Tip from Golf Digest

GCSC Tournament Planners' Luncheon Brings Local Planners Together

Our Tournament Planners Luncheon & Seminar on December 1st was a great success with tons of valuable insight, tools and discussion.  Many of our attendees enjoyed meeting other local tournament planners.  The event served as a forum for brainstorming ideas along with a presentation on how to get started.  We will offer another seminar in early 2011, so stay tuned for more details.  Here’s a taste of some of the planning material covered…

Phil Immordino’s article in Golf Event Magazine:

20 Most Frequently Asked Questions By Phil Immordino

1. How many golf events are there in my area? There are more than 1 million golf outings held annually in the United States. On the average each golf course has 50 tournaments per year. Multiply the number of golf courses in your area by 50 and you will have a good average in your town. 2. How much does the average golf outing raise? The average event raises $5,000 net. There are events that raise $100,000 to $500,000 but it takes special ingredients. 3. What should be the goal of our first event? It all depends on your needs and your potential. A conservative approach would be $5,000 but if you have big sponsors, set your sights larger. 4. How can we raise big money? The key to raising big money is big sponsors and big auctions and that starts with a desirable demographic of golfers. 5. How many volunteers should I have on my committee? There are a lot of responsibilities. It is important to have one person in charge of each area: chairman, sponsors, golfers, gifts, operations and marketing. 6. How do we motivate our volunteers? Show them the vision, train them, hold them accountable, reward them and show them that you care about them. 7. What is the best outing format? There are 100 different ways to format a golf tournament. It depends on your objective and the caliber of your golfers. Beginners like scrambles, advanced golfers like best balls and golf-a-thons make the most money. 8. How do you keep a fast pace of play? Many factors determine pace of play. Formats, course difficulty, course rangers; but the best thing is caddies. 9. How do you find the best golf course? Golfers like something special, a course that they don�t get to play, a course in good condition and one with good service. Try a private course if you can. 10. How do you get a good deal on a golf course? If you bring a golf course other tournaments, they will make you a deal. Try the middle of the week in the off-season in the afternoon. 11. How do you sell sponsorships? All companies want a return on investment. Turn your event into a marketing tool for sponsors. 12. How do you fill your field with golfers? It's all about relationships. Get nine committee members to ask four friends to each bring a foursome. 13. How many golfers play in the average event? A sellout is 144 for an 18-hole course. The average number of players in an event is 80. 14. What is the average event fee? We have seen tournaments as low as $45 and as high as $7,500. The average event is $125 per player. 15. How much should you charge to play in a tournament? The goal is to sell out your outing. Try to keep the fee as low as possible yet still cover your costs per golfer. Once you have sold out, you can raise the fees at future events. 16. What if you have more than 144 golfers? This a nice problem to have. With more than 144 golfers you must either raise the rates, go to a course with two 18-hole courses or do a morning and afternoon shotgun. 17. What is the best way to promote a golf event? The key to promotion is networking. The more relationships you have the more exposure you will receive. 18. How do you get really great gifts for golfers? Buy any gifts that you want by putting a sponsor�s logo on it and including the cost in the sponsor package. 19. How long should it take to produce a golf outing? Give yourself six months. You are working with volunteers and they have limited time to devote to the event. 20. What if it rains? Golf is an outdoor sport. If it really rains hard the golf course will reschedule it, but have a back-up plan such as some indoor activities.  Phil Immordino is president of the Golf Tournament Association of America, www.gtaaweb.org. He can be reached at 602.867.1491 or pimmordino@gtaaweb.org.

If you were not able to make it out on December 1st and would like a copy of our “How-To Guide”, please give Dave Amundson a call at 803-754-8600 or email him at damundson@golfclubsc.com.  

To receive information on our next event please fill out a tournament request form on our website with a comment that says “Interested in Tournament Planners’ Luncheon” at www.golfclubsc.com.