5 Key Templates to Help Run Your Golf Tournament

Sarah Smith | Tournament Sales Manager, Coyote Hills Golf Course

Planning a golf tournament requires collecting and organizing a lot of information, and even for professional planners, a good template can be a game-changer, saving you time, stress, and even money. The following are 5 key templates that every tournament planner should use to help run your next golf tournament.

A Hole-by-Hole List

This list is something the tournament chairperson, the golf course, and all the volunteers can find helpful. This list allows you to know where people are, what they need, what they have, and what their responsibilities are—splitting everything out by hole in an easy, simple template.

Floor Plans

Using floor plan templates can help guarantee you are on the same page as your venue. Floor plans can give everyone working at your tournament a clear visual for what your expectations are, and where everything goes. If you have a raffle, silent auction, buffet station, or other tables pre-set, this will allow you to spend more time setting up and enjoying your event, instead of panicking last-minute as you try to fit in tables you've forgotten.

Registration and Player List

When receiving players and sponsors for the event, you should be gathering as much information from them as you can, as well as setting them up for easy transfer and pairings. Have a list that includes group number, hole number, name, phone number, and email, payment information. The more information you gather, the easier it will be for everyone when the tournament begins.

Banquet Event Orders

For every event, your golf course contact should be creating a banquet event order for the team on property to reference. Make sure you receive a copy of this document. This list will tell you if you missed something, and will give you a clear description of the day's activities.

 Agendas

Agendas are important for the golf course and the tournament volunteers and golfers. The golfers' agenda doesn't have to be as detailed as the staff's, but you still want to give all the players a timeline and stick to it.

Example Agenda:
Date and Time – Dropping items off to course prior to the tournament
Time: Tournament director and volunteers arrive for the event
Time: Registration opens and golfers begin to arrive (typically registration opens 1-1.5 hrs. prior to tee off)
Time: On-course items are set up and ready, vendors and games are on the course
Time: Shotgun start
Time: Players arrive off-course (usually 4.5-5 hrs. after tee off)
Time: Cocktail hour
Time: Helicopter ball drop
Time: Post-play meal served