• The Clubhouse

  • Glowing golf balls for early morning tee times in California?

I just returned from a long weekend in Southern California (stops in Norwalk, Yorba Linda, Hawthorne, Upland, Silverado, and Hollywood) to attend a wedding and visit friends and family living in SoCal. My cousin is a golfer and he told me an interesting story that I find hard to believe and ranks in the same category as Snipe hunting that I fell for as a teenager.

He said early morning tee times are such a premium that a couple of courses he plays in the Upland - Pomona area start tee times in the dark at around 5 a.m. You are given balls that light up upon impact with your club. They are like rocks but he said they fly straighter than a typical golf ball and are pretty easy to track in the air and find on the ground. He does this to beat the summer heat and the early morning rush by starting play in the dark and he switches to regular balls at sunrise. I can see some guys I know that hit the gym in the dark and would consider a brisk round of golf as an alternative before heading off to work.

I've played night golf but it was strictly a social event and a reason to party late into the night. So, I guess pre-sunrise golf isn't that much of a stretch.

Is this going to be a trend that moves to the rest of the country or was my cousin taking advantage of my ignorance / gullibility ? Be kind to me in your responses, please. I'm a hick from the stix.


I've used lighted golf balls before here in SoCal. Last month played the first two holes with it and switched to a regular. Golf courses here on the weekend are packed! So yes, if you want to go out early, this is an option. Yes, this a real thing

Then.... we'll need lighted golf club to make this a better event.
I don't think the lighted golf ball will do anything but helping to locate it better. Ball striking ? No.

There is an executive golf course in Vegas ( used to anyway ) will light up the golf course for night rounds. Like a baseball stadium.

So, IMHO, no this will not be trending .

I hear Three Mile Island Country Club has been using them for years.

We used to use the ones you'd put the light sticks in at this place that ran night tournaments. The balls went nowhere for the most part and you had to position the balls right or you could lose the stick.

What do they use now?

    Typhoon Typhoon
    2 hours ago

    We used to use the ones you'd put the light sticks in at this place that ran night tournaments. The balls went nowhere for the most part and you had to position the balls right or you could lose the stick.

    What do they use now?

    He said they don't light up until impact when the club meets the ball and the LED light stays on long enough to walk to your ball and find it. I too played with the sticks stuffed in the drilled out hole in the ball at night golf events.

        They used to HATE us at the tournament. We'd hit a glow ball or 2 out there and then 2 of us would hit regular balls. We could tell the direction of the regular balls so if we found one of those we'd use it. We'd end up -5 for 9 holes. The we took it up a notch...

        MacGyvered an old pull cart with a sling carrying a car battery. We would hook the car battery up to a 1,000,000 candle power spotlight. You could blind the guys ahead of us putting from the tee. We also had truck headlights wired onto the arms of the cart to turn on for putting. We were now shooting -8 for 9 holes.

        We did it just to be pricks.

        mikeintopeka He said they don't light up until impact when the club meets the ball and the LED light stays on long enough to walk to your ball and find it.

        The one I used; once you turn it on it stays on. Dos not depend on impact.
        When you're done with it, you can shut it off.

            jamez

            Now that is a definite improvement. We used to have tournaments in the late 90's with the insertible sticks. Spent more time looking for the sticks, and you would have to purchase at least 5 for 9 holes. 😬

                Can't you old farts get those big glasses,,,you know those ones ones that look like the Samsung vr thingamajig, so you can see the ball in flight.

                  ode
                  🤞😎, Could, but then we would have to see the comments better. And I'm willing to bet that Jamez is younger than you.

                      FauxAmish really, well damn, I'm feeling old already, what do they call those glasses, 😎

                        ode Can't you old farts get those big glasses,,,you know those ones ones that look like the Samsung vr thingamajig, so you can see the ball in flight.

                        Unlike

                        The "Morty Seinfeld" glasses...

                          LBlack14

                          I wonder if I still have any downstairs... I thought they were more like rubber but its been a long time since I used one.

                              FauxAmish

                              We always turned the balls so the sticks were in line with the face of the club so the stick didn't shoot out. 😉

                                  Must be an LA thing. I'm a sunrise player in OC and San Diego and I've never heard of the pre-sunrise crowd.

                                  Typhoon

                                  Found an unopened package...put it under my Throwback Tuesday thread along with another goodie