_Dec/anewlightonthings.jpg "A New Light On Things")
Being in the dark isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially when it’s the result of a bright idea. Copper Hill Golf Club in East Granby, Connecticut, has held three annual night golf tournaments since 2009, when the current management team took over. “The previous owner held one night golf event, but we put it on steroids,” says owner and general manager Paul Banks.
Banks conducts the nine-hole events in June, August and October, which in 2014 drew 61, 68 and 75 participants, respectively. Each night golf course setup includes more than 250 green, yellow, red and blue glowing lights—with orange added for October’s Harvest Moon-themed tournament—and tiki torches marking potential hazardous areas. Special glow balls that light brightly for eight minutes after being struck and “bling” (necklaces and bracelets) are included with the $30 entry fee. Golfers pay separately for food and beverage.
“You can see the glow balls in the middle of the woods,” Banks says. “The bling makes it more fun and a lot safer. We obviously have to be able to see people.”
Maximum group size for the walking-only shotgun scramble event is five players. Prizes are awarded, and beverages are served in the clubhouse and on two stationary beverage carts that play music and are decorated with glow-in-the-dark balloons.
In addition to being fun, Copper Hill’s Night Golf pays dividends. Banks estimates the facility makes “$1,000 to $1,400” in just food and beverage for each event. Collectively, the club grosses more than $9,000 for all three tournaments.
“Night golf is by far our most-popular event,” Banks says. “There’s a lot of demand. I don’t have to advertise.”
—Steve Donahue