Some of my friends lived on a private course when we were kids. Sometimes we would play “hole golf”. A couple clubs in hand and play the two holes by the house right at dusk. No one ever said anything but we were quiet and prepared to run.
This happens at my course and the club doesn't care as long as there's no damage to the course and kids/people don't leave a mess. We view it as it's a great thing for people (especially kids) to play the game and develop a passion for it. It actually kind of pays off because more than a couple of those kids get really into golf and then pressure their parents into getting them a junior membership "because it's right there", or even join as adults when they're older.
We view it as a very cheap form of marketing and we've never had an issue with damage or litter on the course. YMMV depending on the kids/people, lol.
Fun tangent because I like this topic: This is why mixed-use development is so good for high-density urban areas, such as Tokyo. When the people *live* in the same physical spaces that they commute and work, they are much more connected to the idea of keeping it nice (avoiding litter, not disturbing others, etc....)
Local golf course offered unlimited junior golf for $20/month and $1 for a bucket of balls on the range. A bunch of the kids who used that grew up and are members at the course now so great investment on their part.
When I was a kid a junior membership (<18) was $125. Unlimited golf and 1 large bucket of range balls per day. Golfed all the time, loved it. Turned 18 and now the membership was $1500 + $200 range membership. Couldn't afford that as a broke college kid. This is Canada where we only golf for 5 months. Ended up quitting golf for 8 years.
Now my local course has different rates for 0-14, 14-19, 19-24, 24-29 and 30-70. It's great.
I'm in New Zealand so I know things here are much more relaxed. At the public course I'm a member at we are allowed to go out after booking are closed and play. It is honestly some of the most fun I have playing golf. They sometimes have a volunteer Marshall who goes around and checks people are members
when it comes to litigation and liability New Zealand laws are much more sensible. Our courts would laugh out many of the nuance lawsuit that gets filed in the US. From a club perspective I can see them saying it's not allowed but turn a blind eye to protect themselves from a stupid lawsuit.
I lived in the US and Canada and I have to say that the “liability culture” is faaaar worse in Canada. Everyone tiptoes around almost everything that has any kind of risk.
The public course near me growing up almost welcomed this. When I was 7 or 8, the pro would always let my dad and I just walk off at like 7PM to get 3 or 4 holes in. The guy wouldn't even charge us.
Not a bad move seeing as I've probably played over 500 rounds there in the 25 years since.
This is exactly how I got into golf. One of my friends in high school lived right on a short par 4, the tee box was just over his back wall. We'd jump over and play it a few times at dusk after the course was done for the day. I used my first paycheck ever to buy some second hand clubs
Just played a round at a course and that was my first thought on this par 3 - downhill and home’s looking down like a stadium- be awesome at night and beers - and who’s gonna know? Your neighbors? Hopefully their with ya
How did other people learn to play?
Thank you Seascape golf club. I bet the Marshalls knew, but also knew we would be buying summer passes in a few years too.
If you aren't tearing up the course and leaving it better than you found it, it's probably not a big deal outside of regular tee times. The clubhouse will probably tell you not to do it, but probably wouldn't make much of a stink if it cause them absolutely no extra work or costs for maintenance.
Yeah we used to do the same. My buddy lived on a very hard par 4 and we would sometimes play it at like 9pm. Nothing but the light of the moon which basically meant you had to know where your shot was going based on the impact. Tons of fun.
I grew up one block off of a public course and I snuck on a few times and played a par 3. Older me wishes I did it more as it would have been a great way to get practice in when I couldn’t afford it nor would my parents take the time to teach me or pay for lessons.
The best part though is there is a hill there on one of the holes I grew up near that me and my siblings used as a sledding hill every winter, so we had that going for us.
My grandparents lived on a course, right at a par 3 tee box. So we would go out and hit a few after the last groups made it through. It definitely was against the rules, but as long as you were respectful no one ever said anything
I used to work near one of my clubs. I would go over around 5PM. I would just wander around and make my own course by playing to whatever pins I felt like as long as no one was playing. There were a few guys who did this, but we generally walked. I would get 2-5 holes in. Good practice and very relaxing. I would also come out between dawn and sunup and get nine holes in before work. Take a shower, eat breakfast, maybe have a bloody mary :)
That’s great, I worked at a few clubs when I was younger and I’d just say hey to the members, and or whoever was out there if I was playing late. I just had to be faster than the sprinklers though, not the rangers or the HOA lol.
I lived on a course in college; I played almost every night around 4-5 holes; it was perfect, tee box right next to my apartment and would do a small loop right back to where I’d walk on.
One of our city courses is a par 3 course. They have a "twilight" hour starting at 6 for walkers only where they charge you only like $10 for 9 holes. But they always say, "only charging for 9 holes. But play as many as you want. You can do another round or two if you feel like it."
In peak late spring/early summer it stays bright enough to see out here till about 930.
The pro shop closes at 7.
It's sort of an unannounced understanding that if you get to the par 3 after hours you can just kinda play and no one will say anything.
My grandparents used to have a condo at Pinehurst, I'd stay with them some summers as a child.
My grandfather and I would routinely hop out to the hole behind the condo at dusk to chip and putt around.
Now, this was the 90's and things are different now, but if it can happen at a club like Pinehurst, then I'm certain it could happen anywhere.
Could be! I was gonna say that I don’t think courses 1,2, and 4 have condos. Never played 5 tho so I wouldn’t know! Either way, that must have been dope!
There is an author, Chris Buie, that has written several books about Pinehurst. He grew up across midland road from No. 2, and he said that when he was a kid before the resort got very strict, he and his brother would go play No. 2 every day after school. They lived across from the second hole I think, so that was their first hole and hole 1 was their 18th.
Played 5 in October and there were definitely condos within sight of the course. Not right on it, set back a little, but adjoining the fairways. Also saw a weird spaceship-like rental house right after the turn, I think a ranger said they call it the treehouse.
Hole 2 on #5 is in my condo back yard. I see folks out there almost every night. I'm usually walking the dog.
Edit to add: the best are the golf tourists putting on the greens barefooted and drinking beer
I’m sure part of it comes with how much the community respects the course. As long as they’re not damaging the turf or littering, the club probably doesn’t have much of an issue. If that should change, they’d have to start looking at the cost effectiveness of putting a stop to it.
I walk extreme twilight at my member course all the time for like 5ish holes ( 1 minute drive to course). And it's certaintly not a party for almost anyone but me and my push cart (and the mosquitoes that get a free meal)
Emergency golf is really common at a lot of private clubs on their Mens day. Guys play, go to the bar for a bit, then 6-7pm head back out and play cross country golf or scramble for cash. Tons of fun.
We used to call it a `rouser`. Typically 1-3 large groups, carts everywhere, absolute fire drill.
Drinks were flowing. Usually to settle a game / debt / or start a new one ;)
Love an E9 scramble with the boys. Most days both groups will shoot around -9, usually whoever makes a par loses. Lots of fun, one time I was in the group with the head pro, we needed birdie on 9 to tie and he slam dunked it for eagle and the win from 70 yds. We were all jumping up and down celebrating, and he just calmly took off his hat and shook our hands. What a G
I have never heard of this before. I grew up working at a private country club and even the members who lived on the course wouldn't pull a move like that for fear of reprisal.
Are people actually playing golf or just treating the course like a park similar to the Old Course on Sundays?
Ive seen this at my club. Sunday dusk hours families are walking around with drinks and the adults have their small pitch and putt bags and just seem to stroll thru a couple holes and have fun
My grandpa who taught me how to play used to live on the 18th hole in a golf community.
It was a regular occurrence for us to walk 18 right as the sun was going down (long dog leg right par 5), then get dinner at the clubhouse and watch the sunset on the lake.
Great core memories, and has influenced how I plan on spending my retirement lol
I would totally join a club like this!
The few people that I know that live on a golf courses, act like it is sacrilegious to step foot on the course if you are not playing an official round.
I know people who live in a cheap public course. During parties they'll throw down a little patch of turf and hit light up balls off the deck to a par 3 below
The other side of the story is if you pay a $100-200k, or more, lot premium for golf course view/frontage you’re going to be very unhappy with any unauthorized or nocturnal activity, basically in your backyard.
HOA’s & private clubs have an unavoidably contentious relationship.
I’ve done something similar while in Palm Springs at pga west. We all took a beer and a 7 iron and played from the fairway by our place to the green as our makeshift “hole one” and then we turned around and hit back to a green near where we started. We didn’t fuck up the course or anything. Just having a little fun with friends near dark after the course had closed up
Depends on the club. My private club has a few members who live on the course and guys will frequently go out after hours to chip, putt, and play with their kids. Even members who live a couple minutes away will do this. There's never been any issues or damage, so the course allows it as long as nobody ruins it for others.
We also allow local kids/teenagers to come on the property to fish in the ponds on the property. As long as they stay out of the way and keep to themselves there's no issues. Our course also has one of the biggest hills in town, so in the winter we get tons of local kids/families that use it for sledding on the 17th and 18th holes. Again, we've never had issues and it's not like anyone is golfing with 8+ inches of snow on the ground anyway.
As a teen I used to be a BIG fisher too. There were a few courses that we fished at during the summer for our breaks. As many of them were near a river or creek the ponds tending to have some fish.
One of them being the Bolingbrook GC where LIV is hosting, They'd probably throw a shit fit now if they saw us but 20 years ago they'd just tell us to keep out of the way.
Depends on the course and setup. Local course that is open to the public is basically a free for all for members after the last tee time so long as we don’t cause any issues or damage. Course down the road I got in trouble for playing after hours with the head pro’s son 😂. My local course went through some financial issues and they set it up to be “owned” by the members so as long as we aren’t messing with people paying for rounds or causing damage we are pretty much free to do what we want. They even let us tee off at sunrise when the grounds crew is working as long as you don’t make them wait or hit them. Just be out of the way of the first tee time
My grandparents lived on a semi-private course in Texas for about a decade. I have played the 3 or 4 holes immediately around their house dozens of times. I have never played the rest of the course.
Seriously? At my club absolutely nobody cares if members are out playing as it gets dark....I will routinely drop a cart so the kids can go home and walk back out and play a few more. It's kind of the point of a private club, in my view.
Man it’s probably a cheap semi private. We let our members run wild there but since we have their numbers I’ll just call them 5 minutes before the gates locking. They know not to hold up staff / be the last ones out
As everyone else asked, were they playing golf? If so, was it "night" golf? My club used to do this pretty regularly with glow in the dark balls and lined cups and things, mock tees only 100 yards out. Was mostly a guys party thing though and they have all but eliminated it due to the care(lack of). Divots you could fall in, carts in sand traps, carts on greens and tees.
I used to caddy at a private club back in the stone age. Saturday mornings after these types of events was fun. Trash cans overflowing with beer cans, and your loop would show up about 3 minutes before their tee time, either hung over or still drunk from the night before.
I play twilight at a neighborhood course fairly regularly and it’s common to see the people who live on the front 9 to come out onto the course after the last tee time. They’ll throw a football, walk dogs, whatever. It’s a dog track already but they seem to take care of it and have always cleared out in a hurry if someone steps up to the tee box. Seems like it’s not uncommon but I’m sure it’s different if you live on a premium course.
My friends parents live on a course like this and while it isn’t every night it does happen. A couple weeks ago we all set out with a few clubs and some glow ball and played 4 holes in the pitch black. I close my eyes when I swing anyways, so didn’t make much of a difference.
This was my local public course. Once it hits 6pm and no tee times. Dogs and people walking around everywhere. Local neighbors walking their dogs on the fairways and having beers etc
if people have private carts, I'd wager that it's allowed and they are members. A lot of private clubs, even if you are a member and live on the course, you still have to go to the clubhouse and check in and private carts aren't allowed.
Other clubs, you may be able to just play on from your house, but usually restricted to certain hours and/or you just call the clubhouse to check.
If it wasn't allowed, nobody would have private carts. The course was closing. You were playing twilight, which is a free for all.
The course that I was a member of, you were free to walk on and play whenever you wanted if the course was closed. You only had to make a tee time if you were teeing off prior to 5p on days it was open.
They're starting to crack down on it a bit due to a massive influx of new members in the past few years, but it has almost always been like this at my parents' club. We go out to dinner and then just drive the cart down the road and play a few holes until it gets dark. There would always be other people out, so If someone's on a hole, you just go find another one. On a few occasions we've definitely had a couple extra beers in the cart, turned on the headlights, and chipped around in the dark until like 10:30-11.
My private home club basically turns into this on most Sunday afternoons (I think after 3 or 4pm)--they stop doing tee times and just kinda let it be a family free-for-all. Generally kids aren't allowed on the course on weekends so I think it's meant to balance that out a bit. Many of the family groups end up playing a short loop of 1-4 and then 9. I think they also send out a second drink cart.
Grew up a handful of streets away from a public course. We'd go sit on the fence at #11 and "watch the golfers" which was basically waiting for the marshal to come round up all the carts at closing. Once they rolled over the hill on #17, we'd jump on.
Played 11-12-13-14-12 3x a week with only a 7i, its how I learned to play golf.
I do this at the semi-private club I am a member of in a small town. I let the clubhouse know when I’ll be out, just out of respect, but I doubt most people do this. Most of the time it’s the same guys every time I go so it is a bit of a small party just because you see those same people often.
TLDR; it’s a common occurrence at our course
I got invited to stay at Pebble beach
for a corporate thing, right on the course overlooking the bay (they teed off on #14 in our backyard). After groups stopped coming through, a few of us walked up to the tee box on 8, which is the one that hugs the bay and you have to shoot across it to the green…. Got a couple holes in before we could see the security/greens keepers coming from far away with their lit up ATVs to finish out their day. Smoked a joint leaning against the flagstick on #13 later that night!
I live in a golf course and me and my wife will wait till after the last tee time usually about an hour after and drive our cart around and just practice driving and putting. I’ve seen several other families doing the same.
Private course I worked at allowed private carts. Most of those had headlights, they'd play till 10pm or later. Only sucked when there was one of our carts and we had to hunt them down so we could go home.
small rural town, semi-private course. We are members and live on a hole, have our own cart. We probably do this 4-5 nights a week in the summer...actually replace divots and clean up the tee boxes as we play in any order we choose, with music playing on the speakers...it's a great life.
Growing up I had a friend who lived on a course. We were allowed to play after pins were pulled as long as we were being respectful. I guess his dad played pretty often and was close with the owners and the grounds crew and as long as everything was left as we found it, it was all good. Dream scenario as I called it.
My friend lives on the course, and its very much the same.
On a random afternoon or evening, we can hop on his cart, shoot over to the 15th hole that's 200 yards away from his back yard, and tee off. We'll play 9, end up back at his house and hang out, all in an hour.
Within that time, we'll see groups of guys doing the same, just hopping around looking for a hole to play. You'll see groups of kids riding around their 6 person golf carts, going from house to house, doing kid stuff. I'm talking you'll see 3-4 different carts driving around together, with each one being one of those lifted, with crazy lights, 6 seaters with speakers and all the works.
You'll see the moms and dads heading to the club in their carts, you'll see the family driving the dog around, and you'll see some brave enough to walk around the course itself.
When it's a gated neighborhood, it feels like its usually all bet's off when a large part of the community has their own golf carts.
My better half's folks live on the 18th fairway of their country club course.
I honestly can't recall an evening in the summer that I've visited that I *haven't* played several after-hours holes.
We lived in a community with a course growing up, I would walk over to the nearest hole, the 3rd, and play 3-8 in the evenings. It wasn't unusual to run into staff getting in a few holes at the end of their day too.
Something like this is pretty common at the semi private club I work at in Florida. We only sell tee times from 8am to 330pm so some of the members that live in the community and employees typically go out after closing and enjoy the course to ourselves. We are just outside the top 50 public courses in Florida and the course is absolutely gorgeous. It feels pretty special that nobody really cares that we get such a beautiful place all to ourselves in the early evenings.
I used to do this at my club when we were younger, 20-24 of us, played for cash, different games, drinks flowing...so fun! I usually played so good and carefree, sometimes barefoot....now I tee off at 6:30 am and I need a nap by noon lol
I miss those days...actually, we would sometimes get the 20 something beverage girls out with us and it was always crazy with a bunch of college boys and girls hammering michelob golden lights, glow balls, poker inside the clubhouse after close....
God damn I miss my youth
My buddy is a member and lives on a private course. This is pretty common place after 6pm on the weekends. Maybe not to the extent you witnessed but we have played 6, 7 and 8 at twilight hours more than I’ve ever played that 9 hole course.
My club has a glow ball tournament. Shortened hole yardage, special light flags poles, cup lights, neon lights around green. They definitely purchased a kit to set up all the holes. Then it was a party after the games. Great time
In high school on weekends or during the summer we would have after hours social gatherings at one of the licks private country clubs.
We were greeted with enthusiasm when the groundskeepers caught us - and by enthusiasm I mean salt pellet guns.
I had a buddy whose apartment overlooked a par 4 on a semi-private course and we would routinely go out and play the hole in the evenings. We did it so often we pretty much knew where the balls would land and what club so we’d just leave the clubs out in the course as we walked back and forth. It was a great way to kill an hour or so at dusk.
My dad has a hockey buddy that lives just off a course. They'd have parties every summer and after it got dark sometimes the guys would challenge each other to the hole or two behind the house.
My parents have a house on a semi-private and I have a membership there. If you have a golf membership and get clearance with the pros, they will allow walking the course after it shuts down.
There are some people that live on the course that will calm security if they see anyone out there, then security just comes out, quick discussion and I continue on.
I fix a lot of pitch marks on the greens when I play, fill sand in divots, so the pros have no problem if you’re helping maintenance while getting some practice in.
We have a small 9-hole par three in town that gets used after hours and out of season quite a bit. There’s very little fencing by the first hole so people can park at the nature reserve lot a few 100m away and then just step over the rope fence. If there’s no snow on the ground people are stepping over and playing rounds.
They had to install camera to try to crack down. Now I think they take etransfers and bookings via Facebook during the winter.
My mom told me growing up she would drop my uncle off at a hole in the fence for a local course and him and his friends would walk on and play a round from there
I grew up in a house on the third fairway of a course. Many many evenings after the last groups went through we’d play 4-6 holes. The course workers never bothered us (a group of kids mind you).
I stay at a place in Hilton head whenever I visit on a golf course, and everyone goes out at night at like 8pm right before dark and plays from 150-in on whatever hole they live on
I realized recently it’s super easy to play night golf at my local. Pro shop guys are all gone by the time I finish a late round, so I ordered some glow in the dark balls and when my brother is in town we’re gonna grab the last tee time and circle around when it starts getting dark. Debating whether or not could just ask someone at the pro shop about it first. I like this course.
There is a course behind my dad’s house. The first time my brother in law and I went out at dusk we thought we had to be careful breaking the rules. To our surprise, the course was playing slow that night lol. Not actually slow but we saw about 4 other groups doing the same thing. It’s become some what of a tradition now to get out at dusk when we are both at the house. We call it the loop, a par 3 behind the house, into a par 5, and back into a par 4 that leads right back to the house. I’d say it’s a common practice among ppl who live next to a course.
I have a buddy who’s a pro at the nationally known private golf course near me. We play / f around after the last members play all the time. We’ll play the same hole 4 times, skip the next 3, go back to the first, hit a ton of shots. It’s like having your own personal course it’s unreal. I hope he never leaves.
Well the people who live on my local course treat it like it's their private course all hours of the day. They drive from hole to hole in packs and drink while their kids play. It's obnoxious as hell, and I think it's only allowed because the course itself has changed hands over the years. I'm sure the current ownership lives in the neighborhood or close by.
Grew up right next to a public course. My friends and I would walk the perimeter of the course every day in the summer looking for golf balls, we'd end up with thousands of them. We would always have a club in hand and would pop out every once in a while and play a hole or 2. Most evenings we would play a 3-hole loop after we knew the last golfers had passed us by. It was completely awesome.
Growing up my family lived on a golf course. House backed up to the 13th fairway. In high school, my brother and I would sometimes take 4-5 clubs and play a 4-hole loop starting about a half hour before dark. No issues for a while, then one day walking off a green and around a corner there was a marshal in a cart concealed behind a tree waiting for us. Uh oh. Conversation went something like this.
Marshal: You boys live around here?
Us: Yes sir.
Marshal: Do you like golf? Enjoy the game?
Us: Yes sir.
Marshal: Ok, we don’t mind you guys playing a few holes out here in the evening. Just stay out of paying customers way and fix your ball marks and repair your divots. Carry on.
I was new to golf at the time and that interaction could have turned me off of the game forever if it had gone a different way. Instead, 20 years later I’m a lifelong golf sicko and have spent more money on golf than I care to admit. Including at that same course when I go back home to visit my parents. I’m thankful to that Marshal for the kindness he showed that day to two raggedy kids in flip flops and gym shorts. What a great sport.
People do this at my local golf course, dogs, kids running around.
If the course doesn't cover damage because "you chose to live on a golf course" then it seems equal for the people that live on the golf course to use the premises because "they chose to live on a golf course"
I personally don't mind it at all, so long as they move out of the way when people are playing.
It's crazy that right above this in my feed is the post with the guy who ives next to the course and threw a fit about them saying he can't be treating it like that. Everyone in the comments there is like NEVER play a course after hours, it's a respect thing, have a tee time always, no music, no nothing. Everyone here is saying the opposite about community courses.
Now that guy was a dick, but a lot of people were saying under zero circumstances should he or anyone be on the course without a tee time / before or after hours.
My local course allows exclusively walk-ups after 6pm. I frequently encounter familiar and couples walking their dogs or going on a hike. it really is magical
Buddy of mine used to live with a golf course in his backyard.
6 20-somethings out there, completely wasted, chasing one of those glow-in-the-dark frisbee's.
One of my most favorite memories.
There’s a guy who lives at the end of hole 1 and the beginning of hole 9 on my course and he just plays 9 when walking to the range and plays 1 when walking home. He’s a platinum member so it’s all “free” anyway but it’s kinda funny.
> Is this a case of poor course management or is this a common perk of living in a neighborhood with a golf course?
The latter. I grew up living on a course and every house in the neighborhood had their own golf cart. Nearly every night in the summer folks would go out at 6 or 7 pm and try to squeeze in a whole round if they could. The course was well aware of it and the vast majority of these families were members anyway.
I was out there visiting last summer and tried to pay for a round at like 7pm and the pro shop attendant (who I've known forever, to be fair) just said to go out and play wherever I could find a spot to get on, lol
I used to sneak onto the course after hours when I was a teenager. My short game was amazing! Played a few of the holes then I’d go back and do homework/play video games, then bed.
As long as you didn’t trash it, the rangers didn’t really care. Got caught and few times and the old guys were happy to see a young kid out there practicing.
Man I miss those days.
The private course I live on turns in to a golf cart highway at night because many people have their own street-legal golf carts (so they have headlights).
My neighbor is often out there as the sun goes down playing a loop of a few of the holes. He is a member.
Lots of people walk the course (including myself) in the evening/night when there are no more golfers out there. One night I was out when it was pretty dark and I saw a kid and his father playing with those light up golf balls. I went and asked them how they work and he said count on going up two clubs for the same distance and the balls stay lit for 10 minutes after hitting them.
I lived on a course in highschool. My friends and I would jump the fence and create new holes. Hop on the 15th tee box and aim at the 16th hole or whatever.
As long as it’s empty no one cares. Plus most families are members.
I live on a public course. You aren't allowed personal carts though. There's also only houses on the back 9 which is separated by a highway. Once the back 9 clears out I'll take my pushcart out my back door and play. There's one dude who carries only seven clubs and literally jogs and plays every tonight. Hits jogs to his ball and hits again. It's his workout. People walking dogs everywhere. Nice thing is I know right where to look for balls. I usually gain a dozen or so balls playing
I lived on a course growing up. The unspoken rules was wait until 7pm and then don't be a dick. Tons of dudes would show up and play 3-9 holes and dip.
Golf course I grew up close to let us have the run of the place as long as we didn’t wreck or tear up anything, didn’t get in any players way, etc … that’s how I learned how to swing a club… playing in eves when the mosquitoes weren’t too bad - they got easily 100+ paid rounds when I got older and played more …
They also allowed dogs with same rules in evening -
Live on a semi private neighborhood course. We walk and drive the course a lot and so do a lot of people. Course is in great shape and the owners do not as long as no damage is done and we stay out of maintenances way
Golf in the Twin Cities metro \*ST Paul & Minneapolis MN is so busy that many courses have removed twilight golf rates. Full rate tee times this time of year at 6pm because you can still get in 18.
The first time I played on a golf course (i.e. not the driving range) was when I snuck onto a public course during a full moon with glow-in-the-dark golf balls.
What you're describing sounds a lot more legal and a whole lot of fun, but probably unique to that course. I can't imagine that many private clubs are that chill about people playing at night, even if they are paying members with homes along the course.
On a related note: glow-in-the-dark golf ball technology has gotten really good since I got into the habit.
My parents live on course. The green to a par 3 is right next to their backyard. Every time I visit I play that thing a least dozen times. After 8pm never anyone on the course.
Happens on my local course all the time, as most others have stated great for the game overall as long as everyone or most anyway take care of the course.
Surprised this still goes on for legal/insurance reasons, but people used to do this all the time at the course near my house growing up. Take the dog for a walk, bring driver 9i putter, find a couple balls alongside the road, play a couple holes, etc. A lot of my buddies who lived around the course all grew up doing the same.
We live on a small local course. Neighborhood splits the front and back 9 right down the middle. A lot of retirees in the neighborhood that will play a couple holes in the evenings. Course doesn't seem to mind. We've chatted with the groundskeeper while out strolling down the fairway in the evening and we're told that unless damage to the course becomes a problem, the current owners are happy to share the course occasionally with the residents.
The public course in my backyard is super hardcore about making sure no one from the neighborhood ever goes on the course. No walking the cart paths after hours, no chipping or putting, no private carts even if you have a membership.
Really makes it a bummer to deal with all of the downsides of living on a course with only the visuals as an upside. Neighborhood and course are on pretty bad terms as a result
Member entitlement. Working anywhere that has members is a nightmare because about 98% of them (yah, I'm talking about you, random cc member reeading this) are blowhard entitled dickheads who demand things their way. They will stomp and whine and cry until they get what they want. They get away with this because they know they can just throw a tantrum to make it go away. All houses on all courses should be bulldozed at the expense of the owners.
Here's my opinion on it. If you have a course in a neighborhood you need to harbor positive relationships with the people in it. They will support you with memberships and tee times, but you also need the others to watch over the course, teach their kids to do the same, and basically keep it from being vandalized. A bike on wet greens or a $20 bottle of round up can cause a ton of damage.
I played a round on a work trip and watched a marshall kick a guy off the neighborhood side of a pond fishing at almost 7pm. To me that shit is wild. Pretentious asshole behavior that will eventually get you shit in a cup at the best case.
So as long as people are respecting the course, not causing damage, etc, absolutely no issue with it. The time carts get to close to greens or things start getting damaged it will need monitored more.
Used to live on a muni
Used to walk the back 9 daily when home from college
Eventually got kicked out and they started looking for me
Now the course is closed, so who won?
I lived on the 17th fairway of a private course for years. I was a member as a junior. I used to walk on at 8pm (dark was around 9:30) to play 3/4 holes almost every night after all the tee times. there were a few others, but nothing like you described.
I stayed on a course in Hawaii and got a few after hours holes in just about every night (and found about 2 dozen Pro V1’s I totally didn’t pack in my suitcase)
At my local course all the semi pros, kids working the course, and everyone else who is generally making a living in golf goes out at that time. These guys will rip out 12-15 holes in like a hour and a half before dark. Helps when most of them can shoot par on an off day.
Im really surprised the HOAs dont squash this down. I live near 2 courses and as much as night golf sounds amazing, I just know unless you're really quiet the houses would flip out.
I don’t live on the course I’m a member of, but at least once a month an email will go out reminding everyone that no one is to be on the course except golfers. Part of that is the kids riding bikes all over, and the dogs/kids destroying bunkers, but the other part is the danger. The course could technically be liable if someone got hurt if a hazard wasn’t “clearly marked”. The email (and signage at several points of the course) helps remove that culpability (or so it has been put to me by the GM).
I do have friends who live on the course, and it’s not uncommon to get some putting practice in, but you don’t see many people playing a couple holes. Too many “community watch” members who would report it immediately.
its definitely a thing. you gotta know people who work in the clubhouse i guess. there are groups that go off before the first sold teetime all the time, like full foursomes with cart with special agreement somehow from the staff. then sometimes i see these solo guys who also show up in front of me halfway through the round with the robot push cart. almost always old guys. shame its a public golf system and meant for everyone but if you know the workers you get these special perks.
same system thats got all of these teetimes being sold by bots and theyve done like hardly anything about it beyond put a $10 nonrefundable deposit down on teetimes and throw their hands in the air. makes me think given the special treatment certain players get that there is more than meets the eye here with tee times and collusion and corruption of a public facility.
Some of my friends lived on a private course when we were kids. Sometimes we would play “hole golf”. A couple clubs in hand and play the two holes by the house right at dusk. No one ever said anything but we were quiet and prepared to run.
This happens at my course and the club doesn't care as long as there's no damage to the course and kids/people don't leave a mess. We view it as it's a great thing for people (especially kids) to play the game and develop a passion for it. It actually kind of pays off because more than a couple of those kids get really into golf and then pressure their parents into getting them a junior membership "because it's right there", or even join as adults when they're older. We view it as a very cheap form of marketing and we've never had an issue with damage or litter on the course. YMMV depending on the kids/people, lol.
As it turns out if the golf course is your back yard, you generally want it to look nice.
Fun tangent because I like this topic: This is why mixed-use development is so good for high-density urban areas, such as Tokyo. When the people *live* in the same physical spaces that they commute and work, they are much more connected to the idea of keeping it nice (avoiding litter, not disturbing others, etc....)
Local golf course offered unlimited junior golf for $20/month and $1 for a bucket of balls on the range. A bunch of the kids who used that grew up and are members at the course now so great investment on their part.
When I was a kid a junior membership (<18) was $125. Unlimited golf and 1 large bucket of range balls per day. Golfed all the time, loved it. Turned 18 and now the membership was $1500 + $200 range membership. Couldn't afford that as a broke college kid. This is Canada where we only golf for 5 months. Ended up quitting golf for 8 years. Now my local course has different rates for 0-14, 14-19, 19-24, 24-29 and 30-70. It's great.
Love this outlook.
I'm in New Zealand so I know things here are much more relaxed. At the public course I'm a member at we are allowed to go out after booking are closed and play. It is honestly some of the most fun I have playing golf. They sometimes have a volunteer Marshall who goes around and checks people are members when it comes to litigation and liability New Zealand laws are much more sensible. Our courts would laugh out many of the nuance lawsuit that gets filed in the US. From a club perspective I can see them saying it's not allowed but turn a blind eye to protect themselves from a stupid lawsuit.
I lived in the US and Canada and I have to say that the “liability culture” is faaaar worse in Canada. Everyone tiptoes around almost everything that has any kind of risk.
The public course near me growing up almost welcomed this. When I was 7 or 8, the pro would always let my dad and I just walk off at like 7PM to get 3 or 4 holes in. The guy wouldn't even charge us. Not a bad move seeing as I've probably played over 500 rounds there in the 25 years since.
This is exactly how I got into golf. One of my friends in high school lived right on a short par 4, the tee box was just over his back wall. We'd jump over and play it a few times at dusk after the course was done for the day. I used my first paycheck ever to buy some second hand clubs
Just played a round at a course and that was my first thought on this par 3 - downhill and home’s looking down like a stadium- be awesome at night and beers - and who’s gonna know? Your neighbors? Hopefully their with ya
How did other people learn to play? Thank you Seascape golf club. I bet the Marshalls knew, but also knew we would be buying summer passes in a few years too.
If you aren't tearing up the course and leaving it better than you found it, it's probably not a big deal outside of regular tee times. The clubhouse will probably tell you not to do it, but probably wouldn't make much of a stink if it cause them absolutely no extra work or costs for maintenance.
Yeah we used to do the same. My buddy lived on a very hard par 4 and we would sometimes play it at like 9pm. Nothing but the light of the moon which basically meant you had to know where your shot was going based on the impact. Tons of fun.
We hung glow sticks on the pin and used the night glow balls. Late 90s. We could play 3 holes 3 different tee boxes and get nine in after dark.
I grew up one block off of a public course and I snuck on a few times and played a par 3. Older me wishes I did it more as it would have been a great way to get practice in when I couldn’t afford it nor would my parents take the time to teach me or pay for lessons. The best part though is there is a hill there on one of the holes I grew up near that me and my siblings used as a sledding hill every winter, so we had that going for us.
My grandparents lived on a course, right at a par 3 tee box. So we would go out and hit a few after the last groups made it through. It definitely was against the rules, but as long as you were respectful no one ever said anything
Yep, we used to play the par 4 behind a friend’s house barefoot with 9 irons when we were kids. It’s a really fun form of golf
I used to work near one of my clubs. I would go over around 5PM. I would just wander around and make my own course by playing to whatever pins I felt like as long as no one was playing. There were a few guys who did this, but we generally walked. I would get 2-5 holes in. Good practice and very relaxing. I would also come out between dawn and sunup and get nine holes in before work. Take a shower, eat breakfast, maybe have a bloody mary :)
That’s great, I worked at a few clubs when I was younger and I’d just say hey to the members, and or whoever was out there if I was playing late. I just had to be faster than the sprinklers though, not the rangers or the HOA lol.
 First rule of Night Club…
Don't tell him that at municipal courses, if you don't have our equipment, you can golf till you can't see anything
I lived on a course in college; I played almost every night around 4-5 holes; it was perfect, tee box right next to my apartment and would do a small loop right back to where I’d walk on.
This! I had a similar set up and the “fence” was just two wooden rails… not going to keep out the poor college kids with that limited security!
One of our city courses is a par 3 course. They have a "twilight" hour starting at 6 for walkers only where they charge you only like $10 for 9 holes. But they always say, "only charging for 9 holes. But play as many as you want. You can do another round or two if you feel like it."
Haha there was a city course like this where I used to live and the dude was chill as hell, he wouldn't even charge me to walk if I showed up at 6
Live in CO? Might have been me haha
In peak late spring/early summer it stays bright enough to see out here till about 930. The pro shop closes at 7. It's sort of an unannounced understanding that if you get to the par 3 after hours you can just kinda play and no one will say anything.
You're not your fuckin' Caddies
I am Jack's family on the 14th green.
If you could fight one retiree who would it be?
If you wake up at a different time and a different place, could you wake up as a different golfer?
I’d be so fucking upset if I found out my alter ego was a better golfer than I am.
This is the best comment here
“Why don’t you cut the shit and ask if you can play after hours” “Would that be a problem?” “Is it a problem for you to ask?”
LOL
My grandparents used to have a condo at Pinehurst, I'd stay with them some summers as a child. My grandfather and I would routinely hop out to the hole behind the condo at dusk to chip and putt around. Now, this was the 90's and things are different now, but if it can happen at a club like Pinehurst, then I'm certain it could happen anywhere.
Which course was it on?
It's been a long time, but I *believe* it was Pinehurst No. 5
Could be! I was gonna say that I don’t think courses 1,2, and 4 have condos. Never played 5 tho so I wouldn’t know! Either way, that must have been dope!
I’ve stayed at an Airbnb condo that was right off of 5. We thought about taking some wedges out at dusk since it was right out the back patio.
There is an author, Chris Buie, that has written several books about Pinehurst. He grew up across midland road from No. 2, and he said that when he was a kid before the resort got very strict, he and his brother would go play No. 2 every day after school. They lived across from the second hole I think, so that was their first hole and hole 1 was their 18th.
Played 5 in October and there were definitely condos within sight of the course. Not right on it, set back a little, but adjoining the fairways. Also saw a weird spaceship-like rental house right after the turn, I think a ranger said they call it the treehouse.
Aye I was there inOctober too! Best time of year for Pinehurst!
Hole 2 on #5 is in my condo back yard. I see folks out there almost every night. I'm usually walking the dog. Edit to add: the best are the golf tourists putting on the greens barefooted and drinking beer
Haha, yep, that was me and the boys last year.
My buddy lives in a condo off course 5 and we rip a couple dusk holes often
Na me and my dad still do this sometimes. Take about three clubs, kick the shoes off and walk a few holes on beautiful Pinehurst no. 8
I’m sure part of it comes with how much the community respects the course. As long as they’re not damaging the turf or littering, the club probably doesn’t have much of an issue. If that should change, they’d have to start looking at the cost effectiveness of putting a stop to it.
I walk extreme twilight at my member course all the time for like 5ish holes ( 1 minute drive to course). And it's certaintly not a party for almost anyone but me and my push cart (and the mosquitoes that get a free meal)
Emergency golf is really common at a lot of private clubs on their Mens day. Guys play, go to the bar for a bit, then 6-7pm head back out and play cross country golf or scramble for cash. Tons of fun.
We used to call it a `rouser`. Typically 1-3 large groups, carts everywhere, absolute fire drill. Drinks were flowing. Usually to settle a game / debt / or start a new one ;)
Love an E9 scramble with the boys. Most days both groups will shoot around -9, usually whoever makes a par loses. Lots of fun, one time I was in the group with the head pro, we needed birdie on 9 to tie and he slam dunked it for eagle and the win from 70 yds. We were all jumping up and down celebrating, and he just calmly took off his hat and shook our hands. What a G
I have never heard of this before. I grew up working at a private country club and even the members who lived on the course wouldn't pull a move like that for fear of reprisal. Are people actually playing golf or just treating the course like a park similar to the Old Course on Sundays?
Ive seen this at my club. Sunday dusk hours families are walking around with drinks and the adults have their small pitch and putt bags and just seem to stroll thru a couple holes and have fun
My grandpa who taught me how to play used to live on the 18th hole in a golf community. It was a regular occurrence for us to walk 18 right as the sun was going down (long dog leg right par 5), then get dinner at the clubhouse and watch the sunset on the lake. Great core memories, and has influenced how I plan on spending my retirement lol
I would totally join a club like this! The few people that I know that live on a golf courses, act like it is sacrilegious to step foot on the course if you are not playing an official round.
I know people who live in a cheap public course. During parties they'll throw down a little patch of turf and hit light up balls off the deck to a par 3 below
i used to live across from a very swanky state country club and would regularly walk over and play a few holes in the evening
The other side of the story is if you pay a $100-200k, or more, lot premium for golf course view/frontage you’re going to be very unhappy with any unauthorized or nocturnal activity, basically in your backyard. HOA’s & private clubs have an unavoidably contentious relationship.
I’ve done something similar while in Palm Springs at pga west. We all took a beer and a 7 iron and played from the fairway by our place to the green as our makeshift “hole one” and then we turned around and hit back to a green near where we started. We didn’t fuck up the course or anything. Just having a little fun with friends near dark after the course had closed up
Guys playing the next morning: “why the fuck are the divots going THAT way?!”
Lol it wasn’t anything absurd. Knowing what course it was, we were at least going to treat the place decent.
Depends on the club. My private club has a few members who live on the course and guys will frequently go out after hours to chip, putt, and play with their kids. Even members who live a couple minutes away will do this. There's never been any issues or damage, so the course allows it as long as nobody ruins it for others. We also allow local kids/teenagers to come on the property to fish in the ponds on the property. As long as they stay out of the way and keep to themselves there's no issues. Our course also has one of the biggest hills in town, so in the winter we get tons of local kids/families that use it for sledding on the 17th and 18th holes. Again, we've never had issues and it's not like anyone is golfing with 8+ inches of snow on the ground anyway.
As a teen I used to be a BIG fisher too. There were a few courses that we fished at during the summer for our breaks. As many of them were near a river or creek the ponds tending to have some fish. One of them being the Bolingbrook GC where LIV is hosting, They'd probably throw a shit fit now if they saw us but 20 years ago they'd just tell us to keep out of the way.
Depends on the course and setup. Local course that is open to the public is basically a free for all for members after the last tee time so long as we don’t cause any issues or damage. Course down the road I got in trouble for playing after hours with the head pro’s son 😂. My local course went through some financial issues and they set it up to be “owned” by the members so as long as we aren’t messing with people paying for rounds or causing damage we are pretty much free to do what we want. They even let us tee off at sunrise when the grounds crew is working as long as you don’t make them wait or hit them. Just be out of the way of the first tee time
My grandparents lived on a semi-private course in Texas for about a decade. I have played the 3 or 4 holes immediately around their house dozens of times. I have never played the rest of the course.
This is more of a monday thing at th course I live on after the corporate event.
Seriously? At my club absolutely nobody cares if members are out playing as it gets dark....I will routinely drop a cart so the kids can go home and walk back out and play a few more. It's kind of the point of a private club, in my view.
This is the best part of not belonging to a stuffy CC.
Man it’s probably a cheap semi private. We let our members run wild there but since we have their numbers I’ll just call them 5 minutes before the gates locking. They know not to hold up staff / be the last ones out
As everyone else asked, were they playing golf? If so, was it "night" golf? My club used to do this pretty regularly with glow in the dark balls and lined cups and things, mock tees only 100 yards out. Was mostly a guys party thing though and they have all but eliminated it due to the care(lack of). Divots you could fall in, carts in sand traps, carts on greens and tees.
I used to caddy at a private club back in the stone age. Saturday mornings after these types of events was fun. Trash cans overflowing with beer cans, and your loop would show up about 3 minutes before their tee time, either hung over or still drunk from the night before.
I play twilight at a neighborhood course fairly regularly and it’s common to see the people who live on the front 9 to come out onto the course after the last tee time. They’ll throw a football, walk dogs, whatever. It’s a dog track already but they seem to take care of it and have always cleared out in a hurry if someone steps up to the tee box. Seems like it’s not uncommon but I’m sure it’s different if you live on a premium course.
My friends parents live on a course like this and while it isn’t every night it does happen. A couple weeks ago we all set out with a few clubs and some glow ball and played 4 holes in the pitch black. I close my eyes when I swing anyways, so didn’t make much of a difference.
I'm going to be honest with you: if you stay long enough this will definitely evolve (devolve?) into an orgy. +100% odds if you live in Florida.
This was my local public course. Once it hits 6pm and no tee times. Dogs and people walking around everywhere. Local neighbors walking their dogs on the fairways and having beers etc
if people have private carts, I'd wager that it's allowed and they are members. A lot of private clubs, even if you are a member and live on the course, you still have to go to the clubhouse and check in and private carts aren't allowed. Other clubs, you may be able to just play on from your house, but usually restricted to certain hours and/or you just call the clubhouse to check. If it wasn't allowed, nobody would have private carts. The course was closing. You were playing twilight, which is a free for all. The course that I was a member of, you were free to walk on and play whenever you wanted if the course was closed. You only had to make a tee time if you were teeing off prior to 5p on days it was open.
We use a private cart to play twilight free golf all the time
They're starting to crack down on it a bit due to a massive influx of new members in the past few years, but it has almost always been like this at my parents' club. We go out to dinner and then just drive the cart down the road and play a few holes until it gets dark. There would always be other people out, so If someone's on a hole, you just go find another one. On a few occasions we've definitely had a couple extra beers in the cart, turned on the headlights, and chipped around in the dark until like 10:30-11.
My private home club basically turns into this on most Sunday afternoons (I think after 3 or 4pm)--they stop doing tee times and just kinda let it be a family free-for-all. Generally kids aren't allowed on the course on weekends so I think it's meant to balance that out a bit. Many of the family groups end up playing a short loop of 1-4 and then 9. I think they also send out a second drink cart.
> I think they also send out a second drink cart We've had one drink cart, yes... What about SECOND drink cart?
Grew up a handful of streets away from a public course. We'd go sit on the fence at #11 and "watch the golfers" which was basically waiting for the marshal to come round up all the carts at closing. Once they rolled over the hill on #17, we'd jump on. Played 11-12-13-14-12 3x a week with only a 7i, its how I learned to play golf.
I do this at the semi-private club I am a member of in a small town. I let the clubhouse know when I’ll be out, just out of respect, but I doubt most people do this. Most of the time it’s the same guys every time I go so it is a bit of a small party just because you see those same people often. TLDR; it’s a common occurrence at our course
I got invited to stay at Pebble beach for a corporate thing, right on the course overlooking the bay (they teed off on #14 in our backyard). After groups stopped coming through, a few of us walked up to the tee box on 8, which is the one that hugs the bay and you have to shoot across it to the green…. Got a couple holes in before we could see the security/greens keepers coming from far away with their lit up ATVs to finish out their day. Smoked a joint leaning against the flagstick on #13 later that night!
Oh you simple, simple BASTARD! Don't you know the first rule about night golf is we don't talk about night golf!!!😆✌️
This sounds like my club every summer day around that time. On Friday's, in the summer, we have a DJ on the patio too.
I live in a golf course and me and my wife will wait till after the last tee time usually about an hour after and drive our cart around and just practice driving and putting. I’ve seen several other families doing the same.
Private course I worked at allowed private carts. Most of those had headlights, they'd play till 10pm or later. Only sucked when there was one of our carts and we had to hunt them down so we could go home.
small rural town, semi-private course. We are members and live on a hole, have our own cart. We probably do this 4-5 nights a week in the summer...actually replace divots and clean up the tee boxes as we play in any order we choose, with music playing on the speakers...it's a great life.
Growing up I had a friend who lived on a course. We were allowed to play after pins were pulled as long as we were being respectful. I guess his dad played pretty often and was close with the owners and the grounds crew and as long as everything was left as we found it, it was all good. Dream scenario as I called it.
Typical private club living
night putting....putting at night....with the daughter of the dean
My friend lives on the course, and its very much the same. On a random afternoon or evening, we can hop on his cart, shoot over to the 15th hole that's 200 yards away from his back yard, and tee off. We'll play 9, end up back at his house and hang out, all in an hour. Within that time, we'll see groups of guys doing the same, just hopping around looking for a hole to play. You'll see groups of kids riding around their 6 person golf carts, going from house to house, doing kid stuff. I'm talking you'll see 3-4 different carts driving around together, with each one being one of those lifted, with crazy lights, 6 seaters with speakers and all the works. You'll see the moms and dads heading to the club in their carts, you'll see the family driving the dog around, and you'll see some brave enough to walk around the course itself. When it's a gated neighborhood, it feels like its usually all bet's off when a large part of the community has their own golf carts.
My better half's folks live on the 18th fairway of their country club course. I honestly can't recall an evening in the summer that I've visited that I *haven't* played several after-hours holes.
We lived in a community with a course growing up, I would walk over to the nearest hole, the 3rd, and play 3-8 in the evenings. It wasn't unusual to run into staff getting in a few holes at the end of their day too.
Something like this is pretty common at the semi private club I work at in Florida. We only sell tee times from 8am to 330pm so some of the members that live in the community and employees typically go out after closing and enjoy the course to ourselves. We are just outside the top 50 public courses in Florida and the course is absolutely gorgeous. It feels pretty special that nobody really cares that we get such a beautiful place all to ourselves in the early evenings.
I used to do this at my club when we were younger, 20-24 of us, played for cash, different games, drinks flowing...so fun! I usually played so good and carefree, sometimes barefoot....now I tee off at 6:30 am and I need a nap by noon lol I miss those days...actually, we would sometimes get the 20 something beverage girls out with us and it was always crazy with a bunch of college boys and girls hammering michelob golden lights, glow balls, poker inside the clubhouse after close.... God damn I miss my youth
My buddy is a member and lives on a private course. This is pretty common place after 6pm on the weekends. Maybe not to the extent you witnessed but we have played 6, 7 and 8 at twilight hours more than I’ve ever played that 9 hole course.
Hopped on my local course on Saturday and played four holes. It’s a way of life really.
My club has a glow ball tournament. Shortened hole yardage, special light flags poles, cup lights, neon lights around green. They definitely purchased a kit to set up all the holes. Then it was a party after the games. Great time
In high school on weekends or during the summer we would have after hours social gatherings at one of the licks private country clubs. We were greeted with enthusiasm when the groundskeepers caught us - and by enthusiasm I mean salt pellet guns.
I had a buddy whose apartment overlooked a par 4 on a semi-private course and we would routinely go out and play the hole in the evenings. We did it so often we pretty much knew where the balls would land and what club so we’d just leave the clubs out in the course as we walked back and forth. It was a great way to kill an hour or so at dusk.
My dad has a hockey buddy that lives just off a course. They'd have parties every summer and after it got dark sometimes the guys would challenge each other to the hole or two behind the house.
My parents have a house on a semi-private and I have a membership there. If you have a golf membership and get clearance with the pros, they will allow walking the course after it shuts down. There are some people that live on the course that will calm security if they see anyone out there, then security just comes out, quick discussion and I continue on. I fix a lot of pitch marks on the greens when I play, fill sand in divots, so the pros have no problem if you’re helping maintenance while getting some practice in.
We have a small 9-hole par three in town that gets used after hours and out of season quite a bit. There’s very little fencing by the first hole so people can park at the nature reserve lot a few 100m away and then just step over the rope fence. If there’s no snow on the ground people are stepping over and playing rounds. They had to install camera to try to crack down. Now I think they take etransfers and bookings via Facebook during the winter.
My mom told me growing up she would drop my uncle off at a hole in the fence for a local course and him and his friends would walk on and play a round from there
I grew up in a house on the third fairway of a course. Many many evenings after the last groups went through we’d play 4-6 holes. The course workers never bothered us (a group of kids mind you).
I stay at a place in Hilton head whenever I visit on a golf course, and everyone goes out at night at like 8pm right before dark and plays from 150-in on whatever hole they live on
I grew up on a private golf course. We were out there ALL the time.
Buddy had a cabin off a par 3 in the mountains. We would gamble KP’s until the moon came up.
After closing time it’s fair game. 6pm until it’s too dark to see the ball anymore. Great on these night where it’s light enough until 10pm ish.
I realized recently it’s super easy to play night golf at my local. Pro shop guys are all gone by the time I finish a late round, so I ordered some glow in the dark balls and when my brother is in town we’re gonna grab the last tee time and circle around when it starts getting dark. Debating whether or not could just ask someone at the pro shop about it first. I like this course.
There is a course behind my dad’s house. The first time my brother in law and I went out at dusk we thought we had to be careful breaking the rules. To our surprise, the course was playing slow that night lol. Not actually slow but we saw about 4 other groups doing the same thing. It’s become some what of a tradition now to get out at dusk when we are both at the house. We call it the loop, a par 3 behind the house, into a par 5, and back into a par 4 that leads right back to the house. I’d say it’s a common practice among ppl who live next to a course.
Glow in the dark golf balls would be fun for this
I have a buddy who’s a pro at the nationally known private golf course near me. We play / f around after the last members play all the time. We’ll play the same hole 4 times, skip the next 3, go back to the first, hit a ton of shots. It’s like having your own personal course it’s unreal. I hope he never leaves.
You just missed the sacrificing ritual.
Well the people who live on my local course treat it like it's their private course all hours of the day. They drive from hole to hole in packs and drink while their kids play. It's obnoxious as hell, and I think it's only allowed because the course itself has changed hands over the years. I'm sure the current ownership lives in the neighborhood or close by.
I’m a member at a club and I’m allowed to go out after last tee time and play as long as I’m back by dark
Grew up right next to a public course. My friends and I would walk the perimeter of the course every day in the summer looking for golf balls, we'd end up with thousands of them. We would always have a club in hand and would pop out every once in a while and play a hole or 2. Most evenings we would play a 3-hole loop after we knew the last golfers had passed us by. It was completely awesome.
If last Friday wasn’t raining and shitty here I would 100% assume this post was talking about my course. Happens all the time at my course.
Call the cops...kidding lol
Growing up my family lived on a golf course. House backed up to the 13th fairway. In high school, my brother and I would sometimes take 4-5 clubs and play a 4-hole loop starting about a half hour before dark. No issues for a while, then one day walking off a green and around a corner there was a marshal in a cart concealed behind a tree waiting for us. Uh oh. Conversation went something like this. Marshal: You boys live around here? Us: Yes sir. Marshal: Do you like golf? Enjoy the game? Us: Yes sir. Marshal: Ok, we don’t mind you guys playing a few holes out here in the evening. Just stay out of paying customers way and fix your ball marks and repair your divots. Carry on. I was new to golf at the time and that interaction could have turned me off of the game forever if it had gone a different way. Instead, 20 years later I’m a lifelong golf sicko and have spent more money on golf than I care to admit. Including at that same course when I go back home to visit my parents. I’m thankful to that Marshal for the kindness he showed that day to two raggedy kids in flip flops and gym shorts. What a great sport.
My buddy lived off the 8th green for a while. We would get lamps and have chipping putting contests for 3 hours at night all the time.
yes this is definitely a thing
People do this at my local golf course, dogs, kids running around. If the course doesn't cover damage because "you chose to live on a golf course" then it seems equal for the people that live on the golf course to use the premises because "they chose to live on a golf course" I personally don't mind it at all, so long as they move out of the way when people are playing.
It's crazy that right above this in my feed is the post with the guy who ives next to the course and threw a fit about them saying he can't be treating it like that. Everyone in the comments there is like NEVER play a course after hours, it's a respect thing, have a tee time always, no music, no nothing. Everyone here is saying the opposite about community courses. Now that guy was a dick, but a lot of people were saying under zero circumstances should he or anyone be on the course without a tee time / before or after hours.
My local course allows exclusively walk-ups after 6pm. I frequently encounter familiar and couples walking their dogs or going on a hike. it really is magical
I was expecting something totally different 😂😂
This is how I cut my teeth! Playing the first 6 holes of my local course after hours.
Buddy of mine used to live with a golf course in his backyard. 6 20-somethings out there, completely wasted, chasing one of those glow-in-the-dark frisbee's. One of my most favorite memories.
There’s a guy who lives at the end of hole 1 and the beginning of hole 9 on my course and he just plays 9 when walking to the range and plays 1 when walking home. He’s a platinum member so it’s all “free” anyway but it’s kinda funny.
> Is this a case of poor course management or is this a common perk of living in a neighborhood with a golf course? The latter. I grew up living on a course and every house in the neighborhood had their own golf cart. Nearly every night in the summer folks would go out at 6 or 7 pm and try to squeeze in a whole round if they could. The course was well aware of it and the vast majority of these families were members anyway. I was out there visiting last summer and tried to pay for a round at like 7pm and the pro shop attendant (who I've known forever, to be fair) just said to go out and play wherever I could find a spot to get on, lol
I used to sneak onto the course after hours when I was a teenager. My short game was amazing! Played a few of the holes then I’d go back and do homework/play video games, then bed. As long as you didn’t trash it, the rangers didn’t really care. Got caught and few times and the old guys were happy to see a young kid out there practicing. Man I miss those days.
What's the first rule of Underworld Golf Club?
Also known as “people that live on the course”
So this is why people suffer through having golf balls hit their house.
The private course I live on turns in to a golf cart highway at night because many people have their own street-legal golf carts (so they have headlights). My neighbor is often out there as the sun goes down playing a loop of a few of the holes. He is a member. Lots of people walk the course (including myself) in the evening/night when there are no more golfers out there. One night I was out when it was pretty dark and I saw a kid and his father playing with those light up golf balls. I went and asked them how they work and he said count on going up two clubs for the same distance and the balls stay lit for 10 minutes after hitting them.
I lived on a course in highschool. My friends and I would jump the fence and create new holes. Hop on the 15th tee box and aim at the 16th hole or whatever. As long as it’s empty no one cares. Plus most families are members.
I live on a public course. You aren't allowed personal carts though. There's also only houses on the back 9 which is separated by a highway. Once the back 9 clears out I'll take my pushcart out my back door and play. There's one dude who carries only seven clubs and literally jogs and plays every tonight. Hits jogs to his ball and hits again. It's his workout. People walking dogs everywhere. Nice thing is I know right where to look for balls. I usually gain a dozen or so balls playing
What until you hear about night golf. glow in the dark balls and glow sticks on the flag.
I lived on a course growing up. The unspoken rules was wait until 7pm and then don't be a dick. Tons of dudes would show up and play 3-9 holes and dip.
Golf course I grew up close to let us have the run of the place as long as we didn’t wreck or tear up anything, didn’t get in any players way, etc … that’s how I learned how to swing a club… playing in eves when the mosquitoes weren’t too bad - they got easily 100+ paid rounds when I got older and played more … They also allowed dogs with same rules in evening -
Yeah members will just roll around with their own carts. Course doesn’t care as long as you don’t do dumb shit, just the courses carts in at dusk
Live on a semi private neighborhood course. We walk and drive the course a lot and so do a lot of people. Course is in great shape and the owners do not as long as no damage is done and we stay out of maintenances way
Super common. When I lived next to the 4th hole, I used to play 4-5-6 at dusk frequently
Glow balls make this even better
Golf in the Twin Cities metro \*ST Paul & Minneapolis MN is so busy that many courses have removed twilight golf rates. Full rate tee times this time of year at 6pm because you can still get in 18.
The first time I played on a golf course (i.e. not the driving range) was when I snuck onto a public course during a full moon with glow-in-the-dark golf balls. What you're describing sounds a lot more legal and a whole lot of fun, but probably unique to that course. I can't imagine that many private clubs are that chill about people playing at night, even if they are paying members with homes along the course. On a related note: glow-in-the-dark golf ball technology has gotten really good since I got into the habit.
My parents live on course. The green to a par 3 is right next to their backyard. Every time I visit I play that thing a least dozen times. After 8pm never anyone on the course.
Happens on my local course all the time, as most others have stated great for the game overall as long as everyone or most anyway take care of the course.
A friend of mine worked at a course in Anchorage in high school, and the staff used to go play a full 18 after the closed up around 8pm.
Surprised this still goes on for legal/insurance reasons, but people used to do this all the time at the course near my house growing up. Take the dog for a walk, bring driver 9i putter, find a couple balls alongside the road, play a couple holes, etc. A lot of my buddies who lived around the course all grew up doing the same.
We live on a small local course. Neighborhood splits the front and back 9 right down the middle. A lot of retirees in the neighborhood that will play a couple holes in the evenings. Course doesn't seem to mind. We've chatted with the groundskeeper while out strolling down the fairway in the evening and we're told that unless damage to the course becomes a problem, the current owners are happy to share the course occasionally with the residents.
The public course in my backyard is super hardcore about making sure no one from the neighborhood ever goes on the course. No walking the cart paths after hours, no chipping or putting, no private carts even if you have a membership. Really makes it a bummer to deal with all of the downsides of living on a course with only the visuals as an upside. Neighborhood and course are on pretty bad terms as a result
Me and my neighbors do glow in the dark putting horse.
Honestly, i fucking love that.
Member entitlement. Working anywhere that has members is a nightmare because about 98% of them (yah, I'm talking about you, random cc member reeading this) are blowhard entitled dickheads who demand things their way. They will stomp and whine and cry until they get what they want. They get away with this because they know they can just throw a tantrum to make it go away. All houses on all courses should be bulldozed at the expense of the owners.
Here's my opinion on it. If you have a course in a neighborhood you need to harbor positive relationships with the people in it. They will support you with memberships and tee times, but you also need the others to watch over the course, teach their kids to do the same, and basically keep it from being vandalized. A bike on wet greens or a $20 bottle of round up can cause a ton of damage. I played a round on a work trip and watched a marshall kick a guy off the neighborhood side of a pond fishing at almost 7pm. To me that shit is wild. Pretentious asshole behavior that will eventually get you shit in a cup at the best case. So as long as people are respecting the course, not causing damage, etc, absolutely no issue with it. The time carts get to close to greens or things start getting damaged it will need monitored more.
Used to live on a muni Used to walk the back 9 daily when home from college Eventually got kicked out and they started looking for me Now the course is closed, so who won?
I lived on the 17th fairway of a private course for years. I was a member as a junior. I used to walk on at 8pm (dark was around 9:30) to play 3/4 holes almost every night after all the tee times. there were a few others, but nothing like you described.
Was there lighting ? I played in the dark a few times, but it’s hard.
I stayed on a course in Hawaii and got a few after hours holes in just about every night (and found about 2 dozen Pro V1’s I totally didn’t pack in my suitcase)
At my local course all the semi pros, kids working the course, and everyone else who is generally making a living in golf goes out at that time. These guys will rip out 12-15 holes in like a hour and a half before dark. Helps when most of them can shoot par on an off day.
Just learning about this? Lol. Only time I golfed before kids…
Come out to the 9th green and 9 Secret of the pros!
Poor course management. Obviously the neighbors have figured out that nobody is home after hours on the course.
Im really surprised the HOAs dont squash this down. I live near 2 courses and as much as night golf sounds amazing, I just know unless you're really quiet the houses would flip out.
I don’t live on the course I’m a member of, but at least once a month an email will go out reminding everyone that no one is to be on the course except golfers. Part of that is the kids riding bikes all over, and the dogs/kids destroying bunkers, but the other part is the danger. The course could technically be liable if someone got hurt if a hazard wasn’t “clearly marked”. The email (and signage at several points of the course) helps remove that culpability (or so it has been put to me by the GM). I do have friends who live on the course, and it’s not uncommon to get some putting practice in, but you don’t see many people playing a couple holes. Too many “community watch” members who would report it immediately.
its definitely a thing. you gotta know people who work in the clubhouse i guess. there are groups that go off before the first sold teetime all the time, like full foursomes with cart with special agreement somehow from the staff. then sometimes i see these solo guys who also show up in front of me halfway through the round with the robot push cart. almost always old guys. shame its a public golf system and meant for everyone but if you know the workers you get these special perks. same system thats got all of these teetimes being sold by bots and theyve done like hardly anything about it beyond put a $10 nonrefundable deposit down on teetimes and throw their hands in the air. makes me think given the special treatment certain players get that there is more than meets the eye here with tee times and collusion and corruption of a public facility.