Charity Golf Tournament Etiquette: Why it is Rude to Arrive Late and Leave Early!

I know for some people it is hard to manage time.  But there are occasions where time should be placed in a vacuum or on the level of some mathematical formula Carl Sagan used to determine the relevance of the time it took to create the universe.  One of those occasions where limiting your time or not having enough time to spend, is the time you spend participating in a charity function.  In this case a Charity Golf Tournament.

For good charity golf tournaments it takes a minimum of one year to organize the event.  The better ones take nearly five years to get the event where it is smoothly run.  That is a lot of time and effort taken by a large number of people for just a 6 to 8 hour annual event. 

There is the golf to prepare for; there is the food to prepare for and then the prizes and games to organize and then signage and decorations. Not to mention the untold hours of meetings, conversations, phone calls and emails to people all year long to gain support for the event. 

All of this is done for the participants of the golf tournament.   The entire focus is to make the entire event enjoyable for the participants.  The event managers and volunteers spent far more time organizing the event than the length of time the event lasted.

The best thank you a participant can provide the organizer of the event is to arrive early and stay to the end of the event.  There is no extra charge for participants to stay and show respect for those who have worked so hard for the participants.

So, think about this when signing up for a charity golf tournament and mark that day completely off the calendar.  Take this precious time to relax and enjoy what has been prepared just for you.  There is no extra charge for this and you will get more out of it than walking out before you can be thanked for participating. 

You may not think there is anyone who is going to notice you leaving early or you may be one of the many who have the arrogant attitude ‘they will get over it’.  Well the organizers notice people leaving and their reaction is that they failed to please and no those who volunteer their time to help organize a charity event never get over the disrespect they get from people with this unfortunate ‘they will get over it’ attitude.  Matter of fact, they usually remember for years who they were and what they do for business, which definitely can’t help in the long run. 

Supporting charity can be a two-way street and Respect; there is no charge for giving it, but the balance sheet on handing out disrespect will bankrupt you quickly…

 

Support your local charities by getting involved or participate in their fundraisers. It helps all of use to help others.

 

Scot Duke

President

Innovative Business Golf Solutions, LLC.

scot.duke@innovativebusinessgolf.com

www.innovativebusinessgolf.com

 

Screen Door Open: What a great Year

Yes, the end of the 8^th Annual Screen Door Open® Charity Pro-AM came in with a bang and left with even a bigger bang.  The new venue, Las Colinas Country Club, was outstanding and the course was in excellent shape…  The golfers all had fun, the PGA professionals all had fun and the Junior Golfers played more golf and hit more shots during this event than they would if they were in a Junior Clinic.

 

And that brings me to closing subject for the year. And that is the kids.  The boys and girls of the Junior Golf Programs, no matter their economic situation, need the game of golf.    It will remain the SDO’s mission to do whatever it can to raise the funds needed to keep programs going that teach kids the full spectrum of the positive values that are part of the teaching of golf.  The SDO hopes it can depend on its supporters to continue to help the SDO meet this mission and pass the word on to their friends and business associates of the SDO’s cause and purpose.  Together, the SDO grows and with that growth we can help more programs help more kids learn this game they can play for a lifetime.

 

Thanks to this year’s volunteers, sponsors and players for making the 8^th Annual SDO Pro-AM another successful year.

 

 

Scot Duke

Chairperson

Screen Door Open Charity Golf, Inc.

scot.duke@screendooropen.org

www.screendooropen.org

 

Screen Door Open: Another great year

If you have not signed up for this year’s Screen Door Open Charity Pro-AM Golf Tournament, you are just about out of luck.  

 

Lots of work goes into putting this golf tournament on.   And the mission is to raise funds for Junior Golf Programs across North Texas.  A lot of kids are depending on these funds to help keep the costs down so they can enter more clinics and golf schools to learn this game of a lifetime.

 

If you missed this year, well hopefully you can get involved and help out next year…

 

 

Scot Duke

Chairman of the Board of Directors

Screen Door Open Charity Golf, Inc.

A 501c3 tax-exempt non-profit organization

14232 Marsh Lane #486

Addison, TX 75001

scot.duke@screendooropen.org

www.screendooropen.org

Blog Site: http://screendooropenproam.blogspot.com

Proudly presenting the 8th Annual Screen Door Open Charity Pro-AM Golf Tournament on June 5, 2006 at the Los Colinas Country Club, Irving, TX

 

 

Charity Golf Sponsors: Learn How To Run One Before Asking For Money

There are a couple of people going around the country talking up how to find sponsors and volunteers for charity golf tournaments.  Most of what they have to say is pretty much common scene organized for people who don’t want to take the time to think.

Now these guys and gals are conducting online teleconferencing mini-seminar exposé symposium workshops on how to find sponsors for a charity golf tournament.  Again, they are close, but no way close enough to win the cigar…

First of all, there are way too many people out there who think that a golf tournament is the best way to raise money for their charity.  It is NOT!  Just because you love to play golf, or your business is full of golfers, doesn’t make organizing a golf tournament a no brain-er.  And don’t think that the PGA Professionals of the golf course (or in some cases, the golf course management companies non-PGA professional) to organize it for you.  They will set up play for the course, but that is just a flash in the pan on the amount of time it takes to organize a FAIR golf tournament, not to mention the extra time it takes to put on a Good golf tournament, and the full time effort it takes to put on a very good golf tournament.  Not ask how much time it takes to put on an Excellent Charity Golf Tournament.  Lets just say that if you have time to read this article you don‘t have the time needed to organize an Excellent Charity Golf Tournament.

Most of these seminars provide some simplified process that outlines that all you have to do is send a letter and make a phone call to a few large companies to be sponsors and the event’s bank account fills up.  It Ain’t Gonna Happen!

Since I sat in the chair at one of the largest corporations in the world and saw the number of people contacting us for charity golf tournament sponsor support I can truly tell you that it is going to take offering an outstanding charity golf tournament before these companies are going to even look at what you offer.  No matter what you put in the packages.  Believe me, I know…

All large companies are getting hit by charity groups who want to ride the wave of popularity of golf.  And only a few know how to make it work.

Now, you are saying, Duke, you are in the business to show people how to play business golf and you have one of the best charity Pro-AMs going in the Dallas area, why are you saying this?  Well it is simple, there are some very badly run charity golf outings… No, wait; there our thousands of badly run charity golf tournaments out there that are making it rough for the good charity golf tournaments.   How, the bad charity golf outings are turning the charity golfers to playing in any of them since their impression is that ALL charity golf events are like the bad one.   What makes them bad is the organizers have no idea how to organize a charity golf tournament.  Some of the organizing groups do not even know how to play golf. 

The expectations for a charity golf tournament are MUCH higher than just organizing a golf tournament.  These groups who are not experienced need to reconsider what they are doing until they know what they are doing.

Businesses today are being hit up for donations from everyone. And I am not the first to say that these companies do not have bottomless pockets of money.  

So, my message here is, if you are thinking of organizing a charity golf tournament for your cause, or you have a charity golf tournament  that has to be rebuilt each year because the golfers will not come back, then I recommend that you look to some other activity or event to organize to raise the funds for your cause.  Tough love is talking here, but man; do some of these groups need some tough love talk.

Now, I am out to provide solutions.  Thus my business name, Innovative Business Golf Solutions.  And here is what I have to offer.  (Which I talk about in much more detail in my soon to be released book How to Organize a REAL Good Charity Golf Tournament (working title))

1. First of all, do not fall for other people suggesting that you put on a charity golf tournament to raise money because they saw where another one raised $1million.  If you do not have a clue on what goes into organizing a charity golf tournament then do not try it until you do. 
2. Don’t think because you have played in hundreds of charity golf tournaments you can organize one.  Believe me, that is the way I started and it was not until I was mentored by the PGA and placed on the planning committee for a Senior PGA event did I start to see part of the picture. There is much more that goes on behind the scenes and before you got to the golf tournament than you will EVER imagine.  And those things done before the tournament, if not done correctly, will cause the event to suck air.
3. Consider finding another golf tournament to combine your cause with theirs.  More than likely sometime during the year there is another golf tournament that has been organized that is for the same cause.  Find it and bring your effort together.  Believe me, the tournament director will love you if your can bring your few teams into their event to fill it.  Ask if you can be on the planning committee.  Remember, you will not know if this is going to be a good tournament or not, so take this as part of your training if the tournament sucks
4. Getting plenty of golf savvy volunteers is the key.  Again, these seminars mention this, but do not put enough emphasis on the importance of having plenty of volunteers who know golf.  You can get plenty of volunteers to help, but if they don’t have a clue of what goes on in a golf tournament then you are in trouble before you start.  What do you do if you cannot get golf savvy volunteers; I suggest you spent three hours the day before the golf tournament and had have a training class for all volunteers.  IF they don’t show for training then you are in trouble again.  So offer them a reason to come.  I will leave that for you to figure out.  I have to leave something for my book.
5. And finally, don’t go asking for sponsor support until you have a very good to excellent golf tournament to offer.  Saying that you are going to have 140 players does not cut it with businesses now days. Especially, if all 140 players hate the tournament because it is poorly organized.  That will not reflect very good on the sponsors.  Businesses today are pretty savvy when it comes to sponsoring charity golf tournaments.  Obviously they have a few to choose from and most of them don’t just look at the cause or the exposure, they look at the quality.  And if your event is sucking air, they are not going to want to be involved.

Now, I talked about all of the things you need to think about or do before considering starting your own charity golf tournament.  These guys who are traveling around telling you how to get sponsors for a charity golf tournament have the cart before the horse.  You better know how to organize a GOOD (and I mean a very good tournament) before thinking about asking for sponsor’s money.

Over 80% of the charity golf tournaments that are played this year will have these common problems that will cause them to collapse, if not end up owing more money that they made:

1. TOO Many players for the golf course.  The number one Charity Golf Killer… Not only does this one mistake kill the charity event it puts a real bad taste in charity golfers to want to play in another charity golf tournament because NOW their impression is that ALL charity golf tournaments are bad.  The reason these bad charity golf tournaments put so many players on the course is that they reduced their margins for profit to negative to get their entry fees below other charity golf tournament’s entry fees.  Golfers who play in charity golf tournaments do not fall for the price being cheap tactic. To get to a breakeven or to make a profit for the charity they have to put two to three (and some I have been to have put four) teams starting on each hole of the course.  Then, it the weather is bad the course makes the carts stay on the paths will make this event a 7 hour ordeal when it should only take 4 and half hours.   The ‘Meat Market’ charity golf tournament will cause you to fold up shop quickly.
2. Rubber Chicken for Prime Rib price.  The number two charity golf killer…Bad Food!  Face it, every golf tournament has people who play for the prizes and the glory of the win so make sure you got some cool stuff to provide the winners.  So the majority of the players who play are not going to win so you better have something for them.  And Good FOOD is the best prize for them.  If you throw a hamburger buffet or Bar-B-Q at them after they played in a 7 hour event. You might be getting people asking for their money back.  I would be…

So, the Bottomline here is, before you go out and pay money to find out how to find sponsors for your charity golf tournament, learn how to put on a real good charity golf tournament before you ask for sponsors money.  It will save you from having egg on your face and will keep all charity golf tournaments a great place to raise funds for charity.

 

 Scot Duke

Chairman of the Board of Directors

Screen Door Open Charity Golf, Inc.

A 501c3 tax-exempt non-profit organization

14232 Marsh Lane #486

Addison, TX 75001

scot.duke@screendooropen.org

www.screendooropen.org

Bolg at: http://screendooropen.wordpress.com

 

Proudly presenting the 8th Annual Screen Door Open Charity Pro-AM Golf Tournament on June 5, 2006 at the Las Colinas Country Club, Irving, TX

 

Golfers: Dallas/Ft Worth's Best Organized Charity Golf Tournament

There are a number of things that make the Screen Door Open Charity Pro-AM the Best Organized Charity Golf Tournament in D/FW.  What makes being the Best Organized that big of a deal?

 

8^th Annual Screen Door Open Charity Pro-AM Golf Tournament

Monday, June 5, 2006  Las Colinas Country Club, Irving, TX

 

Have you played in a charity golf tournament where you arrived at the course and had to lug your golf bag from the back parking lot of the local muni-golf course, where you play once a month or so; find nobody to tell you where to put your bag; finally find a fleet of golf carts spread out over an acre;  finally find your name on a cart that has your team starting on the 14^th hole and is the 4^th group to start on that hole; finally get started and it takes you 7 hours to play in a Hit & Giggle Scramble where you teams score of 63 only to find after standing in a taco buffet line for thirty minutes holding a paper plate and plastic fork, that when you finally find a seat outside on the patio to eat that the tournament is still waiting on scorecards to post to the 8 by 11 inch sheets of paper they called scoreboards.  Has this happened to you?  I am sure it has and if not, it probably will soon.

You will not have any of this at the Screen Door Open Charity Pro-AM Golf Tournament.

• This event is an officially sanctioned PGA Pro-AM.  The PGA does offer this sanction unless the tournament meets their standards.
• The SDO makes an effort to meet and greet each player in an effort to make them feel at home.
• The tournament is held on one of the most private golf courses in the D/FW area which limits availability for the general public to have played the course before, causing uniqueness for the tournament.
• The SDO limited the playing field to just 28 teams of four amateurs and one member of the PGA.  The format is a Shamble with a modified Stapleford scoring that is conducted by computer scanning software and is produced on a large screen scoreboard.
• During the round you get to see some of North Texas Finest junior golfers demonstrate the skills they have learned from the NTPGA Junior Golf Foundation programs.
• For the business person who wants to beat other people there is an after tournament cocktail party and silent auction so everyone can mingle and visit before the banquet.
• The food is an upscale buffet and the awards banquet is held in an air conditioned ballroom at an upscale private country club with real silverware and real plates and napkins.

The price for this level of event is usually way over $2000 for a team, and you get all of it for $700 a team.

 

So, you see, there is a reason why the SDO has been designated as the Best Organized Charity Golf Tournament in D/FW.  For more information go to www.screendooropen.org or call 214 549-0304

 

Screen Door Open Charity Golf, Inc.

A 501c3 tax-exempt non-profit organization

14232 Marsh Lane #486

Addison, TX 75001

scot.duke@screendooropen.org

www.screendooropen.org

Blog Site: http://screendooropenproam.blogspot.com

 

Proudly presenting the 8th Annual Screen Door Open Charity Pro-AM Golf Tournament on June 5, 2006 at the Los Colinas Country Club, Irving, TX

 

Golfers: It Is Charity Golf Time

Do not miss out on the 8^th Annual Screen Door Open Charity Pro-AM Golf Tournament.  June 5^th, Las Colinas Country Club, Irving Texas.

Registration has begun.

Why play in this tournament?  Well, it is Not Just Another Charity Golf Tournament. 

Why?

• The format is a SHAMBLE, not the hit and giggle scramble.
• The Scoring will be a Modified Stapleforth, and scanned in electronically so it appears on the electronic scoreboard.  So the sandbagging is gone.
• Your get a member of the Northern Texas PGA to play on your team.  So, you got a coach
• There will ONLY be 28 teams playing.  So there will not be one of those 7 hour golf fiascos.
• And the SDO is one of only two events that the junior golfers are present.  The boys and girls from the junior golf programs supported by the SDO Pro-Am will be placed around the course and will be the amateurs 5^th player on those holes.

And, if all of this is not enough, there is the annual SDO Silent Auction that is held immediately after play ends, with cocktails and Hourdeurves.

OK, that still doesn’t do it.  Well, then there is the FOOD.  Yes, real food.  No rubber chicken or B-B-Q buffets.  We are talking an awards program banquet suited to an officially sanctioned PGA event.

Come on. Sign up your team up today.

For registration go to

www.screendooropen.org or call 214 549-0306.  Sponsorship packages are also available.

 

 

Scot Duke

Chairman of the Board of Directors

Screen Door Open Charity Golf, Inc.

A 501c3 tax-exempt non-profit organization

14232 Marsh Lane #486

Addison, TX 75001

scot.duke@screendooropen.org

www.screendooropen.org

Blog Site: http://screendooropenproam.blogspot.com

214 549-0306

Proudly presenting the 8th Annual Screen Door Open Charity Pro-AM Golf Tournament on June 5, 2006 at the Los Colinas Country Club, Irving, TX

 

 

Charity Golf Tournaments & Business Networking: Sign-up for Only Good Ones.

I spend a lot of time talking to people, who are in business or in general, on the benefits of golf as a business tool. Seems others are talking lot about it, but are not clearly explaining HOW to use Golf as a Business Networking Tool.

It is simple, you can either just make a tee time at your favor golf course and take a shot at getting hooked up with another golfer who is in business, or…

Find a Charity Golf Tournament to get involved with…

Most of the time the Charity Golf Tournament route is more productive.

But, you still need to know how to play Business Golf. This does not mean you have to play golf, just know how to play Business Golf. There is a difference.

Golf is the best way to network what you do. And where else do business golfers go to play business golf, to Charity Golf Tournaments. There is no other event where you are going to get an audience with someone for four hours or longer?

But before you get the newspaper out or crank-up the search engine to find a Charity Golf Tournament you need to keep in mind that you want to get involved with a GOOD charity golf tournament.

There is nothing worst than volunteering to help a charity golf tournament, invite all of your business associates to come and play and the event sucks. 7 hour rounds of golf, bad food and no sign of the charity the funds are raised for are all killers to people who play business golf.

Even if you are out for the social aspects of the golf event, if it sucks, the negative impression will run off on you.

So, find a good charity golf tournament.

How can you tell if it is good? Ask the tournament director how many players or teams they are going to put on the course. If they say 36 or more teams (or 144 players) in the morning and another 30 teams in the evening, high tail it as fast as you can. These events are the coffin nails for businesses and for volunteers.

Why? Most courses cannot not take that many players safely and since there are at least two teams on each hole, which means each team is going to have to wait for the group in front of them after every shot… the killer of golf tournaments.

Pick one that has 28 teams (112 golfers) or less. They are easier to manage, the players are much, much happier since they get to enjoy the day.

Also ask what they are going to serve for food. If they are getting the food donated from Joe’s B-B-Que, get away quick. Most golfers who take time away from the office and spend an inflated entry fee expect more than mid to lower levels of food.

If the event is serving a buffet inside the clubhouse where everyone gets to sit at a nice decorated table with silverware, the mood is happier and the reflection on you inviting them to the event is positive. Make that sales call a little easier when you call them after the event.

Ask if the charity the funds are raised for is going to be at the event. Usually, business people like to schmooze with the charity people to show their community involvement. If the charity is not going to be there other than to get the check, expect the awards program to suck. Again, another bad reflection on you by the people you invited to play.

If the Charity Golf Tournament has a silent auction, here is where you want to be. Usually the Silent Auction is the staging area for the golfers to have drinks and cool down after the round. The BUSINESS NETWORKING is heavy here. IF the golf tournament has a silent auction, get involved with that group.

So, yes, Golf is a great way to network your business, even if you are not a golfer..

Here is one of the best charity golf tournaments in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Screen Door Open Charity Pro-AM Golf Tournament

June 5, 2006

Las Colinas Country Club

Irving, Texas

An officially PGA sanctioned Pro-AM. Raises funds for junior golf programs.

For more information go to http://www.screendooropen.org/

Scot Duke

Chairman of the Board of Directors

Screen Door Open Charity Golf, Inc.

A 501c3 tax-exempt non-profit organization

14232 Marsh Lane #486

Addison, TX 75001

scot.duke@screendooropen.org

http://www.screendooropen.org/

Blog Site: http://screendooropenproam.blogspot.com/

214 549-0306

Proudly presenting the 8th Annual Screen Door Open Charity Pro-AM Golf Tournament on June 5, 2006 at the Los Colinas Country Club, Irving, TX