FEATURE STORY

A shot in the dark?
Tupelo Bay's night
golf is just that

By Chris Baldwin,
Senior Writer

GARDEN CITY, S.C. (May, 2, 2005) - The lights cast an eerie glow over the course, turning the ordinary into the extreme. Everyone who's ever played golf has felt like they were putting in the dark at some point, but this is ridiculous. This green isn't in the shadows, it's in the Crypt Keeper's tomb.

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When you hear Night Golf, your first reaction is to imagine the setup from The Battle at Bighorn with Tiger Woods hitting bombs under ultra bright, stadium worthy glory. Instead you get the kind of fluorescent a guy puts over the basketball hoop in the his driveway and a night full of guess work.

The Battle at Bighorn? Yeah, right. Try the Battle To Find Your Pro V. Parts One through 18.

Tupelo Bay Executive Golf Course holds a unique niche in the 120-plus course Grand Strand world. It offers legitimate night golf. The back nine at the par-3 and par-4 course is lighted to 11 p.m. on 364 days of the year (Christmas is the lone exception). This feature enables an otherwise unremarkable course to draw notice, attract both the dedicated and the distracted.

"If I'm coming in on a late flight after work, this is the first place I stop,'' Victor Ruback of New York said. "It lets me get my game in order before I hit the tough courses in the morning. And there's just something about stepping off the plane and going straight from a 40 degree New York day to a 60 degree Myrtle Beach night hitting golf balls.

"This place sort of decompresses you and puts you in that Myrtle Beach state of mind."

If Ruback regards Tupelo Bay as something of a religious/Zen experience, others treat it like a spring break experience. On this night, a foursome of forty-year olds swung and stumbled under the lights, leaving a trail of Coors Light cans in their wake.

They weren't just drunk, they were smashed enough to call a car service and get in a loud argument demanding to know why they couldn't get a car at 7 p.m. It happened to be almost 9:30 p.m. when they made this call. When are car services going to get those time machines anyway?

Ah well, it's all part of the charm of Tupelo Bay. This isn't a place you go for dignified, reserved golf. It's a place you go on lark. Best to carry a sense of light-hearted adventure and a tolerance for belches and AWOL golf balls.

Playing it on Halloween under a near full moon only added to the sense of surreal. Still it is easy to see how any night out here could lead to thoughts of Goblins swooping in from the woods. Tupelo Bay is back a little off the 17 sprawl, behind a miniature golf course and surprisingly isolated on a few holes. At least when it's dark.

That's right, dark. It turns out night golf for the common man is still...well, night golf. The lights make it possible to see what you are aiming at most of the time, but you're operating more off ideas than crystal views. And pity the fool who strays from the fairway. You're not finding that wayward iron shot unless you remembered to pack your own flashlight.

"The funny thing is I've probably lost more balls here than I have at Caledonia,'' Myrtle Beach regular Martin Trionfo said talking of the highly-rated daytime course. "It's like they put just enough lights out here to make it interesting.''

The bare minimum lighting does toughen up the course. In the sunlight, there would be little reason for even the semi-serious golfer to try this par-58 course. Throw in the true blind night shots thoughout and you have something. Suddenly, the 313-yard 15th transforms into a devilish obstacle course from a darkened tee. The water to the left is visible in shadows, but the pond to the right over the waste area is just a rumor. Until one swings away and realizes just how close it cuts to the green.

Nature seems just as bewildered as you are by the awkward juxtaposition that night golf presents. A lizard scurried out of a bush and onto our cart, refusing to leave. What are doing here this time of night? his beady-eyed gaze appeared to demand. The geese nuzzled on the fairways are equally unmoved by human traffic. Landing a shot in one of the ponds also brings a new kind of guilt as ducks groggily scatter.

Instead of "Fore!" it feels like you should be shouting "Rise and Shine!"

Yes, it's a whole new world after dark. The 265-yard No. 12 becomes a test of target golf. With its long, large bunker down the entire left hand size and decent-sized pond blocking the center right path to a relatively small, hilly green its rated a four handicap hole in the best of conditions. At night it morphs into a mischievous challenge. On this Halloween night, a golfer took a misstep and did a little tumble after his ball down the hill.

Even the straightforward, so-simple 125-yard 17th develops some fangs at night. Apparently, the course operators decided this green really did not needing lighting. Here you literally are putting in the pitch black. On a slope.

And then there are the good shots that just disappear. Balls land in a safe spot and then they are gone.

"Must be the Gremlins,'' the clubhouse attendant said, laughing. It could have been an evil cackle though. With night golf you never are quite sure.

The Verdict

Tupelo's night golf is worth trying at least once. It can actually bring you back to when you were first starting out and golf was all about fun rather than obsessing over the progress of your scores. This is about as far as you can get from the super serious country club setting. And there aren't any stupid castles you have to putt through. Just real, short-course golf in a laid-back atmosphere.

The course has a few challenging holes and the barebones lighting makes a few unchallenging holes interesting. The problem is that despite only having its back nine lighted, Tupelo Bay makes golfers pay for a full 18 at night. Which means you go around twice. That's still not bad for $25, but if you only want to play nine you should be able to only pay for nine. Here's a tip to Tupelo: If you don't have an 18-hole course to play at night you shouldn't be charging people for 18 holes minimum.

Even with this consumer inconvenience, Tupelo Bay carries a community feel. Many golfers play it on the way in or out of town and it's built a crowd of loyal, rotating regulars. When you're looking for a shot in the dark, this is your stage.

Places to eat

For a meal after night golf, Sam's two locations (101 Atlantic Avenue and 7718 North Kings Highway) offer great chili dogs and beers for cheap prices. These 24-hour Myrtle Beach institutions draw a diverse late night crowd and quickly fill up once the bars close. A nearby Denny's is another post-round option. For something even quicker most of the fast food places along 17 have late-night drive throughs. Plus, there are 24-hour grocery stores seemingly on every other corner.

Places to stay

The Courtyard by Marriott (through Carolina Golf Travel at 1-888-633-6102) provides an ideal location, in the center of everything right across from Broadway at the Beach complex and its 10-nightclub, 18-restaurant area. A little further down the 17 Bypass, the Comfort Suites (through Carolina Golf Travel at 1-888-633-6102) offers a quieter setting and a whirlpool suite option. Avoid the Litchfield Beach & Golf Resort with its grand proclamations and rundown 1970's-style rooms.

Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management. The information in this story was accurate at the time of publication. All contact information, directions and prices should be confirmed directly with the golf course or resort before making reservations and/or travel plans.