Organising A Golf Day? 4 Things You Must Do (And 3 Huge Mistakes To Avoid)
Expert advice from Lauren Katims, who's seen it all from the first tee to the final prize
Golf days are a blast, whether it’s a one day scramble, or a three day match play. But ahead of all that fun, there’s a lot of preparation. The quality of prizes, food and drinks, the type of format, and the theme can make a day lively and memorable or lead to a lot of complaints.
I’ve seen both sides. I’ve been part of the planning committee for many of our women’s tournaments, including our largest, a 3-day competition with 120 players, a huge age range and handicaps anywhere between 5 and 40. You might be thinking, That sounds like a lot of personalities and skill levels to manage. It certainly is.
That’s the most important lesson I’ve learned in all of this: You can’t please everyone. But, with smart, proactive planning, giving attention to certain details, the golf day can be a hit for all (or at least, most). And with the right group, the planning process can be just as enjoyable.
Give Players Plenty Of Advance Notice
The more time people have to form teams, save the date, and make arrangements, the better the turnout. We start our sign-ups months before the actual tournament day to ensure there’s a full field. For the larger tournaments, the date is announced a year in advance.
Once you figure out a date, location, format, and theme, you can get the sign up process started and continue planning while registration is happening. Finalizing a date and seeing people sign up also naturally creates a timeline, or deadline, for the planners to work out all the logistics of the day.
Pick A Theme That’s Relevant To All Players
Theme might be the most important decision you make. It’s what initially gets people excited, and sets the tone for the entire event. Outfits, prizes, food, and decor are all based around the theme.
But, when you’re dealing with a wide age range, say 30 to 70 years old, or mixed gender, finding commonality can be tricky. Go for general themes that give people a wide variety of options. For example, everyone can find some fun and creativity in a travel or seasonal theme.
Themes can be simple, just a unified color choice. We host a women’s golf day where everyone wears red and white, and this year, our large ladies tournament has a Scotland theme, which, regardless of age, gives people a lot of flexibility with clothing and creates a guide for our planning committee when building our menu, prizes, and games. If you’re at a loss, tie in your golf day to a concurring theme that month. If it’s April, you can’t go wrong with a Master’s theme.
Lauren Katims organises a golf day and players wear red and white
Spend Your Money In Smart Places
Chances are, you’re on a budget. Even after registration or entry fees, sponsorships and cash games, funding all the things you imagine for your golf day is always a challenge, which is why you have to spend smartly.
There are certain areas that stand out to people even long past the golf day, and one of those is food. This applies to both meals and snacks. Tournament rounds typically take much longer than regular golf rounds simply due to the number of participants, and offering people drinks and snacks at various points makes everyone happy. With food, details do matter. Coffee or tea before the round with a small, take away breakfast, or a quality hosted lunch after the round is a must.
Another place to prioritize money is on prizes, and ideally, there will be plenty of opportunities for players to win. Not only the grand prize for lowest score, but also a small tee prize (depending on entry fee), closest to the pin, raffles, lowest putts.
Golf-related prizes are great, but don’t limit yourself. Gather gift cards from local restaurants and stores, or gift baskets with a variety of items. You’d be surprised how many companies like to donate small prizes, so don’t be afraid to ask. It’s good exposure for their brands.
Offer A Variety Of Formats
Find a balance between fun and competition by offering a more competitive flight and a scramble flight. This encourages newer players who aren’t comfortable playing their own ball the entire time. The “fun” flight is actually how I first got involved in our ladies tournament. Now that I’m more experienced, I’ve moved up to the competitive flight.
We also mix in different games throughout the day. There’s a chipping contest, putting contest, closest to the pin, optional two-person alternate shot, and an outfit contest. Lots of chances to win, aside from the overall prize.
Keep in mind that pace of play is an issue in these big golf days, so depending on how many players you have, choose a format that moves quickly. A scramble or shamble, where people aren’t playing their own ball the entire time, is a good option to speed things up.
We also agreed that there are some points that could complicate the planning process and the day. Here are the top three:
Managing Everything On Your Own
No matter the size of your golf day, form a committee or planning group to help. Even if it’s a casual one day outing, ask a friend to help organise the logistics of the day. If it’s an annual event, consider forming a small group of people who have experience with these types of events.
For our large tournament, our planning group consists of five players, plus two golf club staff. We have multiple meetings to discuss sponsors, food, prizes, and games.
Planning committees work best with a group of people that reflects the players competing. For example, if there will be a wide range of ages and skill levels, find people who represent each group, so all opinions are represented. Planning partners are almost as important as playing partners. You’ll spend quite a bit of time communicating, so choose people you enjoy and will add value to the process.
Making The Day Too Serious
That’s not to say that people can’t take their rounds seriously, but it’s a major bonus to mix in some fun. Regardless of how they played, the fun factor is what people will remember when it’s time to sign up for the next golf day, especially if it’s an annual occurrence.
Offering games throughout the day adds to the overall enjoyment and gives players multiple chances to win. Chipping and putting contests, closest to the pins, raffle giveaways, longest drive competitions, points for hitting fairways and greens in regulations. We’ve even done a scavenger hunt on the course that was a big hit!
A playful theme plays an important role in sparking creativity and getting people excited to participate. Plus, many of the games can tie into the theme, making everything seem relevant and thoughtfully planned, which of course, it is!
Having No Designated Helpers On The Course
This is especially important if there are new players or it’s a new course. People will naturally have questions about scoring, direction, and rules throughout the round. And confusion slows down the pace of play.
Designate people who are familiar with the course, whether that’s golf club staff or volunteers, to cart around and check in. If this isn’t possible, include print out instructions or reminders about local course rules, special scoring instructions, and reminders about keeping a steady pace, for every player to carry in their golf cart, so they can reference throughout the round.
You will hear both positive and negative feedback, and trust me when I say it would happen regardless if you planned the world’s best golf event. When a big group of people get together, there will always be differing options. We like to threaten anyone who complains too much that it’s their job to plan next year’s golf day.
