Great Golf Events Give Out the Best Gifts and Prizes!
By Mark Stephens – GoBigGolf.com
Why Do Golfer’s Come Back Year After Year? Golfers remember the
gifts and prizes long after the tournament is over and will come back
if the prizes are enticing. The goal is to make everyone feel like a
winner. You accomplish this by giving out as many gifts and prizes as
possible. There are several different categories of prizes. Take the
time to work on all of these areas and you will have many winners.
Prize Categories:
Golfer’s Tee Package – The Tee Package or Goody Bag is the
package of gifts that you give the golfers just for participating. The
higher the entry fee the better the package should be. All golfers
receive this package. This package can be handed out when the
golfers check in or it can be put in their cart in advance. This package
should include things like: Golf balls, tees, hats, shirts, coupons,
sponsor promotional items, leather pouches, shoe bags and
more. Consider a mix of golf and Non-golf type items.
Contests – Prizes given to the winners of the contests on the course.
You want to have as many as possible. Contests include games such as
long drive, closest-to-the-pin, long putt, etc. A sample of prizes for
these contests could be putters, drivers, head covers, balls, golf
bags...anything that golfers and even non-golfers value. Think of
giving out "Lifestyle" items too. Lifestyle items are those things that
people use all the time. They are not necessarily golf related...drinking
glasses, tumblers, mini speakers, and travel bags are just few
examples.
Winners – Prizes given to the tournament winners. The typical
tournament format is a scramble, a team event, which means you
need to give each of the team members/winners the same prize. We
recommend that you give as many places as possible. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, up
to 8th place. It is also fun to give a prize to the last place or even a
random place prize.
Raffles – Raffles are a great way to raise money and insure that most
of the participants walk away with something. Raffle tickets can be
sold in advance or throughout the day. The price of the raffle ticket
will depend on the value of the prizes given. Pricing from $1 to $10
per raffle ticket is the going rate. You can offer specials to encourage
more sales, like 3 for $10. You must be careful to find a balance
between gifts and winners - too many gifts can drag out the awards
luncheon or dinner. We suggest pulling the raffle ticket winners in
advance and posting them to save time. Items can include everything
from dinners, golf clubs, weekend trips, pictures, golf apparel, etc.
Auctions – Auctions are fun and can raise a lot of money if done
right. It is ideal for bigger items worth more than the raffle items.
There are two ways to auction off the items:
Silent Auction - Silent auctions are fun and a little quicker than live
auctions. Place the items on a table where they can be viewed. Make
sure the table is close to the action. Place a bid sheet below each item
where participants can record the bid. Be sure to be clear on what
time the bidding closes. The item will go to the highest recorded
bidder.
Live Auction - Live auctions takes more time but are more exciting
and usually raise more money. It works by simply offering the item
out loud to the crowd and suggesting a minimum bid. Then
encouraging others to bid higher. The challenge is it can take more
time and you want to be sensitive to the participant’s time.
Auction Items - Auction items should be donated. If you get them
donated you will make more money. You can pay for them, although
you must be careful and make sure that can re-coop your investment.
Auction items can be anything of value, like trips, sports memorabilia,
rounds of golf etc.
How to Obtain Prizes:
Obtaining prizes is not hard work; it just takes a motivated group.
Here are the steps to obtaining prizes:
• Put together a prize committee of 1 or more to gather prizes.
• Make a complete list of all of the prizes you need.
• Develop a list of potential businesses that you think will
contribute.
• Send out a letter to all of the businesses on your list.
• Follow up with phone calls to everyone.
• Take anything that they will give.
• Collect all items in advance of the tournament.
• Get everything donated.
• If you must pay buy wholesale, not retail.
• Divide up the prizes according to value in each category.
• Don’t stop asking.
If you have too many prizes, save them for next year.
Types of Prizes
Prizes can literally be anything of value…Cars, Boats, Trips, Weekend
Excursions, Airline Tickets, Hotel Rooms, Dinners, Golf Clubs,
TVs, Appliances, Stereos, Paintings, Sports Memorabilia, Clothing,
Hats, Jewelry, Furniture, etc.
Merchandise adds Quality
Give your participants something that will help them remember you
and that they will possibly use throughout the year. Create a memory
of your event for every participant. You can work with a variety of
specialty sales people in your area to provide you with these products.
Make sure to put your logo on items given so that they will remember
you every time they see it or use it. Try to acquire quality products
especially if they will bear the name of your company or tournament.
Items of poor quality may end up in the trash and can tarnish your
image.
Here is a list of potential products that you can put your logo on:
Golf Shirt, Golf Hat, Golf Balls, Ball Retriever, Putters, Ball Marker,
Divot Repair, Trophies, Jackets, Vests, Pens, Pencils, Paper Weights,
Calendars, Crystal Glassware, Umbrellas, Golf Bags, Shoe Bag, Books.
Sample Prize Needs:
This is a sample list of prizes that you should have for your
tournament.
Tee Package - Golf Shirt, Golf Hat, Golf Balls, Tees, Ball Marker,
Divot Repair tool
Longest Drive Contest (2) - 1 Dozen Golf Balls
Closest to the Pin Contest (4) - Head Covers
Hole in One Contest - Car, $25,000, Trips, Golf Clubs, and Gift
certificates
1st Place Team (4) - TV’s, Golf Bags,
2nd Place Team (4) - Golf Bags, Leather travel bags
3rd Place Team (4) - Putters, wedges
Last Place Team (4) - Trophy, lessons from local golf pro
Raffle (20) - Golf Rounds, Dinner Certificates, Golf Balls, Golf Hats,
etc.
Auction (20) - Autographed Items, Limited Posters, Paintings,
Trips, etc.
One of the biggest keys to a successful golf event is making sure that
everyone involved has a great time, remembers your event for all the
good reasons and is excited about coming back next year. The best
way to ensure all those things happen is to create lots of winners, give
out amazing gifts and prizes and provide value to the golfers and
sponsors!
About the Author:
Mark Stephens is the co-owner and operator for KGMS Golf, LLC
and GoBigGolf.com. After 25 years of active military service in the
U.S. Air Force he and his wife Kim built a business that would allow
them to use their extensive executive and project management skills
to assist charities and non-profits to run golf events. To learn more
about Mark and Kim or to contact them about your event
requirements go to GoBigGolf.com