Playing golf offers various benefits, like exercise, fresh air, challenges, and camaraderie that can last a lifetime. Whether you are close to home or visiting a new area, you know the enticing anticipation of your next round. Golf stimulates the endorphins that kick in during play even if we only play against ourselves.
Twilight golf offers the same great course amenities with financial advantages you might have overlooked. Keep reading to find some terrific benefits!
What is Twilight Golf?
Getting a tee time early in the morning can be difficult on most courses. And catching the perfect peak time spot is often the most expensive. It’s a problem. We finally manage a break in our busy schedule, only to be punished because it coincides with the perfect time for dozens of other golfers! What to do?
Fortunately, many golf courses offer discounted rates for specific seasons. However, this is usually discounted for a reason and golfers will likely face less than comfortable conditions depending on the season.
And then there’s twilight golf, which offers a range of benefits with later tee times that can perfectly fit your time and budgets. Twilight golf is generally defined by tee times beginning in the mid to late afternoon until the evening.
At River’s Edge, twilight golf hours are after 3 p.m. in the peak season – May 28 through September 19 – and even earlier during the shoulder months of March 26 through May 27 and September 20 through October 31.
Benefits of Twilight Golf
For most golf courses, popular tee times mean golfers standing on every green, tee, and practice facility which generally means waiting either on slow groups in front or fast groups to play past you. A quieter course is more conducive to lower scores and higher enjoyment. That’s what twilight golf gives us. A peacefulness that comes from fewer players.
It always pays to slow down and think through shots and club selection. Not being rushed by golfers waiting for you to finish a hole is a huge benefit. Stress and rigidity in your muscles hamper full extension and flow during your golf swing. And, you’ll notice less hook and slice, more clear thinking, and lower scores.
Twilight golf may become one of your greatest golf experiences for those who work early in the morning. A tee time in the evening is a great way to end the day and gives you the opportunity to relax as the day closes.
Not only does a long stretch of outdoor exercise make for an excellent way to forget about work, but psychologically speaking, you’ll be able to truly disconnect. Golf lets us decompress from the stress of work, whether it comes from the office or our homes. You don’t have to have a regular job to work hard every day and need release and fun.
Another great benefit of twilight golf is that your round will go faster on a less crowded course. There’s a great flow and symmetry. You’ll be able to build momentum when you can go directly from one shot to the next instead of finding a pileup at the turn or the next tee.
The casual movements from one shot to the next may seem more natural to some players, and you won’t be standing around waiting for the foursome ahead to finish while your mind wanders away from your golf game.
Five Tips for Twilight Golf
- Arrive on time. Don’t short yourself on time by arriving late or missing your tee time.
- Practice when you can. If you’re not worried about finishing a round and there’s no group behind you, take advantage of a bad shot by hitting another ball or even dropping a couple in the sand trap for extra practice.
- Don’t burn daylight. If you want to finish, but you’re seriously out of bounds or can’t find a ball quickly, drop a new one where you think you landed and finish the hole.
- Flex your putting rules. When you have the time, spend it reading the green aggressively and make some putts! If you must hurry, take slightly longer gimmies. It’s the long ones you need to practice, and the putting green is always open, right?
- Skip busy holes. You may hate to skip a hole, but you’ll gain several if you pass a backed-up tee box.
See the Golf Course from a New Perspective
Playing later in the day will offer several new experiences you’ll enjoy, including interacting with a new group of players. You may find terrific partners to team up with already at the course or invite friends to join you now that there’s more time to play.
The course itself will also play differently later in the day. Early morning hours include wet greens, intermittent casual water in spots from sprinklers, and occasional humidity from early morning fog and watering. Twilight hours will not.
Twilight hours offer a high sky that fades slightly as you cruise the course. If you’re on the west coast, remember that the sun sets later than in the east, so you’ll get more time to finish a round.
If you tee off before 4 p.m., there’s a good chance you’ll be done before sunset (about 8:30 p.m. on the west coast during the summer). But if you start later, you’ll have the advantage of seeing the course in a whole new light.
Save Money on Twilight Golf Hours
If you’re already playing late in the day, you know the advantages and the excellent price reduction. If you’ve tried the best golf course in Central Oregon, River’s Edge, you‘ve already noticed that the scenery is fantastic, the air is crisp and cooling as the sun fades, and instead of paying the regular peak hours green fees of $64, twilight fees are only $39 for 18 holes. See our lower rates for a round of 9!
You might not know that many courses offer unlimited golf when paying twilight fees. Those fees usually cover tee times from 3 to 5 p.m., and if you arrive late, you might not get in the whole 18 holes. But there’s always the bonus of playing a few extra holes if you can still track your ball.
Twilight Golf at River’s Edge Golf Course
There’s a good chance that a twilight round at River’s Edge will provide you with the ultimate golf experience. You’ll find the course challenging while still providing an enjoyable, relaxed experience.
Also check out the new Toptracer driving range at River’s Edge. You get the excitement and the exercise, even if you don’t have time for a full round of golf. On the other hand, even if it’s late in the day, you can take advantage of the benefits of twilight golf.
No matter what time of day you choose for a great round of golf at River’s Edge golf course, remember that the Edge Bar and Grill is open every day, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with an excellent selection of drinks and meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Stop by early to take advantage of a $2 coffee with free refills or grab a bite to go as you make the turn. After the round, enjoy pizza, burgers, sandwiches, or a delightful Caprese salad with wine, beer, soda, or mixed drinks – all while catching up on the latest sporting news on the grill’s big screen TVs.