Tips on Planning a Charity Golf Tournament

Submitted by Michael Romero, Texas Regional Office

In my opinion, the success of a charity golf event revolves around maximizing player turnout, maximizing hole sponsors, & obtaining sponsored prizes. Listed below are a few tips to consider concerning these three areas.

Player Turnout

Your tournament's success depends on how many players your charity golf tournament draws, and the success your committee members have when it comes to soliciting sponsors for the tournament.

To maximize turnout, you need to create major publicity for your event. That means promoting your golf tournament through social media, to people you know that will attend & support your event, and to people who actually play golf!

Top Golfer Prizes

Generally speaking, you’ll draw more golfers if you have great prizes for the Longest Drive contest, Closest-to-the-Pin contest, Hole-in-One & the Lowest Team Score contest.

Solicit local merchants to sponsor these prizes. Work with an insurance-related prize company for events like the hole-in-one contest. That way, you can offer bigger prizes for a much lower out-of-pocket expense.

Plan Ahead

Combining more golfers & corporate sponsorships with a full-scale publicity schedule 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 raise a lot of money for your cause.

Contact local courses for group rates. Be sure to mention that you are planning a charity event. Once you decide on your preferred location, reserve the date and tee times well in advance. Prime dates sell out months—sometimes a year—in advance.

Final Tips

Plan ahead to maximize the success of your charity golf event. For best results, pick a weekday to hold your event. This is when courses have large blocks of tee times available. You’ll often get the best rates on weekdays.

If it’s your first golf tournament, be open to suggestions from other golfers. Work with golf course personnel when it comes to picking their brains for ideas. They will tell you what works & what doesn't work when it comes to holding a golf tournament.