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Tournament Planner c
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Secrets & Strategies for Staging the Perfect Event
Colorado National Golf Club Thinks Outside the Tee Box
Co l o r a d o A v i d G o l f e r. c o m
Spring 2012 |Colorado AvidGolfer
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2012TournamentGuide
Think Outside the Tee Box
Putter Around
Not every attendee at a golf tournament is a golfer. Everyone, however, has played miniature golf. Check with the course if it can customize a large natural turf putting green with mini bunkers, water hazards, trees and obstacles for an all out team-building experience that allows participation by everyone. We’ve discovered that complimenting the contest with a cocktail party and a satellite bar or appetizer station next to the putt-putt course creates even more enjoyment.
a list of the folks that knocked a shot into the pool and have a shootout among this group to determine the winner. Another option is to reward all the individuals who scored one in the pool and have them split the pot.
Wish Upon a Star
If it is a celebrity charity event, coordinate a pairings party to give players an opportunity to bid on which celebrity they want to play with. Some players will be willing to pay big bucks to play with a certain celebrity.
Great golf shouldn’t be the only goal. By Matt Schalk Long Drive Contest Bid Up the Boss Depending on the specific golf course, you
T
he best golf tournaments emphasize a complete experience, not just a great round of golf. Fun should serve as the focus. If you want to make your golf tournament memorable for everyone, think outside the tee box and come up with some unusual activities to distinguish your event from the others. At Colorado National Golf Club, we aspire to give tournament participants more reasons to mingle before, during and after the event. Whether the tournament is a company or charity event, the ideas included below will help you draw a big crowd and give everybody a chance to rub elbows with their fellow participants.
Lesson Tee
Some of the more successful tournaments we’ve run involve clinics before the tournament. Courses like Colorado National with ample practice areas and a state-of-the-art indoor practice facilities and simulators can create added value for your guests and raise money for your charity.
Even Closer to the Pin At the end of the event, enlist the winners of the usual “Closest to the Pin” contests in a post-tournament hole-in-one competition. Each player receives one shot at the hole from the designated yardage (usually 150-165 yards) for the grand prize. If you can afford the hole-in-one insurance, offer a new car! Choose a hole that can be seen from the clubhouse or the closest hole to the clubhouse so more people can watch the shots.
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can hold this on the driving range or one of the golf holes close to the clubhouse (as long as it’s a straight hole with a wide enough fairway). All you need is are a couple of volunteers with two-way radios. If you are holding a charity event, the long-drive contest can be a great way to raise extra money. Sell three drives for $10, with the winner taking a portion of the pot, or the top-three winners sharing the wealth!
Night Glow Ball Dinner Party For a more intimate event of 36 players or fewer, flip the usual golf-then-grub sequence and indulge in a great dinner and a few adult beverages before heading out for a shotgun scramble of six or nine holes using glow-inthe-dark balls.
Skills Challenges
Stage a post-tournament long-drive contest on hole No. 1 and a hole-in-one shootout on No. 18. The majority of the tournament participants gather to watch. With so many people sticking around for the après-golf festivities, the silent auction will garner greater success.
Splashdown!
This may sound a little childish, but buy a kiddy pool, fill it with water, and put it out on the driving range about 50 yards from the hitting area. Either before or after the tournament, give each player three chances to land a shot into the pool. If you want to raise additional money for charity, charge $10 for the three shots and pay out half the pot to the participants. Keep
Pairings parties work with company golf tournaments as well. Come up with a list of the executives that will be playing in the tournament and give the employees the chance to bid on the executive with whom (or on whom!) they want to tee off. The money raised either can be donated to a charity or used to buy extra prizes the day of the event. Corporate-event pairings parties are fun—and a good way to single out brown-nosers!
Gruesome Twosomes In this two-person-team game, each team has to play their worst (most gruesome) drive— as decided by the opposing team. The player who hit the “gruesome” tee ball also plays the second shot for his or her side. The teams then play out the hole in alternate shot fashion.
Go Out with a Bang! Stage some highly anticipated post-auction theatrics. People will always linger for a fireworks display, for example, or a concert by a local band. One of the more dramatic and successful fund-raisers is the helicopter ball drop. Before the round, players buy numbered golf balls as if they were raffle tickets. After the round, the chopper drops the balls onto a green. The person whose ball lands closest to—or in—the hole wins a prize donated by a sponsor. Matt Schalk is the PGA General Manager of Colorado National Golf Club in Erie and The Fox Hill Club in Longmont. Reach him at mschalk@ coloradongc.com or 303-926-1723. ColoradoAvidG o lf e r.c o m
THE PERFECT MEETING PLACE... Colorado National & Fox Hill provide exceptional views and panoramic scenery. Imagine a perfect place in a perfect setting - whether its a corporate conference, wedding or a golf tournament, we can make your dream a reality. Colorado National & Fox Hill have professional and experienced event staff that can meet all of your needs. Our Executive Chef has extensive experience in the hospitality industry and will work with you to create a customized menu that will delight you and your guests. We will create a unique affair by delivering picturesque views, award-winning food, impeccable service and memories that will last a lifetime. It’s definitely the perfect meeting place.
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2012TournamentGuide
The Front and Back Nine of Tournament Prep As with the game itself, course knowledge and execution are pivotal. Herewith, the front and back nine of tournament planning. By Matt Dribnak
Front 9
Take these steps to keep your event on course
Hole 1
Before Setting Your Goals, Know The Obstacles. They include: Selecting the wrong course; lack of communication; lack of follow through on business plan; not utilizing golf course resources; confusing expectations with assumptions; finding sponsors; lack of player interest, creativity and differentiation; day-oftournament confusion.
Hole 2
Pinpoint your Goals These can include: efficient tournament planning; generating more revenue; increasing the number of players; gaining/retaining sponsors; inventing fun contest holes and formats.
Hole 3
Remember Your Ratios • 2:1 On average, for every tournament goal, you will need to overcome two obstacles. • 5: 1 For every tournament goal you have, the course will give you five ways to reach it!
Hole 4
Communicate and Delegate Effectively The most important aspect of tournament planning is communication—both internal (within your committee) and external (with your selected course, sponsors and players). Don’t do everything yourself. Assign specific duties to each committee member and hold him or her accountable for results with monthly/weekly check points to guarantee success. And make sure there is only one point of contact from your committee to the golf course.
Hole 5
Pick the Right Course The choice of golf course is paramount. Take into account the course’s reputation and value. Try to get your information from unbiased
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sources such as survey responses. After your initial research, draw up a “report card” with which you can rate courses based on reputation, cost, tournament experience, accessibility to prospective players, resources, etc. Pay a visit to your final four choices and make sure your ultimate decision is unanimous with members of the tournament committee.
Hole 6
Distinguish Expectations From Assumptions Expectations are good. Both the golf course and tournament planner need to establish them: Pace of play, set up of sponsor stations and materials, extra carts, food and dietary requirements, gift bag distribution, dress code, storage space, course exclusivity. Assumptions are bad. They are the most common flaw in tournament planning. Never assume the course knows what you expect. Always articulate it in writing.
Hole 7
Use the Golf Course as a
Resource Your host golf course should be able to provide you with ways to promote and fill your tournament! Email blasts to their database, website posting, on-line calendars, and flyers are all good examples. Social media is huge. You must take a proactive role in this process though. Don’t assume that the golf course will take care of this on its own.
Hole 8
Fill Your Tournament The Committee Formula for a full tournament field is pretty straightforward: Ten Committee Members x 3 Foursomes Each = 120 players. Tap those contacts! Utilize local media by trading TV or radio commercial time for a foursome. Utilize social media and technology by starting your tournament’s Facebook or Web page. Entice players with early bird specials, and half day buy out options; seduce casual or non-golfers with putting contests, par-3 course events, instruction, a fashion show or other entertainment. See
what else the course has to offer non-golfers. Offer. Another way to boost revenue is to offer alternatives to playing 18 holes, hold a silent auction, and look for donations
Hole 9
Get Sponsors Involving sponsors is great way to generate revenue and offset expenses. All committee members need to tap their contacts. Offer creative sponsor packages where the amount of the donation corresponds to the title of the package (par, birdie, eagle, ace). Remember: everything has a name: the tee, the green, the contests, meals, pre-party, beverage service, gift bag. Also, get sponsors to sign multi-year packages and host a sponsor appreciation event for them.
Back 9
Make your tournament truly unforgettable with flawless execution and implementation of dates.
Hole 10 Handle Crunch Time! A week before the event, finalize all player counts, food-and-beverage details and payment information with the golf course. Generate a working document that both you and the golf course use as a reference for all “day-of ” details, including registration start time, contest holes, hole-in-one information, goodie bags, format, etc. Hole 11 Pick a Format Select the format that best suits your tournament field. A Scramble, the most casual and common format, gives every team member a chance to contribute. A more skilled golf field might prefer a Shamble, which allows the benefit of a scramble from the tee, but individual scores in from there. Others exist as well. (See page 66.) Please turn to page 64. ColoradoAvidG o lf e r.c o m
2012TournamentGuide Hole 12
Select Contest Holes Contest holes get people involved and boost revenue. Offer two types: those that bring in pure revenue, and those that everyone can win. Betting circles, putting contests, mulligans, shootouts, and par-3 events are all examples of revenue boosters. Contest holes everyone can win are straightest drive, speed holes, longest putt, and best-dressed team. Feel free to get creative with contest holes. The more original the idea, the more memorable it will be.
Hole 13
Keep Pace Players expect tournament rounds to take slightly longer than a normal round, but a brisk pace of play is extremely important! The pace will be determined by three factors: The number of contest holes; the total number of players; and the skill level of players (and your tee selection). The golf course should regulate pace of play with pace-of-play monitors, but create rules that will help. For example, “bogey or better
Host your tournament at
the home of the HealthONE Colorado Open Championships .
rule,” or “two putt max.” We recommend that your volunteers comprise 10% of your tournament field. For example, if you have 100 people playing in the tournament, you should have 10 volunteers to act as support.
Hole 14
Make More Money These five steps will help you generate more profit for your organization or charity: 1) Decrease your per person tournament price with early-bird specials, non-peak season rates, multi-year commitments from participants with buyout options. 2) Offer alternatives to playing 18 holes. 3) Sell “players packs.” 4) Hold a pre-tournament silent auction that involves more than the tournament field. 5) Get more exposure for gifts that could be purchased by family members, friends or for their kids.
Hole 15
Make It Unforgettable Selecting the right course with the most value establishes or enhances your tournament’s reputation. So does the selection of the tournament gift—everyone should leave with a daily reminder of your event other than another sleeve of balls, polo shirt and foursome photograph—and the quality of the food, charity video presentation and live auction items.
Hole 16 Impeccable course conditions, friendly staff and overall tournament success is our guarantee! Tournament packages starting at just $60 per person! Contact Matt Dribnak at (303) 371-8725 or email: mdribnak@gvrgolf.com
Retain Your Players Try to sign up players for next year’s event at the end of this year’s tournament, giving them a break in the price for committing early. Have a tournament Website and Facebook page that allows players to re-live their shots and get excited for next year’s event.
Hole 17 Keep the Participants Engaged Send emails to all participants updating them on the charity and upcoming events. Update the Facebook and web pages throughout the year, hold non-golf appreciation events.
Hole 18
Postmortem Review with committee the goals that were reached, areas for improvement and what the goals should be for next year.
4900 Himalaya Road • Denver, CO 80249 • 303.371.3131 • www.gvrgolf.com 64
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Green Valley Ranch Golf Club Director of Sales & Marketing Matt Dribnak holds seminars in Tournament Planning at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club. Reach him at mdribnak@gvrgolf. com for feedback and advice on how you can achieve all your tournament goals. ColoradoAvidG o lf e r.c o m
2012TournamentGuide
Making Choices Because you can’t play in every charity event. By Amy Freeland Even the most charitable golfer needs to ask a few simple questions to keep his or her tournament schedule both rewarding and realistic:
Format? Better players may be frustrated by a scramble, while casual ones may shy away from more competitive formats. Consider whether a scramble, shamble or best-ball format fits your style and whether the event requires an official USGA handicap.
Fun? Lynne Cottrell, co-chair of the Colorado Celebrity Classic to benefit TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors), says the tournament’s evening concerts create a party atmosphere that convinces players to include friends and family.
Trade? Tournament organizers often accept in-kind donations in exchange for entry fees, making this a great way to stretch your charity tournament dollar.
Tradition? Tournament organizer Tom Krause plays the same events every year. “It’s never about the golf,” he says. “It’s about supporting the group and seeing friends.”
Where? Charity tournaments can provide the only realistic chance to play some exclusive courses. Robert Gamberg, a business owner who plays 5-10 charity tournaments annually, may enter the 2012 Els For Autism Golf Challenge July 30 in large part because it would let him play Parker’s Colorado Golf Club a second time: “I’d love to play that course again, and what better time than when it can be for a good charity?” Price? Tournaments held at exclusive courses may command higher entry fees than you might ordinarily pay. But tournament entry fees cover more than a green fee. It comes down to value. Nicer clubs often provide more comfortable facilities, elevating the experience. Look for the biggest bang for your buck. Cause? For many, the beneficiary trumps all. Ryan Cavan, a financial consultant who plays nine tournaments annually, lost a friend in middle school to leukemia. He never misses a tournament benefiting cancer research. “Anything I can do to help someone else get through a situation that I went through means something to me,” he explains.
Connection? Playing an event where clients or a prospective employer will be can advance your career, while declining one that benefits a friend’s favorite cause may create a rift. One option: play in the business one and donate to your friend’s charity.
Prestige? Whether it’s the status of playing alongside a celebrity or just being part of an elite event, certain tournaments carry more clout. Never undervalue the power of bragging rights. Co l o r a d o A v i d G o l f e r. c o m
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A World of Tournament Ideas Participants won’t soon forget last year’s Allen’s Night Ops II, a golf tournament benefiting NFL All-Pro defensive end Jared Allen’s charity, Homes for Wounded Warriors. Hosted by Scottsdale’s Ancala Country Club, the event featured members of the Arizona National Guard barking orders (“You call that a drive? Drop down and give me twenty pushups!”) and play-
fully harassing golfers on every hole. Instead of a longest drive contest on the 14th hole, there was a longest slide contest on a 100yard Slip ‘n Slide. The second nine holes took place at night with glow-in-the-dark balls, followed by a $1,000,000 hole-in-one contest at 10:30. Although Allen nixed having on-course paintball snipers, future events will feature similarly radical variations on the same-old-same-old. Your event can, too, with these formats and ideas, culled from around the world.
Chill Out Ice golf is as old as the game’s origins. The Dutch played kolf on frozen canals, and the frozen lakes and snow-filled valleys of Colorado’s high country make for a perfect golf tournament. There’s the 36-hole World Ice Golf Championships in Uummannaq, Greenland, which utilizes orange balls and hazards like glaciers, icebergs, the ocean and ice floes. PGA Tour pro Tim Herron has played and designed the “course” on frozen Lake Minnetonka for the Chilly Open in Wyzata, Minn.. Every hole gets sponsored, hockey sticks share bag space with golf clubs; sleds and snowmobiles replace golf carts; and tennis balls are used. A similar event utilizing colored golf balls, The Ice Tee Classic, takes place every winter on a lake near Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Piste and Putt The idea may have originated in France, but what could be more “Colorado” than a ski/golf tournament? L’Open Ski-Golf, a two-day event, takes place at Saint Donat Golf Course on the Cote D’Azur and the Isola 2000 Ski Resort an hour away in the Alpes Maritimes. The lowest combination of slalom times and net scores wins.
Tell It on the Mountain Looking to appeal to a hard-bodied crowd? Take a page from the Pillar Mountain Golf Classic, which has transpired every April Fool’s weekend in Kodiak, Alaska since 1984. The one hole on the “course” sits atop a steep 1,200-foot mountain—what Coloradans might call a mogul. Uphill lie after uphill lie might lead to astronomical scores, but the sponsorship opportunities for such a novelty event are enormous. Just remind golfers to bring their crampons, plenty of balls and water.
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ColoradoAvidG o lf e r.c o m
2012TournamentGuide Hole-in-One Shootout
Peoria and Callaway
Instead of having one par-three as a hole-inone prize hole, one Illinois town built an entire tournament around golf ’s luckiest shot. At the $2 Million-Hole-In-One-Shootout, entrants pay a fee, then fork up $40 for a bucket of 20 balls in an attempt to land as many shots as they can in a target circle 140 yards from the tee. The top 50 percent of those players qualify for the next round, receiving three balls for every previous qualifying shot. From there, the 60 most accurate golfers get two shots at a 185-yard hole: Their first shot is for the $2 million; the second is for a car or cruise. Lesser prizes donated by sponsors go to player who gets closest to the pin or sinks the first putt. Sponsorships can also cover the cost of specialty hole-in-one insurance.
These complicated formats require more calculation and margin for confusion than
anyone putting on a tournament should have to endure. Masochists can go online to get the details.
Hole-in-One Insurance Designating one par-3 as a “$1 Million Hole-In-One” will help market the extraordinariness of your tournament. Companies such as National Hole-in-One (hio.com) offer affordable insurance packages that include customized promotional materials. Colorado AvidGolfer customers get a 10% discount on NHIO packages. That means a $25,000 policy with NHIO would run $412 for a field of 72 players; for the same number of players, $1 million in insurance would cost approximately $11,000. For more specifics, visit coloradoavidgolfer.com/golf-events/charity-events
Bingo-Bango-Bongo The popular format awards three points on each hole, based on the following: One for being first on the green; one for being closest to the pin once all balls are on the green; and one for being the first player to hole out.
Best Ball (a/k/a Four Ball) Popular with more advanced golfers who like to play their own ball, this format lets the team use the best individual hole score. Best Ball Golf Tournament Format is also called Four Ball Format as well as a variation, 1-2-3 Best Ball Format.
Alternate Shot (a/k/a Odds and Evens or Scotch Foursomes) Also called Foursomes, this golf tournament format is for two-person teams. Playing the same ball, the two players alternate hitting shots until the ball is holed.
Modified Stableford Made famous during The International at Castle Pines, this scoring system can be played by individuals or as a team tournament, best ball, scramble or alternating shots. Points are won or lost based on the following: Double eagle = 8 points Eagle = 5 points Birdie = 2 points Par = 0 points Bogey = Minus 1 point Double bogey or worse = Minus 3 points Co l o r a d o A v i d G o l f e r. c o m
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www.lakewoodgolf.org Spring 2012 |Colorado AvidGolfer
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2012TournamentGuide
11 Pitfalls of
6. Allowing on-site team changes. Do not
Tournament Planning
disclose pairings to the participants in advance or allow team changes at the tournament. This typically leads to discontent, last-minute changes and unnecessary on-site chaos.
And how to avoid them.
7. Stuffing gift bags at the event. Gather
1. Procrastination. Start planning earlier than you ever thought was necessary. Your timeline? At least nine months.
all the items for the gift bags with enough time to hold a “bag-stuffing party” with committee members and volunteers. This builds camaraderie and makes for one less thing to do at the event.
2. Old-School marketing. In our socially net-
8. Serving just burgers and brats. Make
worked world of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, just making telephone calls, sending e-mails and pretty invitations won’t cut it.
sure to have at least one vegetarian option at every meal. Ask on the registration form about dietary restrictions.
3. Letting golfers do the planning. The
9. Assuming the course “will take care of it.”
better the golfer, the more concerned he or she is with playing than with planning. Let him or her solicit players and leave the golf operations to the course and the planning to the committees.
Ask even “dumb questions,” like “Who puts the complimentary sleeves of balls in every cart?”
4. Letting volunteers just show up.
of charity event organizers have stiffed their hosts. Set up an account so you can take credit cards at the event if necessary.
Have at least two mandatory planning and training sessions with them.
5. Letting sponsors have control. While it’s great to have a backer for every hole, this isn’t a trade show. Golfers don’t want to accumulate freebies during a round. Give out all swag in a gift bag before or after the event.
10. Allowing play without pay. Even close friends
11. Underspending. People are less inclined to participate or invite their friends if the event appears done on the cheap. Cut-rate shirts, balls and hats are easily detectable, as are the absence of contest holes, drink tickets and quality food.
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2012TournamentGuide
How to Keep ’em Coming Back By Jake Kubié Boone Schweitzer of Aspen knows a thing or two about running a successful charity golf tournament. His brainchild–The Trashmasters–is currently in its 20th year, raising more than $1.45 million to fund scholarships for high school graduates throughout the Roaring Fork Valley. “We’ve graduated 38 kids from colleges all over the country,” states Schweitzer. “We must be doing something right.” He is. Here are tips from Schweitzer and other proven practices:
Establish a Formula “It’s all about the format,” says Schweitzer, who invented a unique scoring system that rewards the bizarre events that occur during a round of golf (extra points for getting up-and-down and hitting trees, rocks, cart paths and other objects). Relying on traditional scramble or best-ball format is a recipe for one-and-done participation.
Make it Relevant Take steps to make involve players with the charity, like directly connecting benefactors to beneficiaries. Each year at The Trashmasters, for instance, one of the scholarship kids shares his or her story and
expresses gratitude for the opportunity to go to college. Participants who give $2,500 or more receive personal notes throughout the year from one of the scholarship recipients.
Leverage Social Media Facebook creates a tremendous sense of community and involvement. Set up a page that includes photos of past events and regular updates; promote your page in marketing collateral, email blasts and tournament signage; and offer an incentive to get people involved. Case in point: the recent Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. For every “Like” on Facebook, Farmers Insurance donated $10 to the March of Dimes up to $50,000. More than 7,600 people responded by the week of the event.
Stay in Touch Don’t hesitate to maintain regular communication with players and sponsors. Start by capturing their information–email address, phone number and home address–and then send regular updates about the organization and tournament.
Don’t Skimp It’s all for a good cause, but people paying hundreds (and thousands) of dollars to play in a charity tournament expect more than a cold box lunch and logo shirt. Hook them up with usable and durable gifts (I still use the travel bag I received from one event five years ago and think about the tournament every time I pick up my clubs at the airport carousel) and memorable pre- and post-golf experiences.
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