Night Golf

[razorsmith.com]

i have tried them all as well from the mini glow sticks for fishing(they work), to flat LEDs, watch battery and open pin LEDs, and glow tape. Glow sticks are bright but only green and they are a one time use. LEDs are the best but they each have their pros and cons.

Flat LEDs PRO: 1.can turn off. So you can leave them on your disc day in and day out and just turn them on when you need them. 2. Durable. Put an X pattern of tape and they will stay pretty water resistant. Lost a disc during day round in a pond for about 3 days. When i got it back finally i checked the light and it still worked. 3. time avg is about 15hrs /battery for me. 4. shines through on champ/z and star/esp depending on colors. Cons: 1.Some people say the lights change the flight or the balance. I think this is true to some extent but for me it is not noticeable. 2.the flat LED is one small light in center of top of disc. 3.if the disc lands upside down the light may be hard to see. 4. when battery dies, most people will have to throw them away. bye bye good LED.....

The pin LEDs and watch batteries (CR2025) is what i am using now. Pros: 1. cheap. 100 lights and 10 batteries are >$10. (gotta shop around). 2. battery dies, throw away battery and keep using lights. With 10 lights i should be able to get YEARS of glow without replacing lights. 3.use them just a bit offset and the lights light up the rim of the disc 2-3 inches along with middle. Much cooler flight through air and easy to see rightside up/upside down. Cons: 1.take a bit longer to get them set up. This is a minimal argument but gotta point it out. 2. You can lose connection and your light shuts off. This can be tweaked with how you put them on.

Glow Tape: Pros: 1.easy!!! 2.Duct brand is bright as a mothershucker! I use on putters also but i have to light them up after a birdie drive or upshot. Otherwise putting with a fresh charge is bright. 3. works on almost any disc and plastic(see below) 4.easy to give some to a friend to try glow out. 5. much brighter than any glow plastic and the glow last so much longer at night and just in general. I have tape on a putter for over 6 months and it still glows up bright and i use it everyday during day or night rounds. Cons: 1.glow will fade eventually making seeing it harder than lights. 2.the duct brand rolls are more expensive for less tape than the other styles.(maybe not an issue for you but a pet peeve for me)

I used to sell the flat lights and now i have converted to a combination of the pin LEDs and glow tape. If i am by myself or a small fast group then tape is fine. If a larger group or lots of higher grass, LEDs. Or both! The only real con i have seen with anything is my buddy that throws 90% vibram. clear duct tape does not like sticking to those disc. So he is strictly a glow taper. and the UV flashlight is not a must have but makes night golf so much better. good luck and happy throwing.

darren

 

[Future_Primitive]

I put packing tape in an X over the flight light and have never had it fall off. Buddy of mine has lost a couple of flight lights by using just one piece.

Same here. :hfive:

The braided packing tape in an X over the flat LED's works like a champ. Heck they all survived the Polar Vortex of 2014 as I played all winter long in Michigan with them. I actually use the LED's on my Glow discs for twice the chances of finding them in the brush/snow/what not.

I prefer the LED's myself on either Glow discs or on Champion/Z type plastic. A lot of the Z/Champ plastic will light up crazy when hit with a UV LED flashlight. Those dayglow Green and Orange ones especially.

 

[Photoguy]

Any thoughts on all the UV flashlights on Amazon? They all look pretty much the same. Probably come out of the same factory in China. I guess the question is do the $7 ones work or is the $15 one a better bet.

 

[steve a]

Any thoughts on all the UV flashlights on Amazon? They all look pretty much the same. Probably come out of the same factory in China. I guess the question is do the $7 ones work or is the $15 one a better bet.

I really like the flashlights based on the ultrafire wf-502b flashlight. You can get a powerful 3w ultraviolet drop-in and another white led drop-in based off the cree XM-L series and be set. A drop-in is an interchangeable head with the driver and LED in one piece. The wf-502b uses a size p-60 drop-in.

 

[Future_Primitive]

Any thoughts on all the UV flashlights on Amazon? They all look pretty much the same. Probably come out of the same factory in China. I guess the question is do the $7 ones work or is the $15 one a better bet.

Surprisingly I have had better luck with the $5 - $7 flashlights than the more expensive ones. Started with the 51 LED large flashlight for like $12 - $15 and it was junk from the start. Button stuck, then fell off, the lens was super sensitive causing it to turn on/off from time to time and it only worked great for about 20 minutes with new batteries, after that it felt like it lost 20%-30% of its power.

The ones that worked the best were 14 LED 380-400 nm UV lights for like $5-$6 each. Small enough to carry in your pocket for easy access and bright enough to charge the disc quickly.

And to shat Steve said above me, those are also really nice lights. Some buddies use those and love them, just havent tried them myself yet.

 

[wildwing]

I use the flat LED lights and use clear packing tape. I only use one strip and tape it to the bottom. It's not as bright as taping it to the top but I've never had issues of it flying off the disc and does not, imo, change the flight. I don't have to worry about the top of the light peeling off when I take the tape out. My buddies put them on top and their discs fly differently.

I use champion style plastic so the light comes through more.

Also, bought some solar powered lights ($10.99 on sale) from Harbor Freight and they're awesome! Wrapped them around the top of the basket and zip-tied:

 

[KniceZ]

I don't play glow that often but I prefer the flat LEDs. Glow discs and tape needs to be recharged pretty often. The local course that did night rounds really discouraged flashlights because they affect your night vision. A couple times I saw people use their cell phone light and everyone gave them h***. (I don't have any experience with the impact of UV lights on night vision)

Also with the LED I just hold it up to see walking down the path.

 

[Photoguy]

Thanks Steve and Future.

Ordered a $7 one from amazon. If it doesn't pan out, I'll take a look at the ultrafire wf-502b type ones.

 

[mattc]

The trick for navigation around the course, is to get some red taillight repair tape, to put on the lens of a bright white led flashlight.
Nice bright red light doesn't hurt your night vision.

 

[razorsmith.com]

here is a little cart mod that i did last week. i have played one round using the lights and they work ok however i was in a hurry when i installed the lights. unfortunately i did not have the correct resistor and so i am not maximizing the voltage. still works well and is more convenient than pulling the flashlight out every time. and although i usually don't charge my glow disc just glow tape. here is an example of charging up a glow gator even in 'somewhat' light before dark.

i will probably be re-doing the set-up this week using the correct resistor and adding additional lights. currently powered by a re-chargeable 9V but looking to upgrade to a small 12V DC battery. Going to add some super bright LEDs to the front so that while looking for lost disc i can light the forest like Thor's hammer!!

happy throwing.

darren

 

[razorsmith.com]

here are a couple more photos showing inside and battery at the time. The new battery uses a 9V connector instead of being 'rigged'.

the lights are wired in parallel and running through a push switch. the circuit and lights are only on when the button is pushed. that way i never have to worry about leaving the switch on and leaving the lights on. also with the UV LEDs there is not much of an issue with night blindness since the light shines to the side.

the 'shelf' my bag is on is where the white LED will be. probably on the bottom so that when looking for discs my super flashlight will shine down and not be to blinding.

feedback and thoughts welcome.

darren

 

[Peter S]

I play a lot of night golf. I use champion or glow discs with flight lights. I use 2 flight lights per disc to keep the weight even. Tape it down good with clear packing tape. Start with light weight discs or Blizzards as 2 lights will add about 5 grams. Glow discs alone do not hold the glow for long. However, glow discs with 2 lights on them look as bright as BlackJack's in flight.

 

[Phantom Discs]

Here are some night pics from this last weekend. My friends and I were using translucent Wizards with LED's. These worked great all night. I still like my Super Glows, but if you do not have a way to charge them this is the way to go.

 

[chalos13]

those look great. I'm going to pick up some LEDs and do some trial and error with them, the glow tourney is in October so I've got some time

 

[BrianLyons]

Me and my buddy would just play at some courses after dark and used the flight lights with the batteries and attached with some medical tape,Worked Fantastic!
But these courses are in the city and a park lamp,or street lights wasnt far,so there was always a tad of light in the distance,If this sounds like where you might play,Id highly recommend the LED flight light types.
Yea you add a bit of weight to the disc,but I couldnt tell a difference,just center the heaviest part of the light to the center of the disc and tape it.
They last a long time,can be turned on and off,If I have to say anything Negative I would say on a couple rare occasions I hit a tree Very hard and close and it hit so hard it broke the solder joint to the battery on the light and it went out But on the other hand we hit many trees and they were fine.

If your just goofing around and playing with friends anything will do,but if you go to a night tournament and dont know everybody,and there is No light,some people might have a attitude toward your led's because depending on what type of disc you put it on,it can be pretty bright and mess with the vision of others that are using the soft uv light glow discs. We played the other week and while the leds are far superior to lighting up a disc compared to a charged glow disc,If you play in total darkness,you can see the UV glow disc Very well.
So when we play in the city at night I use LED's and in total darkness I use glow discs that require to be uv charged,and I just use a small uv flashlight that I got at walmart for like $7.00,works well.

 

[HybridZombiw]

night vision goggles and lasers. That's how you play night dg.

 

[razorsmith.com]

been wanting to get a small axe and breddah mini but did not have a use. i only use 2 minis and only in tourneys so i did not need more. then i bought one with credit i had and needed to figure out a use for it. here it is!!

i use LEds and flat batteries for night golf, and before last night just kept them jumbled in a ziploc bag. no more!! 1" foam padding cut to fit, and the LEDs just press in. I cut slots for the batteries, and i have another 4 under the foam. works good, looks good, and solved 2 problems! happy throwing.

darren

 

[DiscChucker]

been wanting to get a small axe and breddah mini but did not have a use. i only use 2 minis and only in tourneys so i did not need more. then i bought one with credit i had and needed to figure out a use for it. here it is!!

i use LEds and flat batteries for night golf, and before last night just kept them jumbled in a ziploc bag. no more!! 1" foam padding cut to fit, and the LEDs just press in. I cut slots for the batteries, and i have another 4 under the foam. works good, looks good, and solved 2 problems! happy throwing.

darren

Great idea! :clap:

 

[murf1087]

Honey Bear Hollow Glow Rounds

Some friends and I played Honey Bear Hollow out in Peru, IN a few times this week. The course is at a private campground, pay to play, that encourages night rounds. The folks here are great and I've had a great time every time. Check out some of these photos from us shooting around on Hole 1.

 

[namar]

Any thoughts on all the UV flashlights on Amazon? They all look pretty much the same. Probably come out of the same factory in China. I guess the question is do the $7 ones work or is the $15 one a better bet.

I went this route, 5 little UV flashlights for $9. I still prefer the flat led lights when playing a course with any length, but 95% of my night golf is on a pretty short (3500') couse and I have completely switched to glow duct tape and the UV lights above. I usually keep one of the lights in my pocket and hit the tape with 3 seconds of UV as needed. I also leave the tape on the few discs I play daytime rounds with pretty much all the time, unless I'm playing a tourney or the tape has gotten really nasty/dim.