With the ninth edition of The Match taking place under the lights at The Park in West Palm Beach, Florida, Monday night, it was a good opportunity to talk about one of golf’s most underrated segments: night golf.
If you haven’t had the chance to play night golf, it’s worth driving the extra mile to give it a shot. My first experience came during the 2013 Kraft Nabisco when I joined some colleagues, a bunch of caddies and some locals for a skins game at Indio Municipal in California. We had 25 people playing in the same group. Several players would hit at the same time to keep things moving and, if you didn’t make birdie, you picked up.
It was beautiful chaos.
My second excursion was more exotic, all the way over in South Korea at Taekwang Golf Club on the outskirts of Seoul. Taekwang is a 36-hole assembly line, churning through so many golfers that many of the holes have two greens to combat wear and tear.
Near the clubhouse is a four-story range – a necessity in a land-starved country – and each day some 800 players tirelessly beat balls from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., buying time rather than balls. Those golfers included former LPGA star Ha Na Jang, who I found practicing on the automated green mats, just as she has done since childhood.
Female caddies use a remote control to operate driver-less golf carts in South Korea, a wild site in the daylight that looks even cooler at night.
Looking through some old photos and videos. Have you ever seen driverless golf carts in Asia? pic.twitter.com/yDMRQ6y6cs
— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) February 28, 2024
As the golf world tuned in to watch Rory McIlory, Rose Zhang, Max Homa and Lexi Thompson navigate The Match in the dark, it seemed a good time to ask fellow golfers about their experiences under the lights.
Hi @GrassClippingsc ! pic.twitter.com/uIpejpKciD
— Colleen Loustalot
(@PIC_Colleen) December 12, 2023
Those looking for a night game might gets some ideas scrolling through this list:
