Organizing a Tournament-- Do's and Don'ts

[AnnikaFan]

hellllooo

so I volunteered myself to help host the 2nd annual golf tournament that my program hosts at UBC...(i had so much fun at the 1st annual)..

its basically a tournament for students in the program and some of the career professionals...so a networking event..

There's 9 of us on the golf committee...and I practically the only one with some knowledge of golf...so I got put in charge of logistics and running the tournament itself..

but since I have never organized a tourney before..i need your help for some suggestions and some do's and don'ts...

course/date/banquet already set..

Playing format is going to be Texas Scramble (i personally don't like scramble..but i think this is the best bet since there will be ALOT of beginners on the course)..

what are some of the good challenges?
we will have men/women closest to pin and longest drive...is that good enough? I've read that you can have straightest drive too on a long straight hole...but how is that measured?...we probably won't have a hole-in-one challenge..

how about some off course challenges besides a 20ft+ putting challenge...I'm thinking of some of the big break challenges too (ones without props like glass windows)....which ones are good ones to do? Any other ones common at tournaments?

is it a good idea to have a "most honest" prize?

One of the tournament's goal is to raise money for scholarship purposes..what are some of the good ways to do that....I got Silenct Auction (but i'm having trouble thinking it would work because most silence auctions have like HUGE prizes...and half of the ppl there will be students who probably won't shell out big money anyways)...

also..anyone have a good slogan for the tournament?
"theme" is to raise money for program's scholarship fund..

What are some good teeoff packages?

anything else I should look out for?

any ideas/comments/suggestions are greatly appreciated!

[The Bun]

`Hi Annikafan. Running a tournament can involve alot more work than it first appears. I have a mixed scramble in the spring at my club and its a bit of work. For the straightest drive a line is chalked down the centre of the fairway and its the closest to the line, distance does'nt matter so everyone has a chance. The way I gave out the prizes was as follows...Lowest score first, most honest golfers score second, and a draw from a hat for the rest. It gives everyone a good chance, no matter what their ability, to get up there. You may want to try a raffle type thing to make money, maybe you get get one of the local businesses to donate something? I've seen putting contest as well. For a reasonable entry fee people could go to the practice green and compete, again it would be good to have a donated prize for that. Good luck and have fun.:)

-Bun-

[BowmanvilleJim]

The do's and don'ts .... well the first don't is DON'T VOLUNTEER!!!

Just kidding. Taking on a golf tournament is a lot of work but it can be pretty rewarding. Here's my list of some of the Do's and Don'ts

Do
- make sure people pay up front in advance. I have seen it happen too many times that you are trying to collect $$ on the day of the tournament.
- have good communication with the course so they know exactly what you expect and what you intend to do.
- spend the time and effort to plan everything possible. Your goal on the day of the event is to watch it unfold according to your plan without you having to make last minute changes.
- be prepared to make last minute changes.

Don'ts
- assume someone else is responsible for some aspect of the event. Be sure of who is responsible for what.
- don't be afraid to call on the course staff to help you out. They have tons of experience with these types of events.
- don't try to do it all yourself, let the other members of the comittee take on their fare share

As for fundraiser events you could do the putting contest, closest to the line, pot of gold (have the course paint a large circle somewhere on the green away from the hole and everyone who ends up inside it shares the pot of golf. 50% to the event and the other 50% split among those who landed inside the pot)

[jjgowland]

Straightest drive can also be lined up to a rope down the middle of the fairway. Pinned down by U shaped hooks.

For prizes, since everyone a UBC student, ask the book store to donate a gift certificate, the campus local pub to donate a pubgrub gift certificate, theater to donate a pair of tickets. advise the donors that they can provide a small stand up sign to go beside their donation.

And plan something (like an indoor putting route) just incase it rains and the event is a washout. If it's a washout, keep in touch with the kitchen staff, so they can start preparing the meal sooner.

make sure you have a printed method of play, rules of the "game of the day" so every group gets a copy.

No matter what happens, have fun with it!

[Ems]

Hey AF, I've organized some school events before and also helped out with recruitment at work. Here are some things I recommend:

Do:
-Have an etiquette session with students participating in the event
-Have a plan, track what needs to be done by when and what tasks have dependencies
-If you're also fundraising, the silent auction would not be a bad idea. Get the companies that will be participating to donate items (should not be hard to do if you hit up their HR department). Set a minimum for each item, even if the students won't shell out a lot, if the items are donated, should not be a problem. or try a raffle
-Have a contingency plan for rain and tie breakers
-Send out letters letting recruiters what to expect that day
-Ensure you have plenty of mingling time!

Don't:
-Take on too much yourself, especially the day of the tournament, don't assign tasks to yourself so that you're free to put out fires if needed

I personally don't mind a Most Honest Golfer award and think it would make it more fun. If you have any more specific questions, feel free to contact me.

Since this is the 2nd annual tournament, are there past plans/experiences you can leverage?

[noback]

Playing format is going to be Texas Scramble (i personally don't like scramble..but i think this is the best bet since there will be ALOT of beginners on the course).. Texas Scramble is not the same as Regular Scramble

I've read that you can have straightest drive too on a long straight hole...but how is that measured?...we probably won't have a hole-in-one challenge.. The course will draw the line you mover the closest to the pin sign either side of the line when its closer than the previous players'

Any other ones common at tournaments? Try an optional chipping contest (3 balls for $2 0r $5) with a 50/50 draw with 50 % of money going to winner of putting and/or chipping contests and the rest going to your charity

Note:For putting and chipping contest you have the course chalk some circles around a hole on the green for points (10 in the hole, first circle 5 points and so on

[dkedad]

Find out what brand of beer is sold in the Clubhouse at your course and get in contact with the brewery rep to provide some prizes for a "closest to the Keg" contest (i.e.........place an empty Keg "offline" somewhere on one of the holes)