Don’t stop swinging when the sun goes down. Finish the round with glow-in-the-dark golf balls!
Even though summer days are long, golfers can run into trouble when the sun begins to set. After all, it’s impossible to golf if you can’t see the ball! Thankfully for avid golfers, there’s a solution: LITE4NITE golf balls.
These innovative, real golf balls glow in the dark, allowing golfers to tee off at any time and play well into the night. Outdoor Games Store was fortunate enough to connect with Founder Corky Newcomb to learn more about this innovative product: the history behind LITE4NITE golf balls and the tremendous popularity they’ve garnered from recreational and pro golfers alike!
Read on to learn more about LITE4NITE glow-in-the-dark golf balls and why they’re such a sensation out on the links.
The History and Legacy of Lite4Nite Golf Balls
The first golf balls designed for nighttime play were created in 1985 by LITE4NITE founder Corky Newcomb, who started in the gaming industry by making glow-in-the-dark NITELITE footballs.
The original lighted golf balls only had lights on six points, but they gave the illusion that they were entirely illuminated as they flew through the air. These early balls were great for finishing up a round of golf as the sun began to set—but they weren’t ideal for all-day play and they didn’t play as well off the club, either. But golfers didn’t seem to mind! They were having so much fun playing in the dark that they happily sacrificed a few strokes on their game.
Even though golfers were happy to play with this initial product, Corky was determined to find a better way to golf in the dark. At the 1986 PGA Golf Show, he unveiled a new translucent NITELITE golf ball that used a 1.5 inch light stick designed for nighttime play. Corky has revised his design several times over the following years to make a brighter ball, and the newest versions are the best golf balls made to-date.
Since developing the signature LITE4NITE glow-in-the-dark golf ball, the brand has expanded its product offerings to also sell LITE4NITE LED ELEKTRON Sportsballs and Pickleballs that light up for NITE time fun. They’re ideal for over 50 million players who play nine types of sports where 3 inch size balls are used like the growing popularity of pickleball. Pickleball players can avoid bad sunburns and heat exhaustion by playing in the evening when it’s cooler without the blazing sun.
The Best Golf Balls: LITE4NITE’S Revolutionary Design
LITE4NITE isn’t the only golf ball on the market designed for night time fun, but it’ll only take a few holes to realize that they’re the best in the business—better than any other golf balls for nighttime play. The LITE4NITE golf balls were designed by an engineer who was the V.P. of Engineering at CALLAWAY GOLF for many years.
Unlike competitors, these lighted golf balls don’t have any glowsticks or batteries that hinder the ball’s distance and even damage clubs. Instead, each ball is impregnated with a special pigment that illuminates when exposed to UV blue light. Here’s how it works:
- To light up your LITE4NITE golf ball, shine the UV blue light charger on all 360 degrees of your golf ball.
- Charge the ball for approx. 30 seconds to give it a full charge.
- Now tee up your ball and drive it down the fairway.
- The ball is visible as far as you can drive it.
- Anytime you want a brighter ball, you just charge it again. There’s always plenty of time between shots because you are waiting for the other 3 golfers in your foursome to hit or putt their balls.
Clearly, LITE4NITE golf balls are must-haves for any golfer looking to hit the links after the sun goes down. But these balls don’t need to be used only for night golf! They’re made of the same high-quality materials you’ll find in traditional balls, so they perform just like the best golf balls in your bag.
In fact, an independent test found that LITE4NITE golf balls outperformed Bridgestone’s Tour RX 330 balls! Nine-time long drive champion Kevin Bullard drives LITE4NITE golf balls 400 yards. While we can’t guarantee you’ll be able to drive it that far, we’re confident that you’ll love playing with LITE4NITE golf balls.
The Growing Popularity of LITE4NITE Golf Tournaments
Whether it’s to raise money for a charity, just for fun, or for serious competition, golf tournaments are a big business. Over the past few decades, LITE4NITE has broken into this facet of the game by creating and sponsoring nighttime golf tournaments! There have been thousands of nighttime tournaments played thanks to LITE4NITE golf balls over the years, in 82 countries across the globe! One year the company won the “N..H. Exporter of the Year” award from the N.H. Governor because of all the lighted golf balls that they exported.
There’s no wrong way to host a night golf tournament, but some of the most successful tournaments have golfers play nine holes in the daytime before breaking for dinner, then playing another nine holes in the dark. Playing this format of 9 DINE & 9, 18 total holes in both the day and night allows courses to charge players a higher greens fee and ensures all of the golfers have more fun during the tournament. It’s a win-win for everyone.
Even the PGA Pros Love LITE4NITE Golf Balls!
It’s not just the average weekend golfer who loves using lighted golf balls—everyone from professional golfers to U.S. Presidents have played with them!
Canadian PGA TOUR golfer and 2003 Masters winner Mike Weir hit a bucket of the first NITELITE golf balls in a PGA TOUR T.V. commercial with the ending saying, “These guys are good!” Also Danny Hodapp—the golf pro at Elkins Ranch and Country Club in Fillmore, California—also loves lighted golf balls, and even hit two back-to-back Holes in Ones in 60 seconds on the same hole during a charity fundraiser using the original NITELITE golf balls!
LITE4NITE GOLF has also sent golf balls to Presidents Reagan and Bush, who both loved them. Unfortunately, the company was told that the Secret Service didn’t like the thought of Presidents walking around in the dark during a night golf tournament.
Thankfully, you don’t have to be a professional golfer or a high-profile celebrity to use these golf balls. Anyone who likes golf and hates the thought of ending their round before the sun sets will love LITE4NITE glow-in-the-dark golf balls.
5 Questions for the Founder of LITE4NITE SPORTS
Outdoor Games Store sat down with the company’s founder to learn more about LITE4NITE SPORTS products, direct from the mind behind these wildly popular products. Here’s what Corky Newcomb had to say:
1. What made you want to create LITE4NITE Sportsballs?
“As a kid, I always hated to quit playing at sunset. It seemed very unfair that you had to quit playing sports just because the sun decided to quit! I always wanted to keep playing. My U.N.H. baseball team mates and I use to try and hit WIFFLEBALLS in the dark by the sound the ball made as it was pitched. Sometimes we were lucky and hit the unlit ball. The first lighted sports product I ever made was my NITELITE Football, which I sold at movie theaters in New England and nationwide. Then, I moved into creating lighted soccer balls, volleyballs, badminton birdies, flying discs and hockey pucks. I kept tweaking the designs to get to where we’re at today.”
2. How do LITE4NITE golf balls perform on the links?
“My first NITELITE golf balls only hit about 200 yards because they had a light stick inside, but golfers didn’t care because they had so much fun. The new LITE4NITE golf balls have been driven 400 yards, and they have the ability to light up forever because of their special design. You can play day or night, without ever needing to switch balls off the tee!” All other major brands of golf balls are Obsolete at sunset because you can’t find them in the dark.
3. What’s the biggest NITE Golf event you’ve seen?
“The best night tournament that we ever organized was our National NITELITE Golf Championship held at the Doral Country Club on the Blue Monster in Miami. The 5 players golf teams from 36 states played two days of 18 holes per day and two nights of nine holes per night. The tournament prize was $25,000, and ESPN covered the event.”
4. What’s the best course to play in twilight?
“I don’t know if I can name any one course because there have been so many night golf tournaments played even on the best courses. The best courses in the USA and around the world have held night golf tournaments, and hundreds of charities hold night golf tournaments each year. I never knew that so many charities ever existed until they were all calling for our lighted golf balls. Millions of dollars have been raised at these NITE Golf tournaments, and they are very popular instead of having the same old boring golf tournament.”
5. Who’s the most famous person to use LITE4NITE golf balls?
“It’s tough to say who the most famous person to use our lighted balls is because so many high-profile people have used them. NBA basketball player Ray Allen used them for his charity golf tournaments, and Presidents Reagan and Bush have also used them. PGA player Mike Weir hit the original NITELITE golf balls in a PGA TOUR TV commercial.” John D. Rockefeller’s great great grandson loves playing NITE golf. I also heard that Lee Trevino played in a NITE Golf tournament near Chicago. Ron Jaworski, “Jaws”, the former quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles and NFL broadcaster, had a NITE Golf event at his Blue Heron G.C. in Egg Harbor, N.J. But the MOST important people to use my lighted golf balls have been the U.S. soldiers stationed at bases worldwide. NITE Golf gives them something fun to do at night and relieves a lot of the stress they are under. Some of them told me that the LITE4NITE golf balls look like tracer bullets shooting through the dark. I’d like to thank all of the soldiers for defending the U.S.A.!
Hit the Links for Some Twilight Golfing of Your Own!
Be sure to pick up a sleeve of LITE4NITE golf balls if you’re ready to start playing more golf without worrying about spending hot days in the sun. We trust you’ll have more fun playing golf at night and guarantee that these balls will meet and exceed your expectations, from the tee box to the pin. You can find the new LITE4NITE golf balls in 2,452 WALMART stores or contact LITE4NITE GOLF & SPORTS at www.lite4nite.com and www.lite4nitepickleball.com.