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
