Arizona’s First Fully Lit Golf Course Adds New Element to Valley Golf Scene
Tempe, Ariz.– Phoenix area golfers can now play under the lights as Grass Clippings at Rolling Hills flipped the switch on Arizona’s first fully lit 18-hole golf course on Friday, December 1st. Tee times for night golf, as well as morning and afternoon play, can be made at https://grassclippingsaz.com. The golf course is open daily, with play available nightly until midnight Friday through Sunday and 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
More than 78 LED lights illuminate the golf course, which plays as a par 54, par-3 golf course at night and as an executive-length golf course (with par 3s and 4s) during the day. Golfers are able to track ball flight through the night sky on holes that range from 90 to 200-plus yards, while enjoying 360-degree views of downtown Tempe, Sky Harbor Airport, downtown Phoenix, the Phoenix Zoo and the nighttime silhouette of Papago Buttes. The course is available for charity tournaments and events, competitions, skins games, or just fun day or night golf with friends.
The introduction of lights and night golf is the second phase of redevelopment for the golf and entertainment venue, the flagship location for Grass Clippings’ cutting-edge vision. The team is also in the process of renovating the clubhouse, adding a new Mexican food restaurant, a patio bar and refurbishing the former Rolling Hills golf shop. In addition, Grass Clippings at Rolling Hills will add a hilltop bar near hole 8, an activity lawn and video display, and an entertainment site for live music, markets, and events, with full completion of all projects targeted for fall 2024. The Grass Clippings team will also soon implement junior golf programming that will extend access to the golf course and venue to a diverse community of young golfers.
“It’s really special to be able to add-on night golf to an already amazing daytime golf experience. The lights are a game changer for golf in the Phoenix area,” said Grass Clippings CEO Jake Hoselton. “Now golfers can play 18 holes of golf well into the evening and do so in just over two hours. Our location is conducive to slipping in 18-holes of golf on the way home from work, enjoying a golf date night, or meeting up with friends for golf and a beverage.”
Grass Clippings at Rolling Hills reopened on Friday, November 3rd following a four-month golf course renovation project and rye grass overseed, completing phase one of the redevelopment. Golf course architect Jackson Kahn Design, Grass Clippings’ Director of Agronomy Scott Hebert and Scottsdale-based Casa Verde Golf, a Troon Company, executed the golf course renovation work, which included a newly designed 9th hole, new tee boxes, installation of a new state-of-the-art irrigation system to improve turf quality, and a new 15,000 sq. ft. practice putting green.
Grass Clippings is a Phoenix-based modern golf brand founded in 2018. In March 2023, Grass Clippings agreed to a 30-year partnership with the City of Tempe to renovate and revitalize the, 93-acre, city-owned golf course, located in the heart of Papago Buttes, two miles from Arizona State University’s Tempe campus. Grass Clippings’ property lease began on July 1st with Scottsdale-based Troon assuming management of daily operations that same day.
Originally designed as a nine-hole course by Milton Coggins in 1960, Rolling Hills features elite topography, elevation change, desert landscape and cheetahs on hole 3 as the course neighbors the Phoenix Zoo. Golf architect Gary Panks added the second nine holes in 1987.
For more information on Grass Clippings at Rolling Hills, visit https://grassclippingsaz.com.
About Grass Clippings
Grass Clippings was originally founded in 2018 as a company dedicated to growing the game of golf and celebrating the greens keepers that make the game possible. In 2019, after hosting the first Grass Clippings Open, Grass Clippings launched a line of golf apparel and opened its first retail shop, located at 39th St. and Campbell in Phoenix. The Grass Clippings Open grew rapidly and by 2022 had outgrown its venue. As co-founder Pete Wilson explained, “We needed a venue we could grow with.” The Grass Clippings Open is poised to be the greatest par 3 golf tournament in the world. On March 2, 2023, the Tempe City Council approved Grass Clippings’ plan to overhaul and operate Rolling Hills Golf Course, giving way for the tournament’s expansion.
About Troon
Headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., Troon is the world’s largest golf and golf-related hospitality management company providing services at 825-plus locations, including 825-plus 18-hole equivalent golf courses around the globe. In addition to golf, Troon specializes in homeowner association management, private residence clubs, estate management and associated hospitality venues. Troon’s award-winning food and beverage division operates and manages 600-plus food and beverage operations located at golf resorts, private clubs, daily fee golf courses and recreational facilities. With properties located in 45-plus states and 30-plus countries, Troon’s family of brands includes Troon Golf, Troon Privé, Troon International, Indigo Sports, CADDIEMASTER, ClubUp, Cliff Drysdale Tennis, Peter Burwash International, True Club Solutions, RealFood Hospitality, Strategy and Design, Casa Verde Golf and ICON Management. For additional news and information, visit www.Troon.com.
Media Contact:
Rob Myers
Troon
480.477.0506
rmyers@troon.com
