There seems to be two different factions of golfers, both of whom are adamant that their preferred time of play is better than the other: dew-sweepers and golden hour golfers.
Dew-sweepers prefer to play at the first break of daylight, waking up earlier than they would for a day at the office, barely seeing where their first tee ball goes in the early morning (lack of) light.
They say if they play early in the day - super early, like 6:00am early - then they still have almost the entire day available to them for other activities.
Don't get me wrong, I understand that logic. But I can't support it.
Twilight golf is better.
Here's why.
That "Time For Other Activities" Is Not Realized
Let's be real: that "time for other activities" never materializes. In order to make a 6:00am tee time, you have to wake up early. Really early. Super early. Like 5:00am at the latest in order to get to the course on time without trying to run from the parking lot to the first tee while simultaneously putting your golf shoes on.
And that 5:00am wake up call probably isn't after a restful night's sleep. Be honest, you had a few beers or cocktails at happy hour or the family BBQ the day before. Your Whoop recovery is 22% and begging you not to play. Your body can't handle this kind of strain at this early hour after that recovery. Who do you think you are?
So you play your round of golf, trying to concentrate between the roosters belting their cock-a-doodle-dos (and whatever other early morning nature sounds there are), yawns, and throbs of a headache.
Assuming a four-hour pace, your round is done at about 10:00am. After a quick clean of the clubs and spikes and posting the score on GHIN, you're ready to attack the rest of the day.
Until you get home and sit on the couch.
Then, just when you think "hey, I have all this time left today to do other things!" is the moment you fall asleep and take a nap. Then you nap away the afternoon.
So much for all those other activities you had planned.
Think of the Staff!
This reason may be slightly self serving from my younger days when I was part of the outside operations team (read: I staged the carts and filled up the water coolers) at a golf course in my early teenage years.
In order for you to play golf at 6:00am, some poor kid (me) had to be at the golf course at 5:15am! And I had to be pleasant, personable, and charming at that hour to serve the needs of those early morning golfers. For a 14-year-old, having that pleasurable demeanor at any time is a challenge, let along at the crack of dawn.
I’m not saying when I worked at the course as a teenager that I liked the people who waited to play until the 10:00am price break better, but that’s exactly what the 14- and 15-year-old me is saying.
Twilight Golf is Cheaper
I don't know about you, but I'm not made of money. Have you seen what things cost these days?! (Damn economy.)
Those "prime" tee times in the early morning are usually the most expensive! Why would I spend more money when I don’t have to?
Twilight golf prices can be as much as half of the “regular” greens fee. Plus, there is usually no such thing as “mandatory carts” at twilight (which let’s face it, “mandatory carts” are just a way for the golf course to get extra revenue.).
You can walk at twilight, getting a little extra exercise and saving yourself from the exorbitant cart fees.
With those savings, think of how much more golf you play.
Sunset Views & Relaxation
When you step on to the first tee at 4:00pm or later, you know you’re in for a special time. Golden hour on a golf course is hard to beat. The natural light makes the golf course shine. The sun setting lends itself to a calm and leisurely round.
The course is generally less crowded and it can be a time where you, while playing golf, just soak in the nature and your surroundings. There is plenty of time for self-reflection during a round of golf, it might as well be at a time when the course is truly shining.
After a long day at the office, or yard work, or errands, or whatever else modern life throws at us, that twilight round of golf is an escape. A walk in nature, chasing a small white ball, gets you away from the complications of life. (Sure, it adds the complication of golf, but remember, golfers do actually like the self-inflicted torture that is golf.)
It can be easy to spend a little extra time on the tee box or walk a little slower to the golf ball during a twilight round.
I’m not saying there is a bad time to play golf. I will play at 7:00am if I must. But to those who fight for those early morning tee times and prefer to play that early, you can have those tee times; thanks for leaving the best time to play golf available.
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