One in seven Americans played golf at least one round in 2022.
Golf tournaments are a classic fundraiser type with a longstanding history of hosting charity events. In fact, in 2022, more than 141,000 charity events were held at golf courses around the country.
This makes golf tournaments excellent fundraising opportunities. If you’re hoping to raise money for a nonprofit or a specific cause, golf tournament fundraisers can be a huge draw.
Thousands of successful organizers use Eventbrite to run events all over the world. In this guide, we’ll take you through actionable steps on how to run a golf tournament fundraiser. We’ll draw on expert tips and real-world strategies from Eventbrite creators to help you raise more money (and have more fun!) at your next tournament.
Plan your golf fundraiser the right way
Golf tournament fundraiser ideas
How to plan a golf fundraiser
You don’t have to be Tiger Woods to plan a successful golf tournament fundraiser! This actionable guide breaks down how you can use your skills as an event organizer to plan a perfect golf charity event.
1. Set your budget and fundraising goal
Determining what your budget is for an upcoming event is an essential part of the early planning process, especially when it comes to charity events. Consider what it will cost to:
- Book a golf course
- Market your event
- Hire entertainment
- Provide refreshments
During your budgeting phase, reach out to potential sponsors who can provide capital or resources for the event. (More on this in the ‘recruit sponsors ‘section).
Budgeting is also crucial for your ticket pricing strategy. By estimating your total expenses, you’ll be able to calculate your revenue targets. You can start with an event budget template to help you estimate your costs.
Set a fundraising goal that’s reasonable enough to feasibly reach yet aspirational enough to inspire donors to contribute. Using the SMART goals framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) can help you set more actionable goals.
💡Pro tip: Start your budgeting and planning process well in advance. Ideally, begin one year before the event (six months will work in a pinch!). To cut costs, make sure to reach out to multiple vendors to compare quotes.
2. Choose and book your golf course
Finding the perfect course for your event can significantly impact your fundraising success. First, make a list of all possible venues that are available on your target event date.
From there, you can narrow your search by investigating the following factors:
- What is the venue rental cost?
- Does the course provide catering, and if so, what’s the cost?
- Does the course allow outside caterers and service providers?
- Is the space adequate to accommodate your planned attendance level?
- Is there both indoor and outdoor space for gatherings, after-parties, etc.?
- Is the location convenient for your audience?
- Is there adequate parking and transportation nearby?
Always ask venues if they offer any discounts for special events. Some may offer discounts for nonprofit events, while others may have early-bird booking specials. Booking on non-peak days (midweek, for instance) may also be cheaper than a weekend afternoon.
💡Pro tip: For a budget-friendly option, consider renting a driving range instead of a full course. For example, the Roseville Police Activities League hosted a golf tournament fundraiser at Top Golf.
Top Golf has three-hour driving range bay rentals starting at just $141 and has tools and discounts for nonprofit fundraisers. Plus, a driving range event is more accessible to attendees with less golfing experience and less influenced by the weather as bays are typically covered.
3. Plan the schedule
The next step on your event planning checklist is to create a detailed program for your event and add this to your event page. Include tee times for the golfers involved in the tournament, additional fundraising events — such as auctions or putting contests — and any ‘post-tourney’ events like a party or dinner.
💡Pro tip: Have a plan in place for the tournament running over time or other delays to your schedule. For instance, plan an after-party (with a flexible start time) at the course bar. Double-check with the venue to see how late you and guests can be on-site, and make sure you have backup entertainment to keep attendees busy while the golfers finish up.
List your golf tournament online
4. Find volunteers for your golf fundraising event
Volunteers can be the lifeblood of any successful charity event. And for a golf tournament fundraiser, you’ll likely need a lot of helping hands!
Your event will need check-in staff, greeters, bartenders, and servers. You may also need caddies and golf cart attendants.
The golf course venue may already provide some staff, so check with them first. But any remaining roles are good targets for volunteers — and a way to reduce your costs. It’s also a good idea to open volunteer registration up to more people than you actually need so you aren’t short-staffed on the day of the event.
Remember, any roles you fill with volunteers represent huge cost savings compared to paid staff. To entice volunteers, you can offer perks like free food and drink, free raffle tickets, and free plus-ones.
💡Pro tip: Use online volunteer platforms to recruit volunteers. VolunteerMatch is a good place to start. Your local city and government websites may also have places where you can post volunteer opportunities.
For skilled labor (like a graphic designer for your promotional materials), check out Catchafire. During recruitment, be sure to highlight the “why” behind your cause to help volunteers understand the impact of their work.
5. Secure food and drink vendors
Charity golf tournaments are typically full-day events, so you’ll want to provide food and refreshments for golfers and spectators. Think about what meals or snacks to provide, and find out whether your venue has an on-site caterer or whether you’ll need to secure one yourself.
If you need to reach out to local caterers or food vendors, offer them sponsorship perks in exchange for their services. It’s also worth inquiring about any special rates they might have for nonprofit organizations.
💡Pro tip: Food truck catering can be a lower-cost option that can work well for staggered dining. Having one to three food trucks (depending on your event size) can be a great fit for tournaments. Spectators and golfers alike can come and go as they please, and food trucks are already equipped with to-go containers for easy cleanup.
6. Recruit sponsors
Corporate sponsors are a great way to raise capital or resources. They could sponsor a hole on the course, golf carts, or food and beverages. You can also work with sponsors to create freebies or prizes for the event.
The more you increase sponsorship revenue, the greater your fundraising. Plus, in-kind sponsorships (where companies donate goods and services) can reduce your costs. For a golf tourney, in-kind donations like goodies for golfer swag bags, refreshments for attendees, and raffle prizes can be helpful.
When approaching potential sponsors, highlight the benefits of sponsoring your event. For example, share your expected attendance numbers and the impact of sponsorship on the cause you’re supporting.
💡Pro tip: Put together a sponsorship pitch deck that examines all the details of your sponsorship packages. Then, work on crafting a perfect sponsorship letter to send out to potential corporate partners.
7. Plan your prizes and freebies
Any good tournament needs some juicy prizes to build excitement! Partner with local businesses to source prizes. For example, a travel agency might provide a weekend trip or tickets to a big event.
Consider also procuring smaller prizes for some of the runner-up players. Another way to show participants that their entry fee in the tournament has value is to give out swag bags or freebies, such as golf balls, branded sportswear, or gear.
💡Pro tip: You can reduce prize costs by sourcing donated goods and in-kind sponsorships. Alternatively, you can fund juicier prizes by selling VIP tickets that include prizes regardless of where the attendee places in the tournament.
8. Promote your golf charity event
Create a marketing plan by identifying the types of audiences that are most likely to attend your event. Then, think about how you can reach those people.
For any golf event, the obvious target is golf enthusiasts. But how can you tie in your event’s theme and charitable cause to draw a wider audience? Maybe you’re raising funds for the local school district and can market to parents. Or maybe you’re fundraising for an animal shelter and can promote your event at the local senior center, dog park, and pet supply store.
Get creative with event promotion ideas. Charitable events are also prime targets for local media coverage, so reach out to local publications and news stations to spread the word.
💡Pro tip: If your tournament will attract any celebrities or professional golf players, make sure to highlight this in your marketing materials. For example, the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship features celebrity guests, including Don Cheadle, Ray Allan, Stephen Curry, and Aaron Rodgers. The tournament’s big names draw tons of media attention, and the event is even broadcast on NBC.
9. Thank attendees and sponsors
Make your appreciation for all donors and golfers known with a genuine thank you email at the closing ceremony.
Throughout the event, plan to update your attendees on how much you’ve raised and let them know how close you are to reaching your goal. Include the final number in your thank you email or post-event blog.
💡Pro tip: In your follow-up communications, highlight the impact that the fundraiser had on your charity. Getting specific here can help show donors the impact that their dollars had — and prompt future donations. You should definitely include a donation link in your follow-up email, as well.
Golf tournament fundraiser ideas
Now you know how to run a golf tournament fundraiser. But how can you maximize the amount of money you raise?
The primary revenue driver behind your fundraiser event will typically be ticket sales, but there’s much more you can do beyond that. Explore these creative golf tournament fundraiser ideas to raise even more money!
1. Mulligans
In golf, a mulligan is essentially a re-do of a stroke. Mulligans are sometimes used in informal and friendly golf matches. Sell mulligans as add-on donations for golfers to improve your fundraising results and give less experienced golfers a fighting chance.
Just be sure to make the rules very clear ahead of time, and set firm limits for how the maximum times you can use mulligans.
2. Multiple ticket types
If you’re hosting a dinner or a party after the tournament, allow people the choice to attend just that without golfing. Evolution Financial Group offers two types of sponsors for their Evolution Charity Golf Challenge: a golf and dinner sponsor and a dinner-only sponsor.
3. Auctions
Auctions can be an excellent way to supplement fundraising from ticket sales. Silent auctions can take place during your event, giving attendees another activity while the tournament is underway. Just be sure to give golfers an opportunity to bid either before or after the tourney.
4. Contests
Raffles and contests held during the tournament allow attendees to have a bit more fun and give you the opportunity to raise some more funds.
Consider holding a standalone putting contest or even something like a costume contest (just make sure to check the course dress code!) You can get golfers involved, too, with a prize for the best-dressed player like the Alliance for a Brighter Community Foundation did during their PAR-Tee on the Green Annual Charity Golf Tournament & Clinic.
5. Raffles
Everyone loves winning prizes, and raffles are a great way to spice up any charity event. Work with your sponsor — or even the golf course itself — to source prizes, like free rounds of golf. Then, sell tickets to attendees.
For an even simpler route, go with the classic 50/50 raffle. With this approach, the winner of the raffle gets 50% of all the proceeds of the raffle ticket sales, while your nonprofit pockets the other 50%.
6. Helicopter ball drop
Give your attendees a fun experience and the opportunity to win a prize with a helicopter ball drop. Take inspiration from the AT&T Pioneers and their fundraising efforts at the AT&T Pioneers Charity Golf Tournament. The event featured a helicopter ball drop with exclusive prizes.
How does a ball drop work? At the event, attendees buy a golf ball with a unique number on it. At a specific time, all of the purchased balls are dropped onto the golf course from a helicopter, crane, or cherry picker. The person who purchased the ball that lands closest to the hole wins!
7. Sponsor-matched donations
Accepting donations at your event (in addition to ticket sales) can ramp up your fundraising efforts. If you can get a sponsor to match donations, you can entice attendees to donate more.
For instance, if a sponsor has $5,000 to contribute, you can structure that as a $5,000 donation match. You can then advertise that donations will be matched, essentially doubling the impact of each individual’s contributions.
8. Hole-in-one contest
Running a separate mini-contest in combination with your primary tournament can help you boost revenue. You can sell individual entries as add-ons to attendee tickets or have additional entries available for purchase on-site.
A hole-in-one contest could be used at a traditional golf tourney, with both participants and spectators allowed to join in. It also works well at a driving range charity golf event.
9. Beat the pro/pay the pro
For this fundraiser, you’ll need to recruit a local golf pro! Station the pro at a specific hole on the course. Then, allow attendees to place bets with the pro.
The objective is to get as close as possible to the pin. If the pro wins, the attendee’s bet is donated to your cause. If the attendee wins, they are paid double their bet! Attendee winnings can be paid out of your general budget or specifically out of earnings collected from this mini-fundraiser.
10. Longest drive contest
Award a cash prize or donated goods prize to the attendee who clocks in the longest drive.
This golf tournament fundraiser idea works best at a driving range, where the start point is standardized and drives are relatively easy to measure.
11. Hole sponsorships
To boost sponsorship revenue (and raise more money), you can sell opportunities for companies to sponsor individual holes on your course. This kind of micro-sponsorship can provide a budget-friendly price point for smaller local businesses.
Raise more at your next golf tournament fundraiser
This guide on how to run a golf tournament fundraiser includes all the actionable tips you need to put on a successful event. The opportunity with golf fundraisers is huge — and with these golf tournament fundraiser ideas, you can optimize your fundraising results.
Whatever your fundraising goals may be, make sure you have the right tools on your side. Eventbrite is the leading event platform for nonprofits and charity events. It’s the best place to list your event, sell tickets, and attract more attendees.
