Tournament Course Suggestions

[filharmon]

Greetings, I am new to this site, and full disclosure, not a golfer. I have been asked by the Toronto charity I work with to put together a business plan (including quotes) for a golf fundraiser to be held summer 2025. The last thread I saw on this topic in this forum was in 2017, and wondered if you could give me some current suggestions. I am thinking 72+ players. Your suggestions would be hugely appreciated. Thanks!

[Benz]

I have played in and organized many golf tournaments over the years, and I have also been involved in charity fundraising events.

Right off the top, you need to have an idea of the caliber of players involved. If you take a bunch of well-heeled low-skilled golfers to a tough course, it could be a disaster. Conversely, if you take a bunch of decent players to a low-end course, they may not enjoy the golf that much.

You also need to clarify where the funds will be raised. I would recommend against prizes related to the outcome of the tournament, because that can favour the better players and eliminate some of the weaker golfers. Ultimately, that would be more of a golf tournament than a fundraising event.

My strong recommendation is always to hold a silent auction where people purchase tickets and then place as many as they want in a container for each prize (or group of prizes). This is far easier to manage than the conventional silent auction where there are progressive bids which can only be only be finalized at the end of the event followed by a big rush of winning bidders who want to pay their money and collect their merchandise. The ticket-based auction collects all the money from ticket sales at the beginning of the day, and there's nothing left to do at the end other than draw the ticket and announce the winners. The conventional silent auction also tends to require a lot of people to run it, especially at the end of the day when people want to be going home.

Regarding the basic price for admission, keep it limited to golf, cart and dinner. No booze or free drinks should be included because some people don't drink and drive and won't want to pay for those things (which they usually just give away which then can cause over-serving to others).

Don't bother with gift bags. No one attends a golf tournament based on getting a bag full of stuff they don't need or don't want. Gift bags are also a pain to assemble and distribute, and if there are any costs to them then it just reduces the amount of funds being raised.

If you plan to make this an annual event, make sure to get feedback from each of the attendees immediately after the first event.

[golfingtime]

I have played in and organized many golf tournaments over the years, and I have also been involved in charity fundraising events.

Right off the top, you need to have an idea of the caliber of players involved. If you take a bunch of well-heeled low-skilled golfers to a tough course, it could be a disaster. Conversely, if you take a bunch of decent players to a low-end course, they may not enjoy the golf that much.

You also need to clarify where the funds will be raised. I would recommend against prizes related to the outcome of the tournament, because that can favour the better players and eliminate some of the weaker golfers. Ultimately, that would be more of a golf tournament than a fundraising event.

My strong recommendation is always to hold a silent auction where people purchase tickets and then place as many as they want in a container for each prize (or group of prizes). This is far easier to manage than the conventional silent auction where there are progressive bids which can only be only be finalized at the end of the event followed by a big rush of winning bidders who want to pay their money and collect their merchandise. The ticket-based auction collects all the money from ticket sales at the beginning of the day, and there's nothing left to do at the end other than draw the ticket and announce the winners. The conventional silent auction also tends to require a lot of people to run it, especially at the end of the day when people want to be going home.

Regarding the basic price for admission, keep it limited to golf, cart and dinner. No booze or free drinks should be included because some people don't drink and drive and won't want to pay for those things (which they usually just give away which then can cause over-serving to others).

Don't bother with gift bags. No one attends a golf tournament based on getting a bag full of stuff they don't need or don't want. Gift bags are also a pain to assemble and distribute, and if there are any costs to them then it just reduces the amount of funds being raised.

If you plan to make this an annual event, make sure to get feedback from each of the attendees immediately after the first event.

Agree with much, but need more info from the OP as to expectations & costs and who will be participating (in term of clientele). Courses generally want/expect a minimum of 120+ as they are often closing the course to accommodate the tournament.

While I agree with the gift bag, more so now we see one (or two) gift upon arrival of substance in "higher" end tournaments.

I agree with the siltent auction and ticket based, though I'm not a fan of ticket-based (maybe some of each?) as that means spending often $50-$100 and getting nothing, so many don't participate.

A lot of questions and comments, which I will expand on as the thread grows (& I remember).

[4underthru9]

Hey filharmon, welcome to the nutters.
Plenty of options available to you and your charity group and you should get a lot of good ideas right here from fellow nutters.
I have organised a few of these over the years, and you might want to start with some rough ideas about prefered area and some level of an acceptable price range. One suggestion right off the bat would be the Cardinal Golf Group on Hwy9 just off of Hwy 400, they have a ton of experience with tournaments and have all the ammenities you'll need; including Driving Range, Putting Greens etc. Plus
Check them out here: https://cardinalgolfclub.com/
Contact info also available if you don't have any lucky yourself.

[filharmon]

Hi folks, huge thanks for all your great insights and suggestions. I will take some time to go through them all. Thanks much.

[bogey5]

Does location matter? East/west/north GTA?
Is it a simple golf tournament or a full day with golf, auctions, contests, meal(s) and/or cocktails before/after or something in between?
How important is the golf game/quality vs a fun time?
Are you expecting a crowd of golfers or a mixed crowd with lots of non golfers?
Are you looking for a 5 star, 3 star, 1 star experience?
Will attendees be largely corporate buying foursomes on expense accounts or a group of friends digging into their own pockets?
Are you expecting corporate sponsorships?
Do you have a price range in mind?
Some courses may not book a 72 person event but might offer you a day where you'd share the course with another group to meet their minimum nimbers for closing the course.

Lots has changed since 2017. Prices are way up and course availability way down. The course I play for example has cut outside events by 75% and prices have probably doubled.

You have some time til next summer to work things out so good luck.

[filharmon]

Thanks again for all the great suggestions. It's great to know there's a resource here that I can get back to as I go through the steps on this project.