Golf

Night golf finds the fairway as dark months get switched to light

Lunar Golf courses are lit from tee to green with 800 lights, while the bright ‘shot-tracer’ ball is designed to fly shorter distances

A Lunar Golf night event at Castleknock golf club in Dublin. Photograph: Tom Honan

David Gorman's face
David Gorman
Mon Oct 16 2023 - 06:00

As the days get shorter and the nights get longer, the hours you can play golf are diminishing quickly. Or are they? An Irish company is looking to bring some light into the dark winter months for golfing enthusiasts.

Lunar Golf, which focuses primarily on Dublin clubs but is available right across the country, lights up courses to enable late-night play, usually over nine holes. Everything is lit from tee to green with 700 to 800 LEDs, while you use a special golf ball with a LED chip in the centre.

The bright ball, which travels across the dark sky like a shot-tracer in real life, is designed to fly shorter distances, while there is a limit of a five-iron for men and hybrids for women – a logical tweak given the logistics of the set-up. But there is a heavy focus on the social side of the game, with new and casual golfers encouraged.

“The whole idea of it is to bring a more fun aspect to golf,” says Damian Doyle of Lunar Golf “We would bring music to the course, and we would encourage clubs to have drinks involved with a meal afterwards. It doesn’t matter about golf ability, it’s just about getting people out on the course, having a bit of craic and trying something that is a very different concept.”

READ MORE

Thomas Hynes hitting a tee shot at Castleknock in Dublin. Photograph: Tom Honan

During a recent event at Castleknock Golf Club the price was €30 per person, with €10 for a main course and a €5 competition fee for prizes. There was no cost to the club itself.

“It’s a win-win for everybody,” Doyle says. “It gives value to membership as a good social night for members, and generates revenue for the club through the restaurant or the bar. It’s not a luxury or expensive night out. The purpose of it is to be inclusive for all groups.

Lunar Golf being played at Castleknock. Photograph: Tom Honan

Doyle says there is an emphasis on the novelty of the event rather than the competitive side.

“A lot of clubs we deal with, they would just do an event every year as part of their social calendar. If you take Grange Golf Club, they did an under-35s event to get momentum for their younger membership, Dún Laoghaire have booked four events this year, while Milltown has it as a junior event, so it’s up to the clubs themselves.”