Will Nighttime Golf Catch On?

Have you ever teed it up under the lights?

I played nighttime golf once with a group of friends many years ago and enjoyed it, but heading out to the fairways after the sun goes down has always struck me as a niche endeavor. Maybe it’s for a bachelor party or some other type of celebration, but I’d never thought much about nighttime golf being a routine playing option.

National statistics appear to back up my perception. Even though there are about 15,000 golf courses in the U.S., only 60 or so offer nighttime golf, according to golfpass.com. Not surprisingly, many of these night golf venues are in warm weather states: there are 14 in California and 10 each in Florida and Texas.

It looks like some more courses can soon be added to the list of facilities offering nighttime golf. BOYNE Golf in northern Michigan is constructing a Ray Hearn-designed 9-hole short course that will offer rounds during evening hours. Lozano Golf Course in Corpus Christi, Texas is planning to have nighttime golf this fall with the help of Firefly Golf, a golf events company specializing in night golf. J.C. Martin Golf Course in Erie, Pa. is offering glow golf on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings throughout the summer.

On a recent edition of our Club + Resort Talks podcast, Club + Resort Business Editor Rob Thomas and I discussed how country clubs and golf clubs could potentially benefit from offering nighttime golf. In addition to providing more hours to play, I think golf courses in colder climates would be able to garner some additional revenue during the spring and summer months (particularly when daylight is most abundant in June) to help offset the inevitable drop in business that happens when winter arrives. I know peoples’ work schedules are more varied and flexible than they once were, but many folks still work during the daytime and have evening hours available for an activity. Golfers who are in this category would likely enjoy having an opportunity to play golf at night, particularly during the week.

There are some downsides to offering nighttime golf. As a story on golfpass.com explained, the drawbacks include the added expenses of installing and running lighting, and staffing the course for later hours. Also, many communities have ordinances regulating how late businesses can have lights on, and the weather conditions in a number of states may not work well for nighttime golf.

It was intriguing to learn that BOYNE Golf, a resort venue, would have evening play at the short course that leaders are planning to open next spring. It makes me wonder whether some other resorts or even some clubs will begin making nighttime golf a standard offering. Perhaps it could help boost membership since it would give a club a chance to distinguish itself from its peers. In addition, as more golf newcomers become exposed to the game through evening golf entertainment sites such as Topgolf, BigShots Golf and Popstroke, more people are becoming accustomed to swinging a club when the moon is overhead.

If you’re a club general manager or head pro, have you thought about making nighttime golf a standard part of play? What are the benefits? What about the drawbacks? Would you consider offering it a couple nights a week to see if it catches on among members? I’m particularly interested in hearing from club and resort managers who oversee short courses or Par-3 courses because it seems like those layouts are the most conducive to nighttime golf. Feel free to share your thoughts by e-mailing me at pkeren@wtwhmedia.com.