Ladies European Tour players Carly Booth, Amy Boulden, Klara Spilkova and Maria Balikoeva took centre stage ahead of the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open as they played ‘night golf’ under floodlights at The Carya Golf Club, the first and only lighted golf course in Europe.
This is the first time that the LET has played on a floodlit golf course and is yet another example of how the tour is breaking the mould, particularly this week at a tournament set to see golf’s first Wednesday finish unfold.
The glamorous players gave the local spectators a grandstand finish with some spectacular golf on the 18th hole, where Amy Boulden made birdie to secure a cheque for a local charity.
“It was great to make birdie to win it. I think it was fantastic. We never play night golf so it was good to experience it and have good fun,” said Amy. “When you hit the ball up into the darkness and see the white ball, it is strange, especially on the greens, because it is hard to see the lines. That’s why I had Carly and her caddie lining me up for that last putt.”
Carly added: “It was a nice experience because we don’t get to play night golf very often so it was great fun and for a great cause.”
With talk of a full 72-hole strokeplay tournament under floodlights on the LET in the future, Carly commented: “I think that would be pretty epic: they should do it! It’s different, it makes you think a little bit more, your perception is a little bit different and it was a great experience.”
The Turkish Airlines Ladies Open is being played for the first time at The Carya Golf Club this year and gets under way from Sunday, with live television coverage from Monday to Wednesday.
