Mission Bay Golf Course, the only lighted course in San Diego County, is closed at night indefinitely for complex repairs to its lighting system at the most inconvenient time — when the early sunsets of winter make night golf an appealing option.
The closure, which began just after Thanksgiving, does not affect the lights on the 68-year-old course’s adjacent driving range, which remain operational. That allows golfers at least to practice after the sun sets.
Mission Bay is an 18-hole “executive” course, meaning it’s shorter than an ordinary course and has only par-3 and par-4 holes. That makes it particularly popular with seniors, beginners and young golfers.
The closure of night golf could impact the finances of the course, which had gone from losing money to breaking even in recent years thanks partly to a surge in golf playing during and after the pandemic.
After many years of world-famous Torrey Pines Golf Course subsidizing Mission Bay and the city’s third municipal golf facility in Balboa Park, both Mission Bay and Balboa Park have started to break even, according to a 2023 annual report from the city’s Golf Division.
But the number of rounds played at Mission Bay fell from 92,664 during fiscal year 2022, which ended in June 2022, to 84,971 during fiscal year 2023, which ended last June.
The annual report doesn’t specify how many of the rounds at Mission Bay were played at night during those two years. But not having any night golf for months on end seems likely to make a financial impact.
City officials have declined to estimate how long the course will be closed. But a post on the course’s website last month didn’t make it sound like a quick fix was possible.
“The resolution involves significant repairs and upgrades to our system which will take a considerable amount of time and investment,” the post said. “We are working closely with our vendors to get quotes and put together an action plan.”
An updated post on Tuesday said the repairs would begin soon.
“Thorough repairs will be done, hole by hole, beginning on the front 9,” the post said. “It will take as much time as necessary to make sure that all of the existing wiring is replaced.”
That post noted that a contract had also been awarded to replace the lights on the driving range, adding that repairs there will begin soon.
“We apologize for the interruption in service, we know this impacts a lot of customers,” the post said. “Rest assured that our goal is to provide a lighting system that is sustainable and will be able to handle many more years of uninterrupted service.”
A city spokesperson said Thursday that the repairs to the lights on the driving range, even though they remain operational, will happen before repairs to the lights on the course.
Golfers hit balls on the driving range under the lights at the Mission Bay Golf Course on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. The driving range lights are still operational.
(K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
“Over the course of the next few months, customers will see the replacement of poles, lighting fixtures and bulbs at the driving range,” said the spokesperson, Caleb Olsen. “Once complete, the city will proceed to make upgrades to the lights on the front 9, and based on budgetary constraints and progress of the work, the back 9 will commence after that.”
Olsen did not provide a cost estimate for the lighting repairs.
The lighting problems come as $13 million in separate upgrades to the course are nearing completion. Begun in 2022, they include a new irrigation system, grading of the driving range and construction of a new clubhouse and food and beverage area.
The new clubhouse opened in late December, while construction is expected to begin on the food and beverage area later this spring and conclude in the fall, Olsen said.
Golfers using Mission Bay’s practice green Thursday afternoon said it’s a notable loss not to have night golf as an option.
“It allows me to play after work and play with my friends on a Friday night,” said Noah Rosenberg, who has played night golf at Mission Bay more than 20 times. “It’s awesome, and it’s the only place you can do it. It’s an extra opportunity to play golf, and tee times are slim in San Diego.”
But Rosenberg said he still loves the course, even with no night option.
“This place picks up the slack in other areas,” he said.
Jonah Molina only played night golf once, but called it an unusual and memorable experience.
“It can be hard to find the ball — you’ve really got to watch where it’s going,” he said. “But it kind of adds to the fun when you’re looking around for your ball.”
Molina said night golfers tend to also be a bit younger, with older players often preferring to play in the morning.
“It’s kind of a different crowd that comes out at night versus during the day,” he said.
Golfers putt out on the 18th hole of the Mission Bay Golf Course as the sun sets on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024.
(K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
It’s crucial that the driving range is still open, said Craig Kessler, director of public affairs for the Southern California Golf Association.
“At this time of year, that is a much more important factor than a lit golf course, as golfers routinely practice beyond the 4:30 hour at which it gets too dark to see at this time of year,” Kessler said.
But losing night golf in the winter is certainly bad timing, he said.
“Without lights, one cannot tee it up much past 2:30 and expect to finish even nine holes,” he said.
Kessler noted, however, that night golf is much more popular during the warmer months between late spring and early fall, when golfers can play well past 8 p.m. with no lights.
He said losing access to any golf holes is bad news in Southern California, which the National Golf Foundation considers the most golf-starved market in the U.S. — an assessment based on the region having the greatest number of golfers chasing the fewest holes. Kessler said the problem is worse in Los Angeles and Orange counties but still a problem in San Diego County.
There are also many more lit courses elsewhere in Southern California. They include Van Nuys Golf Course, Arcadia Golf Course, Pico Rivera Municipal Golf Course, Westchester Golf Course, Newport Beach Golf Course, Lake Forest Golf and Practice Center, Arroyo Seco in Pasadena and Heartwell Golf Course in Long Beach.
