Coming soon: The Valley’s only nighttime golf course to open in Mission after $2 million investment

By Matt Wilson | RGV Business Journal

A new nighttime golf course will open here before Christmas, following a $2 million investment by the Mission Economic Development Corporation (Mission EDC) to upgrade the Shary Municipal Golf Course.

The city of Mission began discussing converting nine of Shary’s 27 holes to a night golf course early this year.

Mission EDC CEO Teclo Garcia said the course will offer the only traditional nocturnal golf experience in the Valley.

“Except for Top Golf. And that’s really just a driving range,” he said. “So we thought that it would be a good opportunity.”

A first for the Valley

The new course, which will be called “Starlight,” will be illuminated by LED lighting.

Garcia says the impetus for offering golfers the option to play at night is pretty obvious: it’s hot outside.

“People do try to hit that magic time in the evening, sometime between 6:30 and eight, and by that time it’s getting dark,” he said.

Right now, the Valley’s closest nighttime golf course is in Corpus Christi. 

That city opened its night golf course last year.

Garcia says representatives from Mission were impressed after touring Corpus Christi’s nighttime links. 

Mission hopes to replicate something locally.

“People are excited about it,” Garcia said. “It’s a good thing.”

Aiming for play and profit 

Golf courses — Shary among them — frequently often operate at a financial loss for cities.

Garcia says that doesn’t have to be the case. 

He pointed to Shary’s clubhouse potential for capitalizing on food and drink sales before and after nighttime players hit the course.

Garcia said tentative estimates put the project’s revenue at about $350,000 a year.

“A lot of people in the public sector now are looking at those [courses] as not just an amenity for their citizens, but also as a revenue stream – because they can be revenue streams,” Garcia said, noting that the course can become a regional attraction.

Garcia said the course will be open by Christmas, but there’s a chance renovations may be completed sooner.

“We were pushing to try to get it ready by the time Winter Texans get here, you know, before Thanksgiving,” he said. “We might [be able to] — but I think the real date is a little further out, but still not too far away.”