The Ultimate Guide for Golf Event Planning
Organizing a golf event is about designing an experience your group will remember to the point of clamoring to return when you hold your second annual event a year later. For people who play in golf tournaments, it’s easy: here’s my money, can’t wait to see you at the course. For those who actually plan the event, though, it’s a bit more daunting. It takes a lot, but when you see your golfers enjoying themselves (and, if you’re running a fundraiser, when you see the totals continue to rise), it is immensely satisfying.
Let’s get started.
Step 1: Choose a Date
Finding the right date for a golf outing can feel overwhelming at first when considering all the things that go into it, especially with the knowledge that tee times fill up fast. Still, when we break down each element of selecting a day, we often find the perfect date almost presents itself. Here are a few items to keep in mind when choosing the date for your golf event.
Maximum Attendance
In general, you’ll get the highest number of participants if you avoid holiday weekends or any competing events (golf or otherwise) in the area. People love to play in golf outings and will often rearrange their schedules to do so, but making it as easy as possible to arrange them goes a long way toward increasing attendance.
Time of Year
For golf events in Michigan, we have three wonderful seasons for golfing. Summer gives us the most reliable weather but also comes with the highest rates (we’ll get into the budget shortly). Spring is a good time for groups that are antsy to get out on the links after a dormant winter. Fall is great for those who like slightly cooler temperatures and colorful foliage. Early spring and late fall often come at discounted rates.
Day of the Week
A large number of charity and corporate golf outings take place on weekdays. Planning an event during the week avoids the large crowds and higher prices on weekends, allowing for a well-paced, budget-friendly outing for your golfers (none of whom will mind taking a morning or afternoon off work to play golf). Still, there’s a reason weekends are so busy at golf courses: people like to golf on the weekends. You know your group best: what day of the week would bring most of them out?
Availability
As we mentioned, tee times fill up fast, so booking as far in advance as possible will give you the most options. At a resort like Treetops, with five courses from which to choose, your chances of finding availability on your desired date essentially quintuple, even if all five of our tee sheets fill quickly too.
Step 2: Choose a Venue/Golf Course
We’re biased, of course, and can think of five championship golf courses among the best Northern Michigan golf courses we’d recommend considering, but finding the right venue for your golf outing requires considering several things.
Skill Level and Event Format
In golf outings, the skill level varies immensely, with high-end golfers sharing a cart with people who might be playing for the first time. Because of that, if your tournament format involves everybody playing his or her own ball, you don’t want a course that’s too hard or too easy, thus allowing everybody to enjoy the round. If your outing, like many, is a scramble, then playing at a difficult course isn’t so daunting for beginners. Scrambles move quickly and allow anybody of any skill level to enjoy the round, even on a difficult course.
Location
From where are the majority of your golfers coming? Is the course easy to get to? At Treetops, for people traveling long distances, our golf club delivery service makes getting your clubs to and from the course easy.
Facilities and Amenities
Is the course in good condition? Does the venue have everything you need, such as a banquet or meeting space, on-site restaurants or food options, locker rooms, a practice range, or dedicated support staff? Not every outing needs all these things, but you want to make sure the venue you choose has precisely the features you need.
When possible, it’s best to tour a course and its facilities in person before making your final decision. Actually walking the grounds helps envision how your outing will come together and ensures you are choosing a venue with everything you need for your event.
Step 3: Budgets and Potential Sponsors
As with any event, your budget is important. Particularly with fundraising events, when you’re trying to raise more than you spend, outlining a solid budget in advance is essential. Golf outings are much more involved than simply walking into the clubhouse, paying for a round, and proceeding to the first tee.
Here are a few line items to keep in mind:
- Greens fees
- Cart rentals
- Food/catering/beverages (more information outlined below)
- Signage
- Trophies, awards, and prizes
- Branded giveaway items
- Photography or videography
- Event insurance
You want to be able to charge your golfers a fair price for the experience: a nice round of golf at a good course, access to food and beverage, and the knowledge that they’re supporting your cause. Beyond what you raise from attendance alone, sponsorships are a great way to increase the total raised.
If your event will be seeking sponsorships, here are a few of the most successful and reliable sponsor packages we see time and time again:
- Title sponsor of the entire event
- Hole sponsors with signage on the tee box
- Meal sponsors
- Contest sponsors (long drive, closest to pin, etc.)
- Beverage cart sponsors
Step 4: Food and Beverage
Food and beverage are crucial. Access to food and drink before, during, and after a round of golf is an expected part of any outing. Often, a post-round lunch or dinner will be served to participants as part of the event, either catered or at an on-site restaurant (Treetops has five on-site restaurants). Will you have a beverage cart taking care of golfers on the course? Is food available for purchase at the turn? Making sure food and drinks are available to those who want them does a lot to enhance a golfer’s experience and make your event memorable.
Step 5: Play
You’ve chosen the date, found a venue, locked in your budget, the sponsor signage is all over the course, and the beverage carts are idling and ready to go. All that’s left to do now is play.
Host Your Golf Event at Treetops Resort
Earlier, we said we’re biased, and we still are, but we encourage you to plan your next golf event at Treetops Resort. Contact us today to see how we can work together to make your event the most memorable experience possible for your group.
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