By Sara Karnish | Photo: Boyne Golf

In the Midwest, as the weather starts to warm up and our thoughts inevitably turn to crawling out of our collective winter cave and spending more time outside, planners start to focus on taking advantage of the great outdoors for events. It doesn’t get much more “summery” or “outdoors” than breaking out a set of clubs for the first golf event of the season.

Fledgling event planners, whether new to the industry or new to the game, should be prepared to plan and execute these popular summertime events.

Whether it’s the main attraction, like a fundraising or networking function, or an add-on activity after the day’s business has wrapped up — golf events are extremely popular here.

OUTINGS AND TOURNAMENTS — WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

Tournaments and outings are the two most common golf events.

Tournaments are organized competitions planned and executed by a governing body, such as the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) or a state golf association. Each organization has its own rules and regulations for tournaments, and its staff handles the day’s logistics.

“It’s all about competition, with golfers signing up at the professional or amateur level,” says Danny Rainbow, the director of golf at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. “For professional tournaments, the people playing in them do this for a living. They pay an entry fee and try to place well so they win money.”

Amateurs play for the love of the game. “[Players] cannot be compensated in cash. They can receive prizes in a limited fashion, maybe a pro shop credit or a credit for the facility. These players usually have a day job, but maintain a decent golf game,” Rainbow says. These are the type of golfers you’d expect to encounter for a corporate golf outing or philanthropic tournament.

Outings are for more casual business, social functions, charitable fundraisers or some combination of the three. “Sometimes it’s a competitive event, but that’s not the primary focus. It’s more of a business event with friendly competition,” Rainbow explains.

Golf outings are great for networking or team building because they’re easy to personalize. “Outings are more casual and you can kind of make up your own rules,” says Todd Hajduk, PGA general manager at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois. “You might sell ‘mulligans’ [do-overs], so many for $20, or have contests [competing for] Closest to the Pin, Longest Drive or Hole in One. That’s really up to the group that is holding the event.”

The planner is the point of contact between the client and the golf course. You can also expect to serve one of two roles, depending on the scope of your involvement: as either the direct contact for the entire event, or as the client’s partner to coordinate teams, registrations, meals and other needs.

Another responsibility is forming pairs. “For an outing, the guest will tell us whom they want to put together. They want it to be a good experience, so they pair up people who work together or know each other, and they’ll give us that list of names,” Hajduk explains.

GETTING STARTED

Speak with stakeholders to identify the purpose of the event, which will then drive every decision made along the way. Next, develop a budget. The two work hand in hand. How much do you want to spend per golfer to give each the experience they expect? Are you limited to $100 per player just for golf or is $500 per player (which might include golfing, lunch and possibly a post-outing dinner) more reasonable?

Rainbow offers an example: “Some events have success finding the least expensive course they can. It might not be the nicest facility, but there are minimal costs. Others might want an elevated facility to draw a higher-end clientele who will donate more to the charity, etc.”

Ask the golfers in the group to suggest venues if you need a starting point.

“Choose a spot that offers what the group is looking for,” says Casey Powers, director of golf at Boyne Golf. “Do you just want a nice course, or a place like us that has food, lodging, ziplining and the largest indoor waterpark? If the group is looking to do more than golf, we can certainly entertain the non-golfers, too.”

From a financial perspective, sponsorships are a great way to offset event costs and provide businesses with an effective way to market themselves. The planner (or client) is responsible for securing this financial support. There are countless ways to encourage businesses to sign on as sponsors.

Consider tiered levels of sponsorship, packages for different aspects of the event (as a lunch or beverage cart sponsor, for example) or fun offerings like hole sponsors. Offer ways for sponsors to promote themselves throughout the event — banners and signage around the course, or advertisements in the event program and other marketing collateral are among the most common.

Get creative. Invite hole sponsors to be on the course with signage, samples, giveaways or other swag. Hajduk suggests mentioning sponsors during the welcome, prior to the shotgun start, during the closing program and perhaps some shoutouts throughout the day.

OTHER EVENT LOGISTICS

Golf is extremely on trend and the pros strongly recommend booking courses early. “If you’re looking to get onto tee sheets right now, chances are pretty slim,” says Powers. “We’re working on tee sheets for 2026. Golf is very popular right now — it’s really grown post-COVID. Get out ahead of it as much as you can and book early. And the earlier you book, the better your rate.” There’s a big demand for full-day outings as well, so reserve dates for those events as soon as possible.

The role of the golf course and its staff is to host the event and execute the agreed-upon logistics. For full-day events, the planner (and client) develops and approves the menus for all meals; the venue typically handles the catering. Regardless, golf course staff are always available to answer questions or guide you through the many steps of the planning process.

As a novice planner, ask to shadow an experienced planner to learn what it takes to execute a golf outing or tournament if you can. Educate yourself — read up on the game so you have a basic understanding of its rules and how it’s played.

Planners also need to be cautious of legalities. “Be aware you’re going to have a contract to sign. The golf course will want a guarantee on the number of players you’re going to have, so be aware of the cancellation or reduction policy. No one wants to be on the hook for so many golfers, or so much food and beverage because no one showed up,” Rainbow continues. “Have a solid plan in place for fulfilling the number of golfers you expect.”

When the date is set, start promoting.

“Save the date” email blasts or social media posts are helpful reminders if the event is several weeks or months away. “Use the maximum window of time to get the most people signed up,” according to Rainbow.

He adds that menus are usually finalized 15 to 30 days prior, as is the final list of golfers. “One week prior, get your detailed list of names. The course will help you set up the scramble or whatever kind of tournament format you’re using. The course will want to set that up, get the names on golf carts and have staff available,” he explains.

On the day itself, a meal is typically served as the players arrive.

When the groups are assembled, a point person (either you as the event planner or a representative from your client) will welcome the group and, with the 24 shotgun start, the players will head out to the course.

More golf courses are investing in software that can calculate scores in real time. “Some of the smaller courses may not have this, but the big courses have great tournament software and someone who does the major groups,” says Powers. “We have great golf software — we can put the players’ information in and do live scoring. It might be a casual event, but we do everything first class.”

WRAPPING UP THE DAY

When the game is over, all players have come in and the scores have been tallied, the day ends with an official wrap.

Hajduk says, “If it’s a casual outing, there’s usually food and a program afterward to thank everyone for coming, recognize the sponsor, say ‘we raised X amount of dollars for X charity’ and announce the winners of any contests — the Longest Drive and maybe who came in last place for fun.”

“With a formal tournament, the players already know what they’re up against. It’s a competition. There may be a lot of players so there could be a playoff to break a tie, which happens all the time, if they played well. The mentality of the event dictates the experience at the end,” he continues.

It’s easy for a new planner to feel overwhelmed with the many event details. Don’t be afraid to ask for help at any point in the process. By not asking the question, you have a higher risk of something being missed or done incorrectly. The golf course usually has dedicated sales and food and beverage staff to help, and are often on site at the event to ensure everything goes smoothly. “Don’t try to pull it off on your own,” Powers says. “This is what we do — use your resources.”

Indeed, trust the professionals who know the game and how to execute a successful golf event.

“In my humble opinion, there are professionals at every golf course. If you’re not familiar with the sport or the event, ask for help,” Hajduk says. “Lean on the expertise of the golf professionals. That’s our job.”