in each cup, and those bracelets also line cart paths. The four members of each group are given three lighted golf balls—white, red, blue, green. They will lose their color if they find water, the Journal reported.
Once you strike the ball, it starts to glow. It stays glowing for 10 minutes, giving golfers plenty of time to hunt them down. If you do lose one—which is tough to do with a glowing ball in the dark—just yank out another. Each player gets three balls. If you do lose all three, well, then it’s time to call it a night, the Journal reported.
The field is limited to 48 players and typically fills up quickly. Most certainly, this night is for friends and couples and laughter, the Journal reported.
“It’s a blast,” said Donna L. Lopez, part of an all-female foursome. They are cheating a bit, since the four of them have affixed a light to their golf hats. “It’s great having a night out with your girlfriends.”
The carts don’t have lights, so even with the paths having some florescent glow to them, it can be difficult to navigate. It almost makes one wonder if anyone has accidentally driven a cart into a lake or a bush during one of these night excursions. No lakes, one of the Sandia staffers said with a laugh, but into a bunker, yes, the Journal reported.
Unless you’re standing right next to someone, the night golf can rattle your equilibrium. A red ball on a tee suddenly becomes airborne, though you can see no human swinging a golf club. A putted green ball scoots toward the hole. So, they line up and aim for the lighted cup and hope it disappears, the Journal reported.
“It’s intriguing,” said Cat Roessler, a first-timer. “You have to use totally different senses, which is hard.”
The red and white golf balls that go into the night sky sort of look like a firework that doesn’t explode. None of the groups the Journal spoke to have yet to record a birdie.
“We’re 2-over after four holes,” John Lamberty said with playful frustration. “It’s embarrassing. I’m a 6 handicap and I haven’t hit one shot yet that I’m happy with.”
The scramble format is straightforward, as the foursome selects the best and/or longest drive before hitting their next shots. When one golfer picks up a blue golf ball to walk to the spot of the longest drive, it’s comical: all you see is a blue dot swinging back and forth in the darkness, the Journal reported.
Not surprisingly, the beverage cart at the back of the 10th green is the epicenter of activity. The 11th and 15th tees are nearby, as are the 10th and 14th greens, the Journal reported.
“This is the most fun round of golf we play every year,” said golfer Scott Harenberg. “I mean, you don’t know what you’re doing, you don’t know where you’re hitting it, you’re just having fun.”
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