What You May Not Know About The Four Stages of Planning & Hosting a Golf Tournament

Sarah Smith, Tournament Sales Manager | Coyote Hills Golf Course

Whether it's your first time planning an event or you have been running tournaments for years, it's oftentimes difficult to remember all of the puzzle pieces that go into that day. From the planning stages and day of your event to the break down and follow-up, every tournament has its own character, attributes, and needs. Have you heard the expression, It takes a village to raise a child? Well, the same goes for golf tournaments. It would be impossible to run an event without every part of the "village." On average, it takes 20- 40 individual team members all working together to come up with a memorable experience for your tournament guests.

Every piece of the puzzle is just as important as the next. Without the maintenance crew, there wouldn’t be a product to enjoy; without the food and beverage team, each guest would not be satisfied; and without the golf staff, the day would not run smoothly. In this article I will go behind the scenes of your event, explain some of the tasks that you may not know happen, and highlight what it really takes to run a fun, fantastic, smooth—and most of all—unforgettable tournament!

A Month (Or More!) Before Your Tournament

By this time, most events have been booked well in advance. Hopefully the tournament chairman, board members, and volunteers are well on their way to getting golfers and sponsors. This is when the calls start flowing in! Many of you may think that the golf course has you on speed dial. We are constantly asking where your counts are, what contests you want, and if you have vendors or games. These are all important questions: if counts are not known a month before the event, tee times may be filled, staffing could be off, or food ordering could be wrong. This is why updated counts are vital to the success of your golf tournament. Need merchandise? The course has to order it, and larger orders or special orders may have longer processing times. Open communication is a key to success when planning a golf tournament, and will make the day run smoothly.

Before You Arrive at the Event—Or Even Before You Wake Up!

The day of any golf tournament begins before many of you have even opened your eyes! At 4:00 a.m. a maintenance crew starts work for the day. The lack of light and sleep does not stop these guys from creating a pristine golf environment. They turn headlights on mowers and utility vehicles to make sure the golf course receives the correct preparation for the day. Most courses sit on over 150 acres, and of that the crew maintains over 74 acres of mowed or manicured grass. Think about it this way: a football field is approximately 1.3 acres, so this maintenance crew takes care of an area larger than 70 combined football fields! Barring any unforeseen problems that occurred overnight (e.g., sprinkler leaks, vandalism, animals rooting around the property), the crew takes its perfectly-sharpened mowers to every green, tee box, fairway, and rough to cut each blade of grass so a ball can roll smoothly across it. Seeing how most golfers want to greens with a surface similar to a hardwood floor, smoothness has to be a very precise task. After mowing, moving tee markers to accurate places, picking up trash, freshening water, raking bunkers, cutting pin placements, and cleaning up any debris, the crew is now ready to set up for your specific event.

Would you like a putting contest, helicopter ball drop, circle around a flag, or specific yardage for a hole-in-one? That's the realm of the maintenance crew. After the crew is finished setting everything up, it’s finally lunchtime—yes, lunch, before anyone has gotten to the course at 8:00-9:00 a.m.

After lunch, the crew is halfway done with its day, and it continues its day-to-day duties while making sure not to affect your tournament. Many people don’t think about the grounds crew and all that they do every day to make our favorite courses wonderful, but without these steps and their hard work, the whole event could be ruined!

While the maintenance staff is hard at work, the golf staff begins its tournament responsibilities. Setting up a smooth registration is another key part of the master puzzle. Most of these details are you will discuss with your tournament planner prior to the event: registration floor plans, music, and rules. But what about the details you may never notice? Clean golf carts, printed cart signs, bag tags, rule sheets, and scorecards are all part of the whole experience your players are paying for.

And don't forget food and beverage! Whether the property has a grill, snack bar, beverage carts, or other food and beverage stations, these are all areas that have to be meticulously planned and executed.

Finally You Arrive!

So you've arrived, and at this point we usually recommend a Bloody Mary, as I've heard those make every registration go smoother. It's understandable that you want everything perfect, as you've completed all the steps to get to this point! What you might not know is that while you're managing the registration and arriving to the course, the tournament director is still busy making sure the golf course is clear, set up, and ready to go. Making sure your golfers fit directly into the tee times as scheduled can be very complicated process itself. Your tournament director should be cool, calm, and collected while answering questions, socializing, and solving any last-minute questions. You should remain calm as well, as you've chosen the right team to host your golf tournament.

And They're Off!

Your tournament is finished, so congratulations! Your golfers had a wonderful day, and one they will remember (and tell their friends about) for months to come. Are you impressed now by all that it took to arrive at this point? I know I am! Great events would not happen without a great team. So my advice to you is to pick a property based on its team. When you meet the golf course staff, determine whether they want to make your event memorable for each and every guest. Check out the course. If you pick a well-maintained golf course with a friendly, helpful staff, you're already on the right path to a successful golf tournament. Golf events are fun! So have fun and at the end of your event, find someone on the staff, whether it's the guy who raked the bunkers that morning or the general manager, and say thank you! Give feedback on what you liked or what you saw could be improved. This will only make this “village” better in the end.