Golf Outing

Golf outings are a blast! It’s hard to think of a better way to court clients, reward employees, or raise funds for a worthy cause. But outings are a lot of work, so putting together a plan and being organized is crucial to hosting a great event. We’re glad to help!

Before the event:

Pick a Course

Where you hold the outing is the key to success. You have to set your budget first. A country club that most people have heard of, but few have played, will get a great response but can be costly. Pick a budget that makes sense and then check a variety of courses for tee time availability, location, club amenities, and experience handling outings.

Pick a logo

Pretty simple if it’s a corporate outing, or a fundraiser for a well-known charity. Giving your outing a unique identity will help with promotion, visibility, and will make the event unforgettable for the players. The logo should be used for all communications about the event, all signage, and on many of the prizes and favors.

Promote the Event

Use the tools you already use to promote your business or organization. If you have a website add a page! If you have a newsletter mention the event. Have an on-hold message? Include information about the outing. Your first contact can be a simple Save the Date message. Get a lot of people on your committee. Not only will it help you split the work but also it will increase the buzz about the event.

Finding Donations and Picking Prizes

Here’s another place where having a recognizable logo will be helpful. Local merchants get hundreds of requests and sticking out from the crowd will help. Have lots of volunteers make calls. The more people involved the greater chance for success. Don’t forget to ask merchants to sponsor a hole. That way they know that every single golfer will see their logo and know they made a generous contribution.

Day of Event:

Registration

The registration table is the craziest place on the course the day of an event. Being organized will really help. Having a giant board preprinted with all the teams members, starting times (or starting hole if it’s a shotgun event) will really help. Using a banner for your table sign, a welcome sign, or to promote sponsors is always effective. It’s always a good idea to have a gift for every golfer. I’ve seen simple gifts (a sleeve of balls and a few tees) to very nice packages that give you an opportunity to keep your logo or message in front of the golfer long after the last ball is struck. Imprinted golf towels, imprinted golf tees, golf bag tags, golf caddy, or golf balls are an excellent way to let everyone know they’ll be getting great value for their investment.

The Menu

Four to five hours of exercise in the sun can leave people awfully hungry. You should start the golfers off with something in the clubhouse. Something simple like doughnuts and coffee is not expensive and is greatly appreciated. At the turn give them a sandwich and a beverage. Continue branding your event by giving every golfer a water bottle with a personalized logo to commemorate the outing. Not too fancy here because you don’t want people to settle in before they finish their round. After the round feed them a meal. The all time favorite is steak but your budget will dictate what you can do. Feeding a couple hundred hungry golfers is no way to learn the catering business. Be aware some courses won’t let you bring in your own food or your own caterer. Just something else to consider when choosing a course.

Awarding the Prizes

Lot of prizes is a good thing. You probably will have some golfers that are not too skilled so give them a chance to win also. A door prize drawing is a good idea. If you are having a fundraiser take a couple of great prizes and sell raffle tickets. Great prizes mean you can charge a premium for the tickets instead of a dollar a ticket. Make sure your emcee is funny without being long-winded. Lots of golfers will need to get home or back to work and they don’t want to sit around all night. Make sure the awards move quickly.

Make the Next Year A Success

If you know the date for next year’s event make sure you let it be known at this year’s event. I’ve even seen some groups accept reservations on the spot. A great way to get on someone’s calendar.

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