GolfPlayerMania

Large scale organizing has many challenges, whether it is organizing a wedding, large birthday party or a golf tournament.  There are many different things you can do in the pre-event planning, actual event execution and post-event follow-up that will make your golf tournament a success.

The first and most important item for pre-event planning is to understand exactly what you want to get out of the tournament and how big you want it to be.  If you are organizing the tournament to benefit charity, make sure you have any paperwork related to sponsoring the charity completed well before you start advertising the tournament. There are other key pre-event planning things that need to be considered, chief among them timing.  Selecting a date and reserving the golf course well in advance is critical as it will become harder throughout the year to block off an entire timeslot at any golf course.  It is also important to know the type of golfers you will be inviting to the tournament; if you are bringing high-handicappers then you might want to select a course that is more wide open to make it more enjoyable.  Obviously, more skilled players will enjoy a challenge and a tougher course.

Continuing with the pre-event planning, it is important to select the type of tournament you want (i.e. scramble, stroke play) and whether there will be any events happening throughout the match itself.  Regardless of the format, players will appreciate separate challenges along the way such as a closest to the pin or longest drive competition on a particular hole.  These side games are important because they afford the opportunity to raise more money for the charity and give more pride to the golfer who wins them (especially if they are having a tough round otherwise).

One final note on pre-event planning is to make sure you have the appropriate amount of volunteers, staffers, food, beverages, restroom access and golf carts for those who cannot or do not want to walk.  During the actual event itself it is important that players are comfortable and enjoying themselves on the course.  Equally important is ensuring the volunteers and staffers at the golf course have what they need to do their jobs and keep the players happy.  Handing out awards and prizes on the actual day, which need to be decided on in the pre-event planning, should be timely and carry with it a sense of recognition for the winners.

Finally, the post-event follow-up is crucial to long-term success.  Use whatever communication medium you used to communicate details of the tournament (i.e. mail group, website, etc) to announce tournament results, funny anecdotes and thank everyone for their time.  Additionally, an important note about how their money helped the charity in question (if it is a charitable tournament) will be well received, and a “looking forward to next year’s tournament” is a nice way to close it out.  Following these tips should put you on the path to success in planning your tournament.