Golf outings are the staple of any summers. You can always count on many opportunities to play in golf outings where the main goal is for the golfers to have fun and to raise some money for charity. Many different organizations will run golf outings to raise money for their cause.
This ranges from booster clubs involved with athletic teams, different professional associations, and scholarship funds to name a few.
Oftentimes the people in charge of golf outings are big hearted people who are trying to do a good thing and might lack a little bit of knowledge. Below we will provide a complete guide on how to run a golf outing.
Having played in hundreds of golf outings and run several myself, I have a first hand perspective on how to make sure the golfers have fun and maximize your fundraising efforts.
10 Steps to Running a Successful Golf Outing:
- Select The Date
- Call Multiple Courses and Select the Course
- Advertise
- Call Sponsors
- Determine Format
- Determine Games and Fundraising Opportunities
- Confirm all details
- Provide Clear Instructions
- Give Away Prizes
- After Golf Fun
1 – Select The Date
This is an important decision. You want to consider the month and the typical weather during that time frame. You also want to make sure you select the right day of the week. Weekends might cost you more as most golf outings are shotgun format, which is where everyone tees off at the same start time, just on different holes.
Courses have to shut down their course for your outing. This is fine as courses are guaranteed income on that day. Weekends usually work best and provide the least amount of conflict. Many courses will work on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. If you are looking for an earlier time, then the weekdays are your only option.
The potential issue with the weekday is the work conflict that many might face. If there is a professional association running the outing, you might have some success or if companies are involved and people are able to “get away” to play golf.
I have golfed in outings on just about every day of the week. A Friday afternoon is a blast as well as the weekends!
2 – Call Multiple Courses and Select the Course
Ask around in your area for those that are serious golfers and ask them the best outing courses. You should have multiple places that you can call. When making the call, discuss potential dates, the cost per golfer and what food might be included in that package.
Many courses will offer a lunch upon arrival and then a different after the round of golf. When people attend golf outings, they are willing to pay $100-$150 in most areas, but expect food and some beverages to be included in this package.
You can create some buffer that goes towards the fundraising efforts but the majority of the money raised will come from different areas. If you are able to attract around 120 golfers and you charge an extra $20 on top of the course and food/beverage price you are off to a good start.
3 – Advertise
Make sure golfers know about your golf outing. My best advice is to encourage people that you know to organize a foursome. If you can find 30 people to organize and gather a foursome for the outing you have reached your 120 golfers.
Get word out via social media outlets, email and word of mouth. You will also want to advertise to potential sponsors that might be wiling to help make the event better through different donations such as money, prizes or other contributions such as volunteers to help work the outing.
4 – Call Sponsors
Now is the time to make connections with sponsors that can make different donations to maximize your fundraising efforts or to make the outing extra special for the golfers that will be playing in the outing. The quickest and most effective way to maximize the money raised to find hole sponsors. These sponsors will pay anywhere from $100-$500 for a sign on a tee box that promotes their business or advertises that they made a donation.
This is the number one way to make a good chunk of money for your organization, association, boosters club, scholarship fund, etc. Most businesses or even individuals are willing to pay for a hole sponsor. If you can find 36 hole sponsors even at the low end amount of $100, you have just raised $3600.
Other donations that work great are:
- free foursomes at other courses
- golf pullovers
- golf bags
- golf balls
- restaurant gift cards
- umbrellas
- apparel
- Golf towels
There is really not a bad donation and you should be grateful for whatever someone is willing to donate.
5 – Determine Format
The best format that I would highly recommend is the scramble format. It is the number one format for golf outings and allows golfers of all ability levels to play pressure free and to enjoy the team camaraderie that is developed by the foursome.
To learn more about the golf scramble format, visit here: The Golf Scramble: Golf’s Most Popular Outing Format
You will also want to decide what is the best tee box to play from for different ages and even gender. The golf pro at the golf course should with this advice and will often make his or her recommendation to ensure the golf is completed in a timely manner.
6 – Determine Games and Fundraising Opportunities
Based on the donations you received, you might give a prize out to the 3 teams with the best scores. Typically, I have seen prizes such as a foursome at another area course. Golfers typically love to receive free golf and most courses are willing to make the donation.
Make sure you call other local golf courses and seek these donations. They are used to giving them away and if your outing is for a good cause it is an easy decision on their part. Some of your typical games at golf outings include the following:
- Closest to the Pin on a Par 3
- Long Drive for men
- Long Drive for women
- Straightest Drive
- Pay $5 on a par 3 and if you get it inside of 10 feet you are entered into a drawing to win half the money from the total pot.
- Hole In One Contest – Win a car or $20,000. Usually involves insurance.
Other Fundraising Ideas include:
- Skins Games – Some might give all the skins money away others will keep half as a fundraiser.
- 50/50 Raffle
- A Chinese Auction
- Beat the Pro
- Sell Mulligans – A great fundraiser that gives you 100% of money on those groups that pay. This typically can sell for $20 per foursome and if you have 30 groups it is an easy $600 extra dollars.
- Pay $5-10 per golfer to play a tee forward and turn a long par 4 into a shorter par 4. Most golfers will quickly pay the money and move forward.
- Sell certain size strings to be able to move your ball that distance closer to the hole. Great to use on the putting green and teams have fun with this on when to use it. It also helps teams score better.
As you can see, when you call the sponsors these extra donation can be used as prizes or to create a chinese auction where you can sell tickets from $5-$20 and make some extra money for your charity.
7 – Confirm All Details
I think it is best when an outing is run by a committee. Each topic below can be assigned to one person. Have one person oversee all of the finer details and check in with people. Here are some potential breakdowns:
- Communication with course
- Sponsors phone calls
- Advertising and Recruiting Golfers
- Finding volunteers to work the outing
- Determine food and beverages
If you are fortunate enough to have someone in charge of each of these categories, you should check in frequently and help them as needed. Make sure you have your checklist and stay on top of it in the week leading up to the event. Creating a facebook page or other social media page for your outing can help promote and keep golfers in the loop on the details.
8 – Provide Clear Instructions
On the day of, make sure there are basic rules and announcements of games and prizes on a single sheet of paper. These can usually be placed on the cart. You will want to assign foursomes their starting hole and their cart number.
The representative from the course can help you determine the number of carts needed and the best holes to start people on if you have more than 18 groups. I would recommend longer par 5s and longer par 4s if you have more than 18 groups. Being organized with clear instructions and check in procedures helps the day go very smooth and gives the golfers a quality and fun experience.
As each golfer parks and approaches the course have a check in table with some details about the day. Find someone friendly to greet the golfers and make them feel welcomed. Collect final payments, promote other fundraisers and let them know what hole they are starting on.
The golfers will head to their carts and get their bags setup. Oftentimes for the food and beverages available, golfers will receive tickets that they can use to get their food and beverages. This is a detail the course will help with if they are providing the food as part of the package.
9 – Give Away Prizes
Make sure people do not leave empty handed. Even if every golfer at least receives a sleeve of balls or some cheap coffee mug, find something to give to at least every golfer. Door prizes are another great giveaway if you work the sponsors hard and receive a bunch of free giveaways.
Golfers enjoy golfing, eating food, and leaving with something. If they are paying 100-150 dollars, this will help them leave satisfied. Many people who play in outings aren’t serious golfers and are there to have a good time. Make sure to keep the atmosphere light and fun!
10 – After Golf Fun
Many golfers want to have a good meal that sometimes includes steak or other quality dinner food. A golfer that leaves well fed after a 4-6 hour round of golf will leave happy.
If this become an annual event people will remember the course, the giveaways, the fun games and the food and beverages. These are the main areas to make sure are taken care of and of high quality. People are looking to get away from the hustle and bustle of the regular world and turn to some fun entertainment while donating some money to a good cause.
You can play a big role in the overall experience by ensuring there is high quality in those areas listed above. Most sponsors are willing to help out when the money is going to something worthy and are willing to donate money and prizes. Do not be afraid to ask and to tap into all of your networks.
Take Action
Are you ready to get started? Golf outings are a blast if organized correctly. If you are not a golfer, call the person you know that loves golf the most and ask for some guidance on your local courses and food.
Also, make sure you look for those network of sponsors as the sponsors are the people that are going to help you maximize your money raised and make it a good time for certain giveaways.
Some sponsors might be wiling to give towards the beverages for that day and make sure people know who donated to make the outing possible and helped raise money.
Here is a checklist for your golf outing planning:
| To Do Item | Check ✅ |
| Secure your Date | |
| Secure your Course | |
| Advertise via social media | |
| Create committees, if possible | |
| Call sponsors and ask for $, prizes, etc. | |
| Determine format (scramble recommended) | |
| Determine games and prizes | |
| Determine other fundraising options | |
| Confirm all details | |
| Clear 1-2 page instruction (rules, prizes, etc) | |
| Volunteers (2-3) to work greeting table | |
| Have fun – Keep the atmosphere fun | |
| Have an accounting system in place | |
| Take picture, post via social media |