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Golf fundraisers are among many great fundraising event ideas for raising money, attracting new donors, and spreading the word about your cause. The annual golf round has been over 500 million for the last four years.
While a charity golf tournament sounds like a lot of fun, planning a charity golf tournament is a whole other story. We came up with ten steps to help you organize your next charity golf tournament and included 30 of the best golf tournament fundraiser ideas to raise money on the day of your event!
If endurance events are your jam, check out tips for a 5K fundraiser here.
Here are 10 steps to help your organize your next golf tournament fundraiser
1. Define a goal for your golf fundraiser
Hosting a charity golf tournament is a popular way for nonprofits to raise money. But how do you organize a fundraising event that meets your goals and leaves your guests wanting to return? By focusing on what matters.
Before doing anything else, set a goal for what you want your charity golf tournament to accomplish. This will help you decide on the amount you want to raise and guide you in the rest of your planning decisions. Your goal should be specific, attainable, and just challenging enough—you know, like a golf outing.
2. Plan your charity golf fundraiser for your golfers
Your tournament might be more of a family event, meaning guests will pay out of pocket to attend. If your fundraising goal is higher, you might want to consider corporate donors, meaning companies will pay for the tickets.
For example, if you rely on many small individual donors from a close community, hosting a family-style tournament makes more sense. If you rely on large company donations, your target guests will be corporate groups.
Once you’ve landed on a target audience, you can decide on the number of golfers you plan to invite. A charity golf tournament on an 18-hole course can hold up to 144 golfers. Forty golfers is the suggested minimum for a fun and challenging game.
Things to keep in mind before going any further:
Are there other nonprofits planning charity golf tournaments around the same time?
Listen to the feedback from your supporters
Keep summer vacations in mind (May, September, and even early October might work better for most people).
3. Form a planning committee to help plan your charity golf tournament
To help you organize your charity golf tournament and to keep from losing your mind, we recommend recruiting a core group of people to help you out. The smaller the committee, the easier it is to communicate and be consistent. From there, you can delegate to other volunteers.
It’ll be nice to have committee members to lead the following tasks.
Budget
Try to find someone who understands what things cost, is comfortable with numbers, and knows how to say no to help you make and stick to a charity golf tournament budget
Here are a few things to keep in mind for budgeting golf tournaments:
Ensure all potential costs are in place ahead of time so that other committee members can freely perform their duties.
Be sure player fees cover the majority of the costs.
Sponsorships and event-day revenues (mulligans, silent auctions, raffles, etc.) should not be used to cover costs but should be considered in your fundraising goal.
Sponsorship
Sponsorships allow you to reduce costs through cash or in-kind donations and can help make your charity golf tournament more exciting for your guests. Find someone who is outgoing, well-known (and liked) in your community, and knows what kind of donations would be the most helpful.
We’ve put together some possible sponsorship ideas for a successful golf fundraiser:
The golf course
Local sporting goods stores
Restaurants or food trucks
Municipalities or local governments
Local industries (factories, warehouses, call centers, offices, etc.)
Big box stores
Grocery stores
Car dealerships
Registration
Regardless of the size of your tournament, your registrar will want to consider options for online registrations. Free event registration platforms for non-profits exist–Zeffy offers free nonprofit event ticketing and event registration forms, and can help keep everything from names and addresses to meal selection and raffle ticket sales organized and documented.
Promotions
When done correctly, you won’t have to worry too much about promoting your charity golf tournament, as most players should come from word of mouth. But you may want to assign someone to look after updating your website, making flyers, any signs or informational materials you’ll need during the event, etc., and (if need be) getting the word out there.
Volunteers
Hosting a charity golf tournament requires a lot of work, which means many volunteers. Finding someone to recruit, assign, guide, and keep track of your volunteers is an essential step in organizing one.
4. Outline your charity event budget
A clear budget (with a little wiggle room) will help you attain your fundraising goal or exceed it! You’ll want to keep your overhead investment at a necessary and reasonable level.
Always build a buffer into your event budget of at least 10% for unexpected expenses. - Ally R. Potel
With the help of your designated sponsorship committee member, create sponsorship packages with different levels and associated perks. Make it clear what sponsors are getting for the various amounts they choose to donate. When outlining your budget, be sure to include:
The golf club: a potential sponsorship opportunity
Food and drinks: Will this be included with the golf club?
Perks, merchandise, and goodies for guests
Alcohol
Entertainment
Equipment rentals: Speakers, tents, chairs, tables, BBQs, etc.
Any unknowns: Setting aside around 10% of your budget for any unplanned costs is a good idea.
Two planning committee members should track the event's banking accounts for all payments made and received. You’ll also need to decide how much you will charge your guests.
5. Find the right local golf course
First, you want to work with a golf course that understands the importance of your tournament and with a staff that will provide a memorable experience for your guests! If you can, try to choose a sought-after course, especially for more corporate charity golf tournaments.
Let the type of guests and tournament guide your shortlist of golf courses. Golf courses hosting events often have employees dedicated to assisting you with your event, making your job easier!
Helpful considerations when choosing your golf course:
Does this course match the type of player you are trying to attract? For example, a more exclusive club may be suitable for tournaments with corporate guests.
Does the tournament package being offered work within your budget?
Is it close enough to the guests you want to attract? For some, making a long drive or booking a hotel might take the fun out of their experience—or add to it!
The venue for the party afterward is where all your guests will end up and pass the time during the afternoon and evening. On the day of, your work will be a little less stressful on the golf course because your guests can entertain themselves with their game, and the staff and volunteers on the course will take care of the rest.
If you’ve found a great golf course that doesn’t have the right venue for the after party, you can always look for a venue nearby or ask the golf course if they’ll let you host a BBQ, food trucks, etc., on-site.
6. Reserve the golf course
Speaking of contracts, it’s one thing to ask for; it’s another to know what to look for before signing it. We can’t help you with all the finer details, but here are a few things to double-check:
Date and time
Consider being flexible with these. If you’re open to a date that is less busy for them (a weekday or early or late season) because your attendees are retired, you might just get a discount or coupons for your charity golf tournament.
Course services
Make sure what’s included in each guest’s ticket price. This could be golf balls, scorecards, carts, gratuities, etc.
Settle on the unknowns
When do they need your guest numbers? Can they accommodate any changes?
Costs
Get a clear breakdown per golfer. Ensure it includes food and drinks (if that’s part of the deal)—gratuities, service fees, etc. Decide when deposits and final payments are needed.
Cancellation and weather policies
This one’s important and easily overlooked. Make sure everyone clearly understands their rainy-day policies and the last date you can cancel or make changes.
7. Begin promoting your event
Word of mouth works wonders when getting golfers to attend your event. But if that doesn’t sell all the tickets, there are a few different audiences you can reach out to to support your organization. (And not everyone has to play golf.)
Supporters of your cause
Your donors want to support your mission. One idea to attract them is to offer separate ticketing for your engaged donors who don’t golf: tickets for the dinner afterward, silent auction invites, raffle sales, etc.
Avid golfers
They might not know about your nonprofit, but they won’t pass up a great golf day. So, tell them how they can do what they love, support a great cause, and have a delicious meal afterward.
Locally known personalities
Reach out to well-known personalities in the area and let them know how they can make a difference. If they support your cause, they’ll be able to attract donors with the means to make more significant contributions and raise your overall awareness.
Younger golfers
You can attract a younger crowd by offering tickets for golf lessons from the course pro, a BBQ, food trucks, and activities like raffles, auctions, local bands, and more. They may just hear about how much fun the day of golfing was and choose to pick up golfing for next year!
Our tip: Come up with some incentives to get guests to buy tickets early! You’ll need to pay a deposit and pay for the spots on the course early, so you want to ensure you have a minimum number of attendees. Offer early-bird prices, free drink tickets, exclusive merchandise, free raffle tickets, and anything you can think of so people buy and commit early.
<8. Choose a free event registration and online ticketing platform for nonprofits.
Organizing any charity golf tournament requires choosing a nonprofit event ticketing platform that fits your needs while saving money. You’ll want a customizable platform that allows you to create as many ticketing options and events as needed.
This will allow your supporters to contribute what they can and allow you to attract a variety of current and new donors. Most importantly, it will help you keep track of sales, attendees, meals, raffle tickets, merch sales, etc.
Here are a few examples of what Zeffy (or other event registration platforms for nonprofits) can help you with:
Work with your volunteer committee members to recruit volunteers and plan and ensure their tasks and schedules are clear so that your volunteers can prepare and know what they will be helping with before, during, and after the event.
We haven’t thought of everything, but here are a few tasks to find volunteers for:
Setting up and taking down at the golf course
Designate volunteers to set up for the day. The staff at the course can help guide them, but be sure to prep them yourself too with:
A welcome committee: Designate a group of volunteers to ensure your golfers are welcomed, registered, and coordinated when they arrive.
Set up tents around the course for sign-in, rest stations, fundraising activities, snacks, and refreshments.
Identify volunteers in charge of handling the cash boxes for the fundraising activities.
Assign volunteers to prepare goodies for the golf carts. This also ensures everyone has everything they need for a memorable game.
They are placing signs around the golf course. Since attendees may not know the golf club well, we suggest you make signs (include your organization and sponsor’s logos for an added touch) to help players find their way around!
Any in-kind donations and labels for players’ lockers.
Remember to ask volunteers to stick around after and help with the takedown and clean-up.
Fundraising activities
Have two volunteers set up for each game or activity on the course. Ensure one person supervises that all games are going well, that volunteers are supported, and that they receive breaks from the sun.
Recruit volunteers to help sell snacks and refreshments to players. Selling beer and other alcohol can be a great way to increase fundraising revenue during the tournament and at the dinner afterward, especially if a sponsor has made an in-kind donation.
You’ll also want some volunteers to oversee the silent auction, help with the raffle, and generally be available to your golfers if they need it.
Preparing the dinner
Setting up and taking down the after-tournament fundraising dinner is just as much work and requires just as many volunteers. The event space must be set up and decorated so your guests can seamlessly transition from golf to whatever you have planned post-golf. Find volunteers to help with decorations, seating, etc.
10. Say thank you after the gold event
Thank everyone—your volunteers, the golfers, donors, the golf course, and your sponsors. This probably isn’t news, but a friendly reminder never hurts. ChatGPT can help you write your thank you emails, but a personal touch is always a good idea.
30 golf tournament fundraiser ideas
The fundraising potential of your golf fundraisers doesn’t end with registration fees. Sponsorship opportunities, food carts, raffles, mini-put tournaments, skill contests… There are yards of ideas.
To help you tee off, we’ve come up with a list of 30 golf tournament fundraiser ideas:
No charity golf event is complete without a dinner and awards ceremony. Host a charity auction, present the day’s awards, set up a photo booth… (You can even host it online as a virtual event for donors who can't make it.)
2. Branded merchandise for your next golf tournament
Branded golf merchandise is a creative (and lucrative) way to outfit your golf fundraisers. You can host a presale (Zeffy’s eCommerce feature can help) and sell and give away your merchandise at the tournament.
Partner with a vendor to create custom merchandise featuring your logo and the golf club name. Think of branded golf balls, towels, shirts, socks, and hats.
3. Food and drink carts for golf tournaments
Golf makes you thirsty. And hungry. So, recruit volunteers to drive around in golf carts full of drinks and snacks—you can even ask local sponsors (think breweries, restaurants, and grocery stores) to donate or sponsor the cart.
Free tap-to-pay apps will let your nonprofit collect donations by debit and credit in person.
4. Photo ops
Set up a photo booth or hire a photographer to wander around and take pictures during your tournament. Golfers can donate to use the photo booths or purchase photos as souvenirs.
5. Golf skills clinic
Planning a charity golf tournament wouldn’t be complete without a golf skills clinic. Create a registration form using fundraising software, and allow participants to sign up for golf clinics.
Good to know: Most golf courses have a pro on site that can lead the clinics.
6. Dress up contest
If there’s one thing all golfers have in common, they love to dress the part up the ante with a dress-up contest that encourages participants to take their golf look to the next level.
7. Local celebrity guests
If you’re looking for a way to attract new participants to your golf tournament fundraiser, convincing a local celebrity to attend is a fail-safe way to spread the word and increase participation.
Once you’ve signed up a local celebrity, encourage them to share your event on their social media accounts and host an after-party if they’re feeling generous!
8. Interactive scoreboard
Renting a digital scoreboard is a fun way to encourage friendly competition while keeping golfers and their families up-to-date.
Allow participants and their families to make donations that influence the scores or outcomes of the game. For example, you could donate to subtract strokes from a team's score.
9. Mini put tournament for kids
Organizing a charity golf tournament is an excellent way to engage donors while raising funds for your nonprofit. But have you ever considered organizing a mini-putt tournament or hole-in-one contest to raise funds?
A putting contest is fun for the whole family, and if you time it right, you can even use the fundraising event to hype up your golf tournament fundraiser.
10. A golf thon—aka pledge per hole, birdie, par, swing, etc.
Every golfer hopes their next game will be their best. Why not hype up this mentality with a mini peer-to-peer campaign? Ask participants to sign up online and create their golf-a-thon campaign.
Once they’re up and running, they can start collecting pledges from friends, family, or colleagues based on their upcoming performance.
Donors can pledge a certain amount per hole, birdie, or other golfing achievement.
11. Sell mulligans (extra chances to replay a stroke)
There isn’t a golfer out there who will buy a mulligan in advance, but when they need one, they’ll be willing to pay for it.
Offer a mulligans package at registration and mention that mulligans will also be available during the tournament for a much more generous donation.
(Zeffy’s Tap-to-Pay app even lets you accept debit and credit card payments in person—no fees attached.)
12. Longest drive contest
This golf fundraising idea is straightforward: choose a hole where golfers can compete to hit the longest drive, charge an entry fee for each attempt, and award a prize to the golfer with the longest drive.
13. Speed golf challenge
Another easy one, a speed golf challenge, combines golf and fitness while changing the (sometimes) monotonous game.
Ask golfers to pay to attempt completing a round in the fastest time—without sacrificing accuracy.
14. Hole-in-one contest
A hole-in-one contest is a quick way to earn a few extra donations.
Golfers can pay to participate in this putting contest, and if someone successfully makes a hole-in-one on the designated hole, they win a spectacular prize. (Maybe the golf course will offer membership for a year, etc.)
15. Closest to the pin
This is another fun way to up the friendly competition quota of your golf events.
You can choose a par-3 hole and create a contest where participants hit their ball closest to the pin.
16. Putting contest
A putting contest pits a golfer against a putting green. All you have to do is choose the hole and get putters to sign up for a chance to sink a long putt or navigate a challenging green in the fewest swings.
17. Beat the champ or pro
This one is self-explanatory. Golfers sign up to compete against last year's champion or the course pro. They can donate more for extra swings and other advantages.
You can assign a winner per hole and an overall winner for the course.
18. Target golf
Set up target areas on the course and charge participants to hit balls as close to the targets as possible.
Different targets can have different point values, and the golfer with the highest score at the end of the game wins a grand prize!
We know; this one sounded weird to us, too. But, hey, it's a creative way to raise additional funds!
A caddie auction is exactly what it sounds like an auction for a personal caddie.
Before your golf fundraiser (use your event website), auction off the opportunity for golfers to have a celebrity or notable figure (Or, if all else fails, anyone will do.) as their caddie for the tournament.
The winning bidders get someone to carry their clubs for them.
20. Set up a silent charity auction
Golfers love the latest swag, which means a silent auction is a great way to earn a little extra at almost any fundraising event.
Ask sponsors to donate silent auction items, such as swag, clubs, gift cards, memberships, and anything and everything that golfers and their families will want to bid on.
You can hold a traditional raffle for golf course memberships, swag, or lessons or a 50/50 raffle, in which half of the proceeds go to the winner and the other half to your nonprofit.
22. It's a classic golf ball drop. (AKA: helicopter ball.)
A golf ball drop is a creative and fun way to raise money for your cause during your golf tournament.
You can sell numbered golf balls before and during your tournament and drop them from a helicopter or a designated height at some point during the event.
The ball that lands closest to a target wins.
23. Everyone loves golf bingo
Golf bingo is a great way to engage golfers and spectators.
Create bingo cards with golf-related challenges or achievements (e.g., birdie, longest drive, the first player to order a beer, etc.). You can get creative with these and include more personal elements, too.
Participants pay to participate, and they mark off spaces on their cards as they accomplish the challenges. The first to complete a line shouts "bingo" and wins!
Offering different levels of sponsorships for local businesses or individuals helps your nonprofit raise money while spreading the word.
Your packages can include sponsorships for specific holes, events, or activities during the tournament.
25. Dedicated holes
Every golfer has a favorite hole—one they know (or think they know) they can birdie or maybe even get a hole-in-one.
By allowing donors to dedicate a particular hole to someone, you’ll be helping players claim their hole and earn a few extra dollars for your nonprofit.
26. Golf cart sponsor
This one is exactly as it sounds: get a sponsor to cover the tournament's cost of renting golf carts. In return, they can have their logo displayed on each cart.
27. Golf cart parade
This one is pretty creative!
A cart-decorating contest and parade are fun ways to involve the whole community in your golf tournament fundraiser.
Participants and sponsors pay an entry fee to decorate their carts. During the lunch break, the carts can pass by one after the other.
28. Hole sponsors
By allowing businesses or donors to sponsor individual holes on the course, you can let participants brand their favorite holes.
Local businesses can display their company signage, distribute promotional materials, and interact with participants at sponsored holes.
29. Beverage cart sponsor
Partnering with a local brewery, distillery, grocery store, or restaurant to sponsor your beverage and snack carts is a creative way to raise a little extra while providing drinks and snacks to participants throughout the tournament.
Sponsors can deck their carts with signage, free swag, prizes, whatever they can think of!
30. A few dedicated awards
Allowing local businesses and donors to sponsor awards during your golf tournament fundraiser is a fun and creative way to keep your community involved.
Awards can be named after individuals, businesses, ideals, impressive feats, or anything!
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