Midnight classic
The most unique golfing experience to have in your bucket list
Yes! Another bucket list dream fulfilled! One of our classic and oldest running golf tournaments in Canada: The Midnight Sun Classic golf tournament at the Yellowknife Golf and Country club in — you guessed it — Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
Golf with the midnight sun! This tournament sells out every year. One hundred fifty golfers tee off at 11:49 pm. We golf all night! All three minutes of it. The tournament is a Texas Scramble Best Ball tournament. Texas Scramble start means each team starts from a different hole all at the same time. Best Ball means each team tees off and the best shot from the tee box is used for the next shot. Best ball carries the team forward quickly, so this is the only way to make this tournament work. This is a common practice for a group start. We started at hole #5.
Every player starts off and we follow the best shot. Every shot disappeared. If the ball landed on the fairway, the bouncing puff of sand told us where to look. If the ball went high in the air, the angle of the sun made the ball just vanish. Gone. Instantly. It was the strangest experience.
If you went looking for your ball in the bushes, you took your life in your hands. Not from bears, but from mosquitoes. Lots and lots of mosquitoes. I had to run into the bushes to grab my buddy. He had so many mosquitoes on him that, if they all flapped at once, they could carry him away and have their way with him. We learned. Don’t go looking for a lost ball.
We also learned not to take the golf cart off the well-marked golf cart path. If you drove onto the fairway the light sand gave way and the cart would sink into the sand. Three people pushing a cart backwards towards the path was a quickly learned lesson.
The score? What score? Lost balls, swarming mosquitoes, disappearing shots… Who counted? Certainly not me. Granted, this was my first golfing in over 13 years. We were not alone with a horrendous score. The disappearing ball wreaked havoc with everyone’s score.
What everyone had was a great time! We all enjoyed the course, despite its difficulties and uniquely disappearing golf balls. Never seen anything like it. I clamored to win the prize for the longest shot. It had to be me! All my shots simply disappeared, instantly. They had to be 400 yarders! I had lots of competition for that prize.
Yellowknife Golf and Country club has been running the Midnight Sun Classic since 1948. Now that’s a golf record to be proud of! I am proud to be part of that record.
Derek Quittenton, golfer extraordinaire!
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