Dallas Golf Blog: How To

Each year Dallas Golf donates thousands of dollars in cash and prizes to local charity golf tournaments. We even host our own charity golf tournament benefiting the Northern Texas PGA Junior Golf Foundation. Between the events we host, and the ones we contribute time and money to, we thought it would be a good idea to pass along some good information about charity golf tournaments.

This is the first in a series of "how-to" articles designed to help you become a better member of the golf society.

How To Host a Successful Charity Golf Tournament

Choose a Charity

Once you've decided to host a charity golf tournament, there are several things to consider before getting started. I am writing this assuming you have already chosen a charity to benefit. If you have not, there are dozens of local and national charities worthy of donating to. The Charity Navigator website might be helpful to find one if you are still looking for a good cause.

Establish A Budget

Let's assume you have your charity in place and you've found your way here hoping to learn something about hosting a successful charity golf tournament. The first step is to establish an operating budget. To do this you'll need a list of items that you can expect to be out of pocket to cover.

The Golf Course

The largest expense you will probably have for your event is the golf course fee. Most private and public golf courses make a significant portion of their annual revenues from golf tournaments. Tour 18 in Dallas hosts over 200 events a year. Sometimes you may need to book as much as 6 months-1 year in advance to get the date you want. Many courses, especially in Dallas, can probably fit you in if you give them 3-4 months notice, but you are more likely to get your way if you book further in advance.

You can't plan your budget or event until you know which golf course you're playing, and how much the golf course is going to cost you. You should consider the participants, the course proximity, the day of the week, and the time of year when planning.

In Texas, March through October are the most popular months, with the peak play coming in April, May, and October. Monday seems to be the day of choice when planning the event, but depending on the amount of money you're willing to pay, you can probably have the event on just about any day you want. Many times, if you want to have your event at a private club, Monday is the only day they allow tournament play. We host our tournament on a Wednesday each year, and that seems to work out well for our players and for the golf course.

Factor in the type of participants you'll expect when selecting your golf course. If you are hosting an event to raise money for your local church, and you're expecting a small turnout with a relatively high number of "non-golfers", consider choosing a public course with a lower fee. If you're hosting a big corporate fund raiser where you are expecting a higher number of "regular golfers" who expect a more upscale event, consider using a high end daily fee or private course. Public courses will have fees that start at about $25 per person, whereas a private course might charge as much as $200. The average entry fee we see for most of the tournaments we deal with is $100 per player. For some of the smaller events held at municipal courses, we see as low as $60, and for some of the more upscale events held at places like Cowboys Club or Stonebriar Country Club, the fee can be as high as $250 per player.

Food and Beverage

Many of the golf courses will have a food and beverage option available in their tournament package. They may offer services such as a boxed lunch, meals before and after the event, on course snacks, or a cash bar. Depending on your goals, and the clients attending, you should decide on a food and beverage plan. Again, this depends on the type of event you are hosting. As a general rule, it is common to provide soft drinks and snacks during the round itself, and it is very common to provide a meal after the event. Large events will often provide meals before and after the round. When you invite 100 hungry golfers, you can expect some of them will want to be fed! You could arrange for a sponsor like a restaurant or catering service to provide a meal, but either way, plan on having food and drink on hand for everyone. Don't forget about your volunteers and staff. They like to eat, too!

Prizes

Anytime you host a competition, it is customary to provide some type of prizes for the "winners". I use the term "winners" loosely because there are so many format and handicap options you can establish, you may have a harder time establishing the winners than you think. More on that later. Whatever method you use to determine a "winner", plan on part of your budget going toward prizes. Consider a trophy or plaque of some kind, or give away nice golf merchandise to the winners. Depending on your format, you may need multiples of the prize for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place, and for each member of the team.

Marketing, Signs & Promotion

The major expenses for your event have been covered. The golf course, the food, the drink, and the prizes will get you through an event, even if you don't follow anything else we suggest. One thing you may need to consider is to allow for some marketing and promotional materials in your budget. It is common to need to print fliers, signs, and other promotional materials prior to the event, and then print any sponsor signs, banners, or other materials to use during and after the event. The biggest events even take out radio ads to draw players, and some even market themselves on TV. For the most part, you will probably be able to fill your event without this level of marketing, but depending on your goals, you may consider a larger marketing budget than usual. you may also want to provide a gift to your participants such as tees, golf balls, or a golf towel commemorating your event.

Next Steps

Let's clean up some math before we go any further into your event. For easy math, let's assume you've chosen a mid-tier, daily fee golf course. We'll assume you've negotiated a fee with them of $50. We'll also assume you've decided to charge your participants the average fee of $100 each to participate in your event. Let's also establish a $15 per player budget for food and drink. That leaves $35 per player for the charity. If we draw a 100 player field, we will have $3500 gross "profit" to work with. After some miscellaneous expenses and some unexpected ones, if we could donate $2500 to your charity, you would probably be fairly happy. This is where your time with us is about to pay off.

Go Get Sponsorship

If you've been alive and breathing in the last 10 years, you know that sponsorship is everything. Everything is "brought to you by" someone else. It seems no one owns anything anymore, we just collect some money, and change the name of whatever it is we're promoting. In some cases that's a bad thing. In the case of your golf tournament, that's the goal! You'll find that the more sponsors you have the more money you'll make for your charity. If you can establish a "name sponsor" who will help cover some of your base costs, or simply make a "cash" donation, you're even further ahead. For the most part, you'll find that people in your community are willing to help your cause, but it will be on a small scale. You'll be able to attract donations in small cash amounts, or in the form of prizes or raffle items. Of course its all for charity, so any item you can get that either makes for a nicer event, or has some cash value, is something you'll take. Here are some suggestions we think will help you earn sponsors:

Offer them something in return. Everything is a give and take. If you solicit people for sponsorship, be prepared to offer them a value for their participation. Allow them a chance to earn a return on their investment with you. Most of the time, you'll be dealing with small business owners who are strapped when it comes to a donations budget, so any tangible value you can offer them goes a long way toward helping them make a decision to help you.
- Give them a free team entry, offer them marketing and signage at the event, or give them an opportunity to speak in front of your participants.
- If your charity or event has a website people will visit, offer a link to the sponsors website.
- Offer them the opportunity to sponsor a "gift". If they are willing to pay for an item you can give away, let them buy the item and advise them to print their name on it. Many businesses already have these items and are glad to give them to you. If nothing else, it offers your participants a "thank you". If you're good, you can get the sponsor to spring for a golf shirt or cap. If you're smart, you can negotiate a lower fee with a vendor to purchase the item, and your charity can benefit from any "loose change".
Explain your demographic. Golfers are attractive to advertisers. Play up this angle when you present to a potential sponsor. Use this to your advantage and play on a sponsors need to reach a targeted group of consumers.
DON'T play the "sad charity" card. Most people are busy and they just want the straight and dirty. What do you want? How much does it cost me? And what do I get in return? If they are interested in what you're doing, they will offer to help or be involved, and will end up doing more for you than you could ask of them. Like I said, most of the time you're dealing with a small business owner, and he's heard all of the "sad charity" cases. Just present it as a business opportunity, and if he/she has a heart, you'll get more than you asked for.

Ok now that we've established some pre-tournament guidelines in terms of the golf course, the prizes, and the sponsors, let's get out to the course and go over some ways to make money on the day of your event.

Choose a Format

There are many types of golf formats you can play in your event. The most common is a 4 Person Florida Scramble. This format is played in 99% of charity events, and for your first event, we advise sticking with convention. You will have enough to worry about with the event itself than to have to explain a new rules format to first time golfers. The "scramble" is a simple format where each player hits, they choose the best shot, and then each player hits again. They repeat this process until the ball is holed. Its simple, and its what most people expect when you mention a charity tournament. If you want to know more about other formats, this is a good article. The reason I write about this as a part of making money for your charity, is that choosing a good format is part of having people return to your event the next year. Sure your charity will be happy with this year's donation, but they'd be thrilled if you did it for them for 20 years in a row. The format can be important in people enjoying your event for years to come.

At the Course Tournament Day Money Makers

There are a few things you can do at the course to raise a few extra dollars for your charity. We'll go over a few of the most widely used and a couple that are under-utilized

Putting/Chipping Contest. Let's say for $5 a person, you offer a challenging 3 putt/chip course and the winner earns a cash prize. You can determine the rules on your own. Set aside a portion of the entries as the cash prize, say $50. Then if 20 people enter you make $50 for the charity.
Silent Auction. Remember those sponsors? You probably piled up a few free meals, free tee times, and maybe even an autographed ball from your local pro sports team. Put those items out on the auction block. Set up a silent auction and the highest bidder wins. In our event each year, we raise over 50% of our donation using this method.
Mulligans. The most popular "extra" at any event is a "mulligan". For $5 or so, each player can buy a couple of "do-overs" to use on a missed putt, errant drive, or shanked chip. Collect $10 from most everyone, and you've pulled in an extra $1000.
On course games. One popular on course money maker is often called a "Tiger Woods Drive". On a difficult hole, offer the team the chance to pay $20 and advance their ball to a spot they would be very happy to be in. Usually people's competitive edge gets them here and they pay the $20 because "everyone else will". If you have 25 teams, you make an extra $500. Another popular game is a "beat the pro" game. Have one of the assistant pro's from the course participate and hit shots on a par-3 hole. He can "wager" against the players on whether or not he hits it closer than they do, and if he wins, he donates his "winnings" to the charity. A $10 wager is common. Get 25 of your players do do this and you've made another $250.

Some of these methods have their drawbacks. The on course games often add to the playing time of the round, and the feeling of being "nickel and dime'd" can leave a bad tasted in players mouths. One way to overcome this is to add some money to your overall fee, or have one inclusive "extra" fee the day of the event that enters the player in all of the extras. You could roll the contests, mulligans, and beat the pro into a package for say $25 per person. Offer an option to pay with a credit card, and your hit rate will be very high. The team can then decide on the course to take you up on the $20 long drive offer.

Do the Math

Let's do the math on our event we've outlined. We managed to get 100 players at $100 each. The course cost us $50 each. We spent $15 each on food, leaving $35 each, or $3500. We spent $1000 in promotions and setting up the event. We managed to get $1500 worth of silent auction donations. We came out with $100 in loose change from our shirt sponsor. We earned $1500 in "At the course" donations. We earned another $500 from the long drive competition. Add it all up and we are donating $4600 to your charity. Next year, we'll find a $5000 Title Sponsor, and double our donation.

I hope this information has helped you with your charity event. If you have questions, please feel free to contact a Dallas Golf Store Manager. We will be glad to help you with your event. We donate to hundreds of charities each year, and we offer a full line of tournament prizes and promotional items. We can help you stay within your budget, and allow you to donate more to your chosen charity.