A golf tournament is a great way to bring in extra money and build relationships with other golfers. Hosting one can be tough, though- they require careful planning to get right. This season take your events up a notch by giving every attendee an unforgettable experience! Here are golf tournament ideas that you can try out this season:

Create a Story for Your Fundraising

When you are hosting a tournament, make sure to tell the story of your cause. When people know who they are donating money for and can see that person’s face on flyers or in ads, it makes them more willing to donate generously because they feel like their donation will impact.

By telling the story of individuals and why they need help, you can generate more interest in your event. When sending out an email or posting to social media, make sure that people know how their contribution will affect someone’s life.

Run One-hole Contests

How to make a golf tournament fun? Run one-hole contests! This is probably one of the most fantastic golf tournament ideas.

Add a little more excitement to your golf tournament by having a fun game at one of the holes! You can have contests such as closest-to-the-pin, longest drive, or hole-in-one, and whoever wins gets an award.

The random club contest is another way to spice up your tournament. Golfers will draw from a hat on one hole, and they’ll have to take that swing with whatever club was drawn.

Get More Attendees with Email Marketing

Email is a great way to get the word out about your upcoming tournament and can be an easy entry point for people who want to book their spot. Using modern management software will allow you to segment your contacts into groups that receive targeted invitations with engaging subject lines and call-to-action buttons that take them directly into the booking engine.

Automated email campaigns can be a great way to stay in touch with your customers and implement your golf tournament ideas. 

An initial invitation might go out, followed by one week later follow-ups for anyone who hasn’t booked their spot already and then a recap of the tournament afterwards. Click To Tweet

Promote your tournament through social media

Promote Your Tournament Through Social Media

If you already have a social media following, the odds are good that they will be interested in attending your golf tournament. Use it to take advantage of this channel to post about upcoming events and promotions.

Share your golf tournament ideas via social media through:

• Promotional flyers
• Photos from previous tournaments or pictures of current preparations
• A promotional video encouraging people to sign up
• A link to a blog post regarding a past tournament

Flyers are a great way to advertise the tournament, but you should only post them every so often. You don’t want people who follow your page on social media to get tired of seeing these posts and ignore them. Instead, use other golf tournament ideas like videos or pictures to advertise upcoming events effectively.

Host a 9-hole Tournament

A 9-hole tournament is much more family-friendly and can help convert new customers into regulars.

Smaller tournaments also make it easier for companies to bring their whole team out, even if some players are not experienced.

Offer Paid Mulligans

You could sell mulligans at tournaments to get some extra revenue or donations from attendees and have more fun by adding this aspect of golf that many players don’t usually experience during their regular rounds.

Broadcast Live Scores at the Clubhouse

If you want to provide a more lively atmosphere at your golf course, install TV screens that broadcast live scores for attendees. You can use advanced tournament management software, so the screen will display what is happening on each hole.

Market to Participants While They are on the Course

If you are lucky enough to have the ability to send out SMS messages through your management software, a golf tournament is a perfect time for it. Texts will pop up right on their phones and get attention. You can also make sure that they only go out to people who attend your event.

Some examples of messages that you can send include:

• An alert about a hole-in-one
• A statement about a contest or event that is taking place
• New promotion on drinks at the clubhouse
• A reminder to donate some of the money to the sponsored charity.

Texting is a great way to stay in touch with golfers, and they will not mind if you occasionally send them messages while on your property.

Ramp Up Sales of Pro Shop Items

Use the high traffic of golfers to increase your pro shop sales. If you have a roomy and well-organized store, people will be within arms reach of your products, so they are more likely to make impulse purchases.

For smaller pro shops, try running a table outside. This will be much easier with cloud-based POS systems because you can bring your iPad to the store and sell small items like shirts, balls, tees, and gloves.

Sell More Food and Beverages

The end of a golf tournament can be stressful. At the conclusion, attendees are usually hungry and thirsty after being on their feet all day.

One way to solve this problem is by allowing players to order as they go through the course. This should also help kitchen staff who would otherwise have more work preparing meals.

You can also set up a snack and beverage station at your 9th hole or have a mobile cart serving people. Allowing golfers to grab some refreshments in between holes will make them happy while helping you earn more money.

For a More Efficient Tournament, Use Shotgun Starts

When running a golf tournament, the most important thing is to ensure that you are not unnecessarily wasting people’s time. The best way to do this is by using shotgun starts to place tee times on every hole. If your event goes smoothly and nobody notices it, then you have done an excellent job.

Get Hole Sponsorships from Businesses

Companies want to get their name out there, so they sponsor one hole at a time. They can use banners or other marketing tools that suit them.

If you know the number of people who typically attend your tournaments, it will be easier to find sponsors. You can do this by calling businesses and presenting them with a convincing argument.

Offer Interesting Prizes

When setting up a tournament, it is also important to consider who the prizes go to. Offering rewards for players with grand rounds will make your event more severe, and not everyone in golf tournaments is looking just for fun, so give out prizes that anyone can get, such as randomly selected ones.

Prizes in tournaments can include:

• Free rounds
• Merchandise
• Gift cards
• Trophies
• Trips
• Products from local sponsors

Run Social Media Contests

Social media contests are a great way to advertise your tournament. This is because it’s easy and cheap and has an exponential effect on word-of-mouth marketing for events that require people to tag friends or share posts.

Create Discounted Packages for Foursomes

If you want to make the most money per start, you should offer discounts or other perks for groups of four.

Great golf management software will help sell these packages by showing them to prospective buyers when booking their spot. Guests can also easily add friends to the reservation and send invitations for the event.

Host an Auction

Charity auctions are a great way to raise money for your cause. Charitybuzz is one of the most successful auctioneers because they have raised $100,000 by offering golf with Gary Player.

Some of the things you can auction include:

• Lessons with a pro golfer
• A piece of golf memorabilia
• Tickets to a nearby tour stop
• Membership to your club that includes special privileges

If you are hosting a golf tournament, these auction packages can effectively generate interest in the event. They work well as promotional tools before and after the main event.

Final Thoughts on Golf Tournament Ideas 

One of the most important things when running a tournament is to make sure that you are always thinking about how it will affect your customer’s experience. Click To Tweet

We hope you’ve picked up (and will use) some golf tournament ideas mentioned in this list.