GOLF / RICH TOSCHES : Tee to Green, It’s a Shot in the Dark

Ever wonder what it would be like to play a round of golf without the distractions of sand traps and lakes and trees, without the goblins that reach out and snatch your golf ball from its otherwise perfect flight? A round of golf in which you see nothing except the ball and the flag on the green?

Well, try playing in one of Gary Peterson’s night golf tournaments at Vista Valencia Country Club, using fluorescent green, glowing golf balls under the moon and the stars. The negative side to this, of course, is that people might think you’re a loon.

But loons seem to have all the fun.

Peterson, the golf coach at College of the Canyons, came up with the idea for night golf six years ago as a way to raise money for his team. The first tournament was a big success, more than 40 golfers paying to tee it up under the twinkling Big Dipper, the glow of the golf balls and a small light attached to each of the 18 flags the only sources of artificial light.

Today, the scramble-format tournaments have become a regular summer feature at Vista Valencia. They are played on the last Fridays of July, August and September, the next being scheduled for July 26.

Entry fee is $25. No reservations are needed. Just be there by 7 p.m. with your clubs and a sense of humor.

“It’s really funny,” Peterson said. “When it gets pitch dark out there and the balls start flying, it looks animated, like a cartoon. And when the play gets going and you look out across the golf course, all you can see are these animated, green dots of light darting everywhere. It’s really a funny sensation.”

The golf ball has a hole in it, into which is inserted the chemical glow stick. Peterson said the balls don’t travel quite as far as regulation golf balls, perhaps two clubs shorter on the average. But they fly true and roll true on the greens.

If you ever get to a green.

“We’ve lost a few people out there,” he said. “Guys who weren’t familiar with the course and wandered off to a wrong tee in the darkness and got disoriented and started playing without any idea where they were. I’ve had to go and rescue more than a few guys and get them back into the tournament.”

A real highlight, Peterson said, is when someone hits a ball into a lake.

“It’s quite a show as the ball slowly sinks,” he said. “At first, the light is real bright, and then it just gets dimmer and dimmer and finally it disappears.

“Other than the water hazards, though, the ball is really easier to find than a ball in conventional golf. It’s so bright, you just can’t lose it.”

Playing night golf takes some adjustment, he said, even for good golfers.

“It’s really funny to take the club back from the ball,” he said. “Because no matter how good you are, you’re just not sure you’re going to hit the ball. You can see the ball glowing, but you can’t really see your feet or the ground or your club. It feels really bizarre.”

And, as the temperature in the Valley has begun its steady rise toward the setting marked Guatemala: August , and the noontime smog begins to irritate your eyes like a handful of sand, the idea of playing golf at night might not be as loony as first imagined.

“The nice thing is, it’s a totally different experience, a totally different sensation,” Peterson said. “The people who play these tournaments with us tend to play golf all the time, and it can get a bit boring. Especially now, in the heat, golf can be a bit uncomfortable. But these night tournaments, the cool air is so nice. It’s just a real nice experience.”

Night golf. Where all the birdies are owls.

Putting for show: Les Johnson of Valencia moved into third place midway through the Los Angles City men’s golf championships at Griffith Park. Johnson had a 36-hole total of 148 and trailed leader Tim Todd of Yorba Linda by four strokes.

The first two rounds were held last weekend, and the final 36 holes are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

A shot behind Johnson at 149 were Mike Turner of Woodland Hills and Philip Hurlbut of Sepulveda.

Turner, 33, a 1981 graduate of Cal State Northridge, won the city championship in 1987, becoming the only left-handed winner in the tournament’s 73-year history.

Giving no quarter: Emilee Klein of Studio City has been routing her competition in junior tournaments this year. Last week she won the Mission Hills Desert Junior Classic by eight strokes over runner-up Heather Bowie of Edmond, Okla. It was Klein’s fourth junior tournament victory this year.

Her 54-hole total was a three-under-par 213--rounds of 71-69-73--over the lengthy Mission Hills Country Club course.

Klein, 17, is the youngest golfer to win the California Women’s Amateur championship, a feat she accomplished at age 14 over the tough Carmel Valley Golf and Country Club on the Monterey Peninsula.

Upcoming:

* Valley Presbyterian Hospital Celebrity Golf Classic, a fund-raiser for the hospital’s cancer treatment program, will be held July 22 at Mountain Gate Country Club in Los Angeles.

Celebrities scheduled to participate include actors McLean Stevenson and Arte Johnson and comedian Tom Dreesen.

Information: 818-902-3939.

* The 12th Matador Golf Classic, a fund-raiser for the Cal State Northridge athletic department, will be held Aug. 12 at Wood Ranch Golf Club in Simi Valley.

Information: 818-885-3215.