How to Plan a Golf Tournament for Charity
Are you looking to put together a golf tournament that will benefit your favorite charity? Do you want to put together a fundraising event that helps grow a nonprofit that you're heavily involved with? If so, then you need to learn all you can about how to put together a golf tournament for charity.
Doing so will help you ensure that the day is fun, enjoyable, and fulfills the goals you set out to accomplish. In the end, planning consists of two major elements: planning the event and planning the fundraising opportunities.
Let's take a deeper dive into how to plan a golf tournament that you can expand upon year after year.
1. Find the Perfect Venue
The golf tournament for charity that you create will only be as grand as the venue that you host it at. At the end of the day, your charity golf event needs to be held at a course that people find desirable. Otherwise, it will be hard to convince people to come.
While golfers certainly want to support your cause and help you raise money, they also want to take advantage of the opportunity to play a round at a great course, such as the beautiful Piqua Country Club.
If you choose the right venue, then filling your attendee list will be easy! Before moving on to the next step, be sure that you've settled on:
- A golf course to host your charity golf tournament at
- A date and start time for the event
Generally, the best day to schedule a golf tournament is Monday, which is perfect because it's the day most courses are closed to members, thus giving you availability. As far as start time is concerned, you should shoot for a 1 pm start time. That way, all of the business professionals attending have some time in the morning to tend to their work.
2. Create an Event Budget
Now that you know where you will be hosting your charity golf tournament, you need to set a realistic budget for this event. This will help hold you accountable as you go throughout the process. In the end, you want the funds you raise to cover the costs of the event, then the rest of the proceeds go to charity.
First things first, you should know the type of expenses to plan for. Such fees include booking the venue, golf cart rentals, providing snacks/beverages, green fee on a per golfer basis, and so on.
Golf courses will also allow you access to their staff members for a fee, or you can work with the course to integrate your volunteers to save on pricing.
We also highly encourage that you plan for a cocktail hour before the main event. Here at the Piqua Country Club, we offer incredible amenities such as custom menus, audio-visual features for you to present your charity, and so on. The cocktail hour allows you to inform your guests of your fundraising initiatives, the purpose behind the event, and so on.
Not sure what that price looks like? We're happy to help! Reach out to us and we'll be glad to customize an event package for you.
3. Plan Your Fundraising Opportunities
First, let's preface this by saying that you can include as many or as few fundraising options as you'd like. If this is your first year throwing the event, we recommend focusing on 2 or 3 at most. You can always add other features in the years to come!
The most important thing to consider is the golf package you sell to your guests. You'll want to create multiple options so that players can choose between single-player, couples, foursomes, and so on. Be sure to price these packages so that they're reasonable, yet can cover the green fee per player and give you some money for your charity.
Next, you'll want to consider raffles that the players can purchase raffle tickets for. Give them the option to purchase these before and during the event. Make sure you set a clear expectation for when the raffle winners will be drawn. Any confusion on that will lead to frustration.
Lastly, set up ways for your attendees (and others) to make donations to your fundraiser. There are ways to set up fundraising online so that they can be contributing funds leading up to the event. Then, you can create donation stations at the golf tournament, when people will be in the mindset of contributing.
4. Determining the Format
Last but not least, you'll want to set a strict expectation for which format your tournament will use. The two most popular (and expected) formats are known as "scramble" and "best-ball".
Most of you know are probably familiar with how the two work, but for those of you that might not, here's a brief definition of each:
Scramble: Each player from the group tees off. After all, have teed off, the group determines who's ball was the best shot, then everyone else moves their ball to play from that spot. It's a great way to ensure a consistent pace of play.
Best-Ball: Every player plays through the hole as they usually would. At the end of each hole, the group gathers to determine who had the best (lowest) score of them all. That score is the only one that counts.
Plan Your Golf Tournament for Charity to Perfection
Now that you have seen an in-depth guide on how to plan a golf tournament for charity, be sure to use this information as you plan yours.
Are you just getting into the game of golf? If so, be sure to read this article for the 7 essential golf tips we recommend for beginners.
To get started, please begin by reaching out via our contact us page and we look forward to assisting you with your golf charity event!