Your association’s next member golf event can run smoothly – if it is planned correctly. Members likely return to their association golf outing each year to see people they may only see once a year, plus it’s always a fun day to get out of the office.
Here are 5 things you can do to make your event more profitable, better attended, and a positive member experience:
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- Get the Right People on the Committee
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Recruit a variety of people to help you plan your golf event, representing past participants, young professionals, golfers, and non-golfers. Ask each person to bring a new idea to the planning meeting. Make sure you are doing something new every year – sponsorships, games, etc.
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- Foursomes Not Required
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Create a registration option for individuals who want to golf but can’t put a foursome together. Pair up and create a unique opportunity for making new business connections. If you end up with an odd number of individual registrations, seek out members who are available last minute due to schedule changes.
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- Invite Non-Golfers to Volunteer
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Some non-golfer members may want to attend the event for networking, but the golf course stigma is out of their comfort zone. Create a registration for volunteers with an optional registration fee to cover meals. Having extra hands at your event can lead to a better experience for your attendees.
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- Marketing Before, During, and After
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Ask members to spread the word, invite new people to the event, and include event details in social media posts. Use video and photos from last year’s event to encourage your core group to return. Keep the social media post going during the event with live video and photos. Afterward, share posts that include video comments from attendees and photos.
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- Make the Experience Great
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The member experience doesn’t have to depend on the weather. Make your members feel welcome the minute they drive into the golf course parking lot. This is the time for association staff to work together, get to know members, and shine, shine, shine.
More Tips:
- Choose a golf course considering the level of difficulty your members want, and the price they are willing to pay.
- Make sure the event contract financials are accurate and course staff understand your expectations.
- Assign duties to staff and volunteers. There are no mulligans/do-overs when it comes to capturing videos and photos during the day.
- Sell raffle tickets, mulligans, and skins with proceeds benefiting your (education) foundation.
- Secure a sponsor on all 9- or 18-holes with refreshments or quick games.
- Keep the pace going with par as a maximum score.
- List golfers/foursomes in the order they are placed on the course, print out and give to staff, volunteers, and sponsors. The photographer will appreciate it!
- In addition to collecting raffle items, gather logo items from sponsors for a welcome bag. Phone chargers come in handy on the course.
- Golfers will still finish at different times, even with a shotgun start. Have a buffet ready for the first group that comes in and start your program immediately after the last group finishes.