Arizona's Majestic Night Lighted Golf Course Lets You Beat The Heat And Swing Under The Stars
It might surprise some to hear that Arizona is a top-10 U.S. state for tourism, pulling in over 45 million overnight visitors in 2023. The natural beauty of the Grand Canyon State and its desert hikes to stunning waterfalls deserve every ounce of attention they receive. The 300 days of sunshine in Phoenix and even 260 sunny days in Flagstaff up in the mountains also make Arizona one of the country's top destinations for golf-centered vacations.
The greater Phoenix area alone has over 200 golf courses. Golf enthusiasts can tee off year-round in a variety of environments, from classic Sonoran Desert landscapes of towering rock formations and cacti to wide, deep-green fairways lined with pines – there are also plenty of free things to do in Phoenix as well. The flip side to all of that desert sunshine is the scorching temperatures, particularly in summer when the average high is in the triple digits. When stepping outside feels like walking into an oven, you might be tempted to leave the clubs behind and spend the day at this Arizona water park known for the most exhilarating rides.
Luckily, one golf course in the city of Tempe, Arizona, is helping golfers have it all by offering a fun, creative solution to beat the heat: nighttime golfing. Grass Clippings Rolling Hills opens up tee times after dark and illuminates the course with nearly 90 stadium-style lights. It's the only course in Arizona with night golf, and it recently renovated to add more amenities that expand a classic round on the links into an unforgettable experience, day or night.
Golfing under the lights at Grass Clippings Rolling Hills
The 18-hole course at Grass Clippings Rolling Hills operates as normally as any during the day, although howler monkeys from the nearby Phoenix Zoo can be heard from the 3rd hole and might break your concentration. Once dusk arrives, Grass Clippings Rolling Hills transforms from one of the few public courses in Tempe to the only one of its kind in Arizona. Seven days a week, after the sun goes down, the LED lights come on, and it becomes an 18-hole par 3 course, which means the hole distances are a bit shorter and range from 90 to 200 yards.
Tee times can be booked online up to two weeks in advance, a round starts at $45 per person, and carts are available. One thing to be aware of is that only nine-hole tee times are available after 10 p.m. Night golf offers an escape from 100-degree desert heat, but it also opens up an option for golfers who work long hours during the day. Local golfer Wesley Planck told Arizona's Family, "I have a couple buddies that we go out with at night during the summer trying to just get a quick twilight round in, you know, try cramming in as many holes as we can before the sun goes down, and now that's not a worry anymore."
"It's really revolutionary what we're doing here," said the guest services manager of the course, Mike Uribe. One of only 20 courses in the entire country with night golf that allows golfers to smash balls and sink putts until 1 a.m., Grass Clippings Rolling Hills surely is leading the charge.
A driving range, the Glenrosa Restaurant, and expanding the golf experience
Teeing off under stadium lights gives a unique, big-league feel to a round of golf, a sport that has seen a significant jump in interest since the pandemic. Modern and convenient driving ranges like TopGolf have exploded in popularity in recent years and helped boost interest. TopGolf has opened dozens of locations across the U.S. and internationally that offer a combination of sports-bar vibes, microchipped balls, and games for all skill levels. Night golf at Grass Clippings Rolling Hills follows in that trend of making the game more accessible and appealing for less-experienced ball strikers while expanding on the traditional golf experience.
The LED-light transformation at this Tempe course was part of a $15 million renovation that also lit its 15,000-square-foot practice putting green. The driving range was upgraded to include 25 hitting bays equipped with Toptracer technology that allows golfers to track every hook, shank, or arrow-straight drive in the dark. The Glenrosa Restaurant and event lawn also opened at the course. So visitors now have the chance to sit down to authentic Sonoran cuisine and a cocktail in celebration of a glorious round — or to help them forget all the duffs and missed putts. There's live music playing on most weekends and a farmers market on the grounds during the spring and fall. A schedule of all events can be found on the Grass Clippings Rolling Hills website.
The game of golf is expanding and becoming a full-on entertainment experience. Grass Clippings Rolling Hills is leading the way in Arizona with its after-dark playing options, expansive amenities, and an award-worthy mantra: Stay grassy.