In Search of a New Way to Make Golf “Shine”: Fusing Camping and Golf with Firefly Golf

In summer 2019, GDO (Golf Digest Online) held an event called “Firefly Golf” to test how well golf and camping go together. Despite the name, there were no fireflies involved. Rather, participants played a round of golf in the daytime and then enjoyed a few more holes in the pitch darkness of night using glowing balls. The name “Firefly Golf” came from the shining arcs the balls traced in the night sky. After a fun evening outdoors complete with fireworks and a barbecue, players stayed the night in tents set up on the course. It was an extraordinary experience that helped players discover a side of golf they’d never seen before. Today, we take a look back at this unique event. 

Have you ever played golf after sunset? Some people have probably played “night games.” But Firefly Golf is different: there is no illumination, and the course is wrapped in pitch darkness. Look up, and you’ll be dazzled by a sky full of glittering stars that seem just beyond reach. As you play through the holes, you have only the temporary lights on your cart, the LED lights encircling the pins, and the glowing balls to guide you. 

A total of 32 players lined up at the start of the four-hole course, looking a little nervous and unsure. Night golf was more different than they imagined from the daytime golf they were used to. They lost faith in their sense of balance—perhaps because the blindness made their other senses sharper—and doubted their ability to judge distances from the few visual cues they got from the glowing balls. It was truly a departure from the ordinary. But once they’d sunk their last ball, players described it as a fun experience that let them feel things they’d never felt otherwise. Some even said they were hooked. 

One of them was Hironori Takahashi, a participant from Sapporo, who said he found out about the event through GDO’s newsletter. “I decided right away to take part. I mean, playing golf at night and then camping on the course—just the idea sounds fun, right?” he said, smiling. “Honestly, in the dark it felt more like a new kind of golf-based activity than like actual golf. It was novel and a lot of fun. I’d do it again if I had the chance!” 

The other centerpiece of Firefly Golf was “glamping.” One of the event’s goals was to test how well golf and camping go together on the golf course. So we invited former comedian and current outdoor lifestyle YouTuber Bears Shimada Camp to take part.

Shimada says he spends about 50 days a year camping. But this was his very first time camping on a golf course. GDO employees are prone to give too much weight to the golf side of golf-plus-camping—it's what they know, after all. But what was the event like for a true camper like Shimada, who’s almost never set foot on a golf course?

“Golf is played out in nature, so a lot of golfers are outdoors types. Because of that, I think golf and camping go well together to begin with, and golf courses make good campgrounds,” said Shimada. “Their biggest advantage is that they’re safe enough to bring your family along. You can relax and let your little kids run around, and they’re sure to have lots of fun playing in all that grassy space. It might be tough to go 18 holes and then have to set up your tent at the end of that, but a half-round followed by a night of glamping ought to make for an enjoyable event.”

Setting up and operating a campground isn’t so easy that any golf course could do it, but every course could probably take something away from what Shimada said. Imagine if the people who come to camp on the golf course are so impressed by what they see that they start golfing themselves...for those of us who are dedicated to spreading the game, there’s no greater joy. 

So what kind of expectations did the facility that actually hosted the event have for golf-plus-camping, really? For four years now, GOLF5 Country Bibai Course has experimented with events like snow golf, night snow golf, and foot golf that befit its northern setting and open the course to golfers and non-golfers alike. Manager Shinichi Saijo had this to say about Firefly Golf: 

“Golf courses have such wonderful scenery, but in general only golfers get to see it. That’s why we do non-golf projects—so that more different kinds of people can get a taste of what it’s like. We thought it was a waste not to make use of the course at night when it’s cool outside, so when GDO approached us about Firefly Golf, we decided to make it happen. There are still a number of hurdles to overcome before we can make campground setup and operations part of our normal business, but the participants enjoyed it and we hope we can continue to hold the event in the future. I feel like golf courses still have a lot beyond just golf to offer in terms of entertainment, so we’ll keep exploring new projects moving forward.” 

As we watched Firefly Golf unfold, there was something that clearly distinguished it from regular golf. It wasn’t just the special features like playing in pitch darkness or eating barbecue or staying in tents. It was also seeing young children playing carefree on the beautiful grassy landscape. Only at a camping event like this, with fun things for families and non-golfers to do, could you witness such a sight on a golf course. 

There are as many ways to get into golf as there are golfers. Hopefully the kids who took part in the camp will feel more at home on the course now, and perhaps one day they’ll be swinging the clubs themselves. For Firefly Golf, a seemingly simple fusion of golf and camping, the possibilities are endless.