Hosting A Charity Golf Event
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.