Last night I was part of a dominating and victorious night-golf scramble team. If you haven’t played night-golf, you don’t know what you’re missing.

And because night-golf is played in the pitch dark with glowing golf balls and glow-stick-lit flagsticks, even the players don’t know what they’re missing – or hitting, for that matter.

Nevertheless, we rang up eight birdies against just one bogey on the devilish greens of the par-3 course at Lake of the Woods Golf Course, starting off with a miraculous putt from the fringe, followed by an other-worldy chip-in from across the green, and then three straight one-putts … in the pitch dark.

We soon realized that the less we thought about things like break and speed and, well, pretty much anything one normally fixates on during golf, and just FELT our way around the inky blackness, the better we did. Sort of a Jedi thing, with putters instead of light-sabers.

Thus relieved of cognition, we began drinking. Sure enough, we got even better.

As I am always enthusiastic about a wee tipple, I thought I’d share one of my new favorite drinks, which was shared with me by my friends at Ketel One, the famed Dutch vodka: The Ultimate Cucumber Cooler.

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces Ketel One Citroen vodka
1/4 Seedless cucumber, thinly sliced
2 Lime quarters
2 oz. Chilled Ginger Beer

Preparation
1. Muddle all but one of the cucumber slices with the lime quarters.
2. Add ice and vodka, shake well and strain into an ice-filled highball glass.
3. Top with ginger beer.
4. Garnish with a cucumber slice.

Tournament patrons at the upcoming TOUR Championship can cool off at the Club Ketel One lounge and enjoy one of these refreshing cocktails. If you can’t make it to the tournament - or if you have no interest in the tournament - you can always toast Arnold Palmer’s 80th year with a Ketel One, as it is in fact The King’s vodka of choice.

As for me, I’ll be drinking to a resounding, nay, epic, night-golf victory - Salud!

Permalink 1 comment