Planning A Charity Golf Tournament
Looking for tips on planning a charity golf tournament? There
are many factors to consider, so I'll stick to the four main
ones for this article. The success of your charity golf event
revolves around maximizing player turnout, increasing pledge
sizes, obtaining sponsored prizes, and choosing the right
tournament play format.
Player Turnout
Your success depends on how many players your golf event draws
and how actively you have your players solicit sponsors for
their own rounds.
To maximize turnout, you need to get major publicity for your
event. That means putting out multiple press releases, getting
local media coverage from newspapers and television stations,
and placing ads in the sports section of the local paper.
For the best results, put your press releases out through PR
Web. Appoint a spokesperson to handle all media contacts and
follow-up. For more tips, read my article on
fundraising publicity.
Charity Pledges
The key is getting each player to collect a certain amount of
pledges.
I recommend a minimum of $100 per player in pledges. I've also
played in tournaments where that number was $250 per player.
Obviously, you want to motivate the participants to raise as
much money as possible. Some groups offer incentives for the top
pledge getters. Others seek corporate sponsorships for that
firm's players.
Pledge amounts determine the success of your charity golf event,
so get input from experienced golfers and golf pros in your
area.
Top Golfer Prizes
Generally speaking, you'll draw more golfers if you have great
prizes for longest drive, closest to the hole, hole in one,
lowest team score, lowest actual score, and best adjusted score
(handicap).
You solicit local merchants to sponsor those prizes. Work with
an insurance-related prize company for things like the
hole-in-one contest. That way you can offer a bigger prize for a
much lower outlay.
Aim to get 100 golfers (25 foursomes) and your small group could
easily raise $10,000 or more. Larger turnouts will net even more
with some charity golf tournaments drawing 500 golfers competing
for big prizes.
Plan Ahead
Obviously, bigger pledges, more golfers, corporate sponsorships
combined with massive publicity will work wonders for the bottom
line of your charity golf tournament. With the right combination
of these factors and good advance planning, you can certainly
raise $75,000 or more for a charitable cause.
Contact local courses for group rates. Be sure to mention that
you are planning a charity event and ask for discounts on cart
and greens fees. Once you decide on your preferred location,
reserve the date and tee times well in advance.
Tournament Play Formats
For those who are participating in your charity golf and
fund-raising tournament, it helps to pick a format they are
familiar with. The three most common formats are scramble, best
ball, and alternate shot.
Scramble
This format usually is played with groups of four, but it
certainly can be played with more than four players, or as few
as two.
In a scramble, each player tees off on each hole. The best of
the tee shots then is selected, and all players play their
second shot from that spot. advertisement
The process is repeated until the ball is holed. Keep in mind
that when playing a scramble, you can drop your ball within one
club length from where the chosen ball lies, but no closer to
the hole.
Best ball
This format usually is for four-person teams. Each player on the
team plays his or her own ball throughout the hole and the
round. On each hole, the lowest score among the four players
counts as the team score.
There can be two best ball formats, where you must count two
balls on each hole. The more balls that count helps keep all of
the players involved in the fate of the team.
Alternate shot
This format usually involves two-person teams and is a
competition where the team alternates who hits each shot.
The first player hits the drive, the second player hits the
second shot, the first player hits the third shot, and so on
until the ball is holed. The team also alternates who hits the
drive on each hole, so the same player doesn't hit every
drive. Charity Golf Event - Final Tips
Plan ahead to maximize the success of your charity golf event.
For best results, pick a weekday when courses and large blocks
of tee times will be easier to reserve. You'll often get the
best rates by going to the course in person and talking to the
pro or pro shop manager.
Corporate sponsors are another good way to go. Get some
celebrities to golf with corporate bigwigs and you can easily
raise $100k-$150k. Of course, convincing celebrities to donate
their time takes some doing, but it's well worth it.
If it's your first golf tournament, be open to suggestions from
other golfers. Consider working with a fundraising consultant
who specializes in organizing charity golf tournaments. They
work for a percentage of the gross, but you usually end up
raising more funds due to their experience and sponsor
contacts. Updates to this article can be found here: Planning A Charity Golf Tournament