TOURNAMENTS & EVENTS
> C L I C K H E R E T O V I E W A C O M P L E T E G O L F T O U R N A M E N T C H E C K L I S T
A
s an event organizer
and tournament sales
manager, Alex Hall
has seen it all. So if you want
to achieve your most success-
ful event ever, adhere to his
essential must-dos:
1
Secure the venue and
date. Seems like a no-
brainer, but organizers –
particularly newbies or vol-
unteers – are unaware that
the venue and date anchor
the timetable for any event's
action plan. "If someone
waits until the last minute,
chances are they'll have to
maneuver around what's al-
ready committed on the cal-
endar, and that could lead to
higher costs or other chal-
lenges depending on the
site's availability and staffing
on a particular day," Hall said.
2
Set your budget and
price points. "Charging
$125 to $150 per participant
for a Saturday or Sunday
tournament is not outra-
geous," Hall noted. "Say the
actual cost falls around $200
per person – that could be a
price your targeted partici-
pant may be reluctant to pay.
You know then that you'll
need to approach sponsors to
make up the difference."
Budgeting comes down to
a long list of variables, added
Hall, such as green and cart
fees, lunch, dinner, bever-
ages, snacks, individual and
team prizes, trophies, bag
tags, gift bags, door prizes,
and so on.
3
Create a committee. The
committee establishes
levels and types of sponsor-
ship, then each member ob-
tains a sponsor. Typical
sponsorships include bever-
ages and snacks, tee markers,
hole-in-one and closest-to-the
pin contests, raffles, prizes
and gift bags.
4
Get free help, and lots of
it. Volunteers are the
backbone to your event's exe-
cution. You'll need a team of
people before and on the day
of your event to handle regis-
tration and pairings, run con-
tests and raffles, stuff goodie
bags, place signage, run the
scoreboard, and help break
down and clean up.
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
Here are some steps you can take to make certain your next golf event a big hit
TOP PRIORIT Y
PLAN EARLY!
G
etting the word out
about your tourna-
ment should start
months in advance with
a "save the date" post-
card. Set deadlines for
sending letters, emails
and fliers. Distribute
brochures and posters.
Don't forget to load
your sponsors with print
and digital marketing
collateral as well.
And look to
recognize
sponsors
early.
Timing is
everything. If
your event is
scheduled in September,
the first "save the date"
postcard should go out
in March. "Give at least
six to eight months to
advance promotion, be-
cause that can make the
difference between net-
ting $15,000 or $20,000
for a nonprofit," says
Tournament Sales Man-
ager Alex Hall.
Contests can add to an event's festivities.
CLICK
HERE FOR
INFORMATION
ON HOSTING AN
EVENT
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