Night Golf Under the Lights: All 22 Courses in the United States

You want to play more golf, but there just aren’t enough hours in the day. Every golfer has done the mental math to try to solve this problem, but the solution just might be one you’ve never thought of. Night golf.

Night golf under stadium lights is relatively unknown, so here are the answers to all your burning night golf questions.

Every Night Golf Course in the United States

Night golf on fully lit golf courses with stadium lights just might be closer to you than you think. In fact, there are at least 22 different night golf courses in the United States, spanning 13 different states. Twenty-three more states border a state with at least one night golf course, so even if it’s not your solution to squeezing more golf into your busy life, a cool bucket-list experience you want to check off is most likely a short road trip away.

Playing Golf at Night Under the Lights

Golf sucks time out of your day like no other hobby, and there are only so many of those precious hours in a day. 

There’s an old saying that goes something like this: “If you do the things you have to when you have to do them, then you can do the things you want to do when you want to do them.”

That’s why on paper, night golf makes sense. Take care of all your business during the day, then enjoy yourself on the golf course at night. 

Throughout the variety of night golf courses in the United States, we have an entire menu of courses to choose from. While it makes sense that night golf courses would be short par-3 tracks, there are a few full-length, 18-hole courses mixed in as well.

The shortest night golf course is The Swing, a 770-yard, 10-hole Par 3 course at the PGA headqarters in Firsco, Texas, which opened in 2023. Meanwhile, Beacon Lakes Golf Course down the road in Dickinson, Texas, offers 6,777 yards of fully lit golf on its par-72 layout.

The Pros and Cons of Night Golf

While it’s a concept most golfers are probably enthusiastic about, there are some complications in executing night golf successfully.

3 Reasons to Love Night Golf

If you live near one of the 22 night golf facilities in the United States, these courses open up a whole new avenue for your golf obsession. You no longer have to choose between spending time with family and loved ones, or spending half of a Saturday or Sunday on the golf course. A night golf course that makes the late evening hours available for golf gives you some serious flexibility to make time for all of your priorities.

There are around 15,000 golf courses in the United States, and only 22 of them have night golf, so it’s unlikely – to say the least – that one of these courses is close enough to you to actually help you play more golf. That’s OK, because there’s still a really good chance that at least one is within driving distance of you, which means the unique bucket-list experience of night golf is within reach if you make a little effort. In fact, there are night golf courses within an hour drive from Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, San Diego, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Orlando, Pittsburg, and Salt Lake City, plus another just 90 minutes (depending on traffic) from New York City. That covers a huge percentage of the United States population.

If golf during the day feels a little intimidating and uninviting, consider night golf its crazy uncle that – despite those quirks – always makes you feel welcome and at ease. Night golf simply brings a more relaxed, social vibe. It’s also typically more welcoming to younger golfers and families. For instance, at Legends Walk in Kissimmee, Florida, kids under 12 play free with a paying adult, and at Tupelo Bay in South Carolina, clubs are available free of charge.

3 Cons of Night Golf You Didn’t Think Of

Golf under the lights doesn’t mean you can play until the sun comes up. Many city ordinances limit how late those stadium lights can illuminate a golf course. Most night golf courses cut off tee times between 8:00-9:00 PM during golf season. While in some cases that's enough time to keep you on the course until close to midnight, it really only buys the facility a couple extra hours of tee times, and that may not be enough to cover the costs of running enough lights to keep an entire golf course lit up.

The second issue with night golf is accessibility. Night golf is only a great way to squeeze in more golf if you can actually get to and from a course without taking a weeknight road trip. While 22 courses with stadium lights in the United States is a number to be excited about, it’s not a realistic solution to the not-enough-hours-in-a-day problem for the overwhelming majority of golfers.

Finally, while golf at night sounds fun – whether it's a weekly appointment or a one-off bucket list experience – the functionality is challenging. Most of us don’t hit the ball as straight as we’d like to, and even all those stadium lights can only illuminate so much of the course. During a nine or 18-hole round of night golf, you’re bound to hit your ball into some un-findable dark patches, which can lead to frustration. Putting during night golf can be a challenge, too. With darkness in the background and stadium lights hitting your line from all angles, getting an accurate read on the greens can be tough.

A Closer Look at America’s Night Golf Courses

Here are all the details on each of the 22 night golf courses in the United States.

Grass Clippings at Rolling Hills

What you need to know:

• Arizona's first fully lit 18-hole golf course
• Tee times accepted 14 days in advance
• 5 minutes from Arizona State and downtown Phoenix

Westchester Golf Course

What you need to know:

• Tee times at Westchester Golf Course are available as late as 8:44 PM during golf season

The Lights at Indio Golf Course

What you need to know:

• The Lights at Indio is one of the more popular, high-ranking night golf courses in the country

Heartwell Golf Course

What you need to know:

• Well-kept par-3 course in Long Beach with a robust practice facility

Mission Bay Golf Course

What you need to know:

• Night golf may be suspended as a result of damage from extreme weather, contact the course before booking

Highland Greens

What you need to know:

• Highland Greens is about a 90-minute drive from New York City, and about 30 minutes from Hartford, Connecticut

The Links of Naples

What you need to know:

• Night golf is open Wednesday through Saturday nights

Legends Walk Golf Course

What you need to know:

• Course designed by Arnold Palmer
• Kinds under 12 play free with a paying adult

Chippers Walk at Duran Golf Club

What you need to know:

• The course is lit until 9:00 PM

Lit 9 at The Park West Palm

What you need to know:

• The unique 9th hole is a 150-foot long putt
• Juniors 12 and under play free

Golf Center Des Plaines

What you need to know:

• Play until midnight
• About a 30-minute drive from Chicago

Angel Park Cloud 9

What you need to know:

• The course is a compilation of replicas of some of the most famous par-3 holes in the world

Las Vegas Golf Center

What you need to know:

• This facility was formerly the TaylorMade Golf Experience and Callaway Golf Center

Knights Play Golf Center

What you need to know:

• 3 different lit 9-hole, par-3 courses; play 9 or 18 holes
• Courses measure 1,276; 1,325; and 1,209 yards
• Play as late as 9 PM

LaFortune Park GC Par 3

What you need to know:

• The par-3 course re-opened in 2018 with stadium lights and an all new layout. 
• Course is lit April - October

Manor Valley Golf Course

What you need to know:

• About a 30-minute drive from Pittsburg
• Manor Valley claims to be the first regulation-sized lit golf course in the world

3's

What you need to know:

• Premium 12-hole par-3 course redesigned from the previous 18-hole layout
• 18-hole putting course on site

Tupelo Bay Golf Center

What you need to know:

• Clubs available free of charge
• Military and First Responder discounts available

Beacon Lakes Golf Course

What you need to know:

• The longest lit golf course in the USA
• About a 30-minute drive from Houston

The Swing

What you need to know:

• On site at the PGA of America headquarters in Frisco, Texas
• Opened in 2023
• Club rentals and balls available to all visitors

The Pasture Course at Timpanogos

What you need to know:

• Depending on the season, the last tee times are as late as 10:00 PM
• About a 40-minute drive from Salt Lake City

Brookside Par 3

What you need to know:

• Was the shortest lit golf course in the United States at just 840 yards until The Swing in Frisco, Texas opened in 2023

Say Goodnight

If you’re an avid golfer, the idea of playing golf under the lights, at least once, probably sounds like fun. Even if it doesn’t help you cram more golf into your hectic schedule, it’s a unique experience that many golfers don’t even realize is out there.