Ty Daniel’s Golf

Friday November 14th 2008

Coyote Hills Golf Course had it's first annual "Glow Ball Golf Tournament". Tee-off was at 6:30pm on a night with a Full Moon.

At first you might think…."Golf at Night?!?"

Yup! It was quite fun!

The tournament was 2 Man Best Ball, 9 hole shotgun start, on the back 9. Each player was given 2 glow golf balls, and could buy 1 more. Three balls maximum for each player. If a player lost all three balls, then they were out, or at least could not qualify for any prizes awarded in the tournament.

At first most golfers signing in were worried they would loose 3 balls easily and be done. But it turned out, you really had to shank one to loose it. Since the balls glow very bright, you can find the ball even if it was deep in the bushes.

How hard was it ??

Well, at first it was quite difficult to get good contact. It's a but hard to square up the club face and also judge height, distance, etc. But after 15-20 minutes, your eyes adjust much more, the moon got higher and brighter in he sky and it was much easier.

Some golfers claimed, "I never want to play in sunlight again, only moonlight", others whom had fun, but fell apart in the dark, (our group did on 3 holes).

How did the golf ball perform ??

Most golfers we talked to said about "2 Clubs" or 15% to 20% less distance. But once playing short game, the balls seem less different than a real ball. Putting was a bit awkward, the ball seem to have more bounce of the putter face.

How was it set-up ??

• Small glowing pumpkins lit the tee box markers (mostly all front tees to shorten holes).
• Red Glow sticks in the middle of the fairway, every so often to help "guide you".
• Each flag had a flashing glow top, to show you the position
• Each cup had a bright glow bracelet inside to help you chip and putt.
• Each golfer got a few glow sticks to wear or place on golf bag to help show other golfers where they were on the course.

PROS

• It was a whole lot of fun!
• It was a night all the players will always remember
• The buffet dinner before the round was excellent
• And as always the customer service from the Coyote Hills Staff was amazing

CONS

• Hard to judge distance on shots
• Hard to tell how far the golfers in front of you really are
• Had to sign a safety waiver. (but it's understandable, your playing golf at night)

What would we change about it ??

Probably not much, one thing for sure, would be to change how the holes were marked for distance at night.

They did have red glow sticks as a basic guide but, we would suggest having the standard blue, white, and red markers for 200, 150, & 100 yardage markers.

We think it might help give players distances on shots and also help players see how far golfers in front of them really are. No one wants to hit into the group ahead.

Bottom line…

It should be held "Quarterly", or "Monthly" not "Annually". Who wants to wait a whole year to play in the next "Coyote Hills Glow Ball Golf Tournament"?

Guess we will all have to wait !!

This tournament was fully booked a week in advance, with a long waiting list. If you plan to go the next one make sure to sign-up early.

We would like to take a moment and really thank Coyote Hills for being brave enough to open their night time tournament to the public, and putting on a great evening.