| COURES
OF ACTION - PART 1
THE BUSINESS
OF CHARITY GOLF
By Eric Tracy (aka The Mulligan Man)
erictracy@earthlink.net
Published in LA/OC/SD GOLF Magazine - December 2002
Editor’s note: On these pages nine months of the
year we promote charity golf tournaments with our Charity
Tournament Listings page. During the colder winter months,
charity tournament activity on the golf courses slows
down while tournament committees activity speeds up preparing
for next year’s event. So it’s during these months we
turn to Eric Tracy for advice regarding how to run a better
charity golf tournament. Tracy (aka The Mulligan Man)
has been involved as an organizer, Master of Ceremonies,
player or consultant in more than 400 tournaments in a
20-year career.
This month we begin a 2-part series to help you choose
a golf course for your event. Public courses are on the
tee this month; next month we’ll feature the private courses.
Following this article is a directory of the golf
courses we find the best and most popular in hosting charity
golf events. Visit our website at www.golfinla.com for
more details about each golf course’s tournament services.
 If
you’re hosting a charity golf tournament, let’s face it;
the golf course is your crown jewel. It’s also your biggest
expense. A good golf course and the service their tournament
staff provides your event is a huge factor in your tournament’s
success. Doesn’t it make sense to make this important
decision wisely?
We are blessed in Southern California to have some of
the finest golf courses in the world acting as hosts for
fundraising events. These beautiful facilities range from
inexpensive municipal tracks to high-end daily fee golf
clubs. Whether you’re looking for a golf course on a mountaintop,
overlooking the ocean, or in the desert, we’ve got them
all and in price ranges to fit every budget.
The article and the directory that follows are designed
as information to help you negotiate a fair deal and introduce
you to golf courses I find the best and most experienced
in hosting charity tournaments.
There are many factors that determine the price you pay
for a golf course and the tournament services you receive.
Understanding the factors the golf course is considering
in quoting you a price will help you get the most bang
for your buck and just the right level of service for
your group. So here are a few things to think about in
negotiating your deal.
TIME OF YEAR: You’ll have less room to negotiate a lower
price in the most popular months for charity tournaments:
April/May/June and September/October. You’ll find better
rates in July/August, especially with the inland-based
courses, because the weather can be hot. Consider a July/August
event with an early morning shotgun start and a nice luncheon
(instead of dinner) following golf. You beat the heat
and the high prices.
 TIME
OF DAY: All charity tournaments would all love a 10:30am
shotgun start and the golf course to themselves all day.
You can have it that way, but you’ll pay a premium for
the privilege. Here’s the math: Even though most charity
golf tournaments think they are going to sell out, few
usually do. Most charity tournaments have 90-110 golfers.
So even with extra food and beverage income, it can be
better business for a busy golf course to have the typical
160-180 daily fee golfers than to host a tournament. There
are more paying golfers and it takes much less staff to
manage. So here’s my advice -- consider an early start
(9:00am) or in the summer months a later start (1:00pm)
and let the golf course sell 40-60 daily fee rounds in
front of your tournament or behind it.
Remember, the course has a daily financial nut to crack.
Either your tournament pays that whole nut--and when you
want golf course exclusivity that’s what you do—or you
can let the golf course make money on other golfer’s which
can effectively reduce your costs.
DAY OF THE WEEK: Charity golf tournaments are traditionally
on Mondays because most tournaments used to be held on
private country club courses only available on Mondays.
High end/daily fee golf courses with service that equals
or in many cases exceeds their “members-only” counterparts
have changed all that. Today any day of the week for your
tournament can and will work. Mondays are still the first
days that are booked, but you’ll get lower prices on a
Tuesday or Wednesday. Some advice about Fridays: Fridays
are the best day to get golfers to take a day off from
work, but they are the worst days to get them to stick
around for an awards dinner banquet. Here’s the trick.
Have a Friday morning tournament with a luncheon (rather
than dinner). Your golfers get to play hooky from work
and still be home with his family by dinnertime. Some
golf courses begin their higher weekend rates on Friday,
but again, you’ll get a price break if you don’t lock
up their whole day. I do not recommend weekend tournaments
if you’re price sensitive -- you have much less leverage
in negotiating with the golf course on their busiest days.
REMEMBER, IT’S BUSINESS NOT CHARITY: Let’s clear up a
big misconception. Many tournaments think that the golf
course, like their other “sponsors,” should provide the
course free of charge. Forgetaboutit! While almost every
course in our directory participates as a contributing
sponsor or even picks up the tab for one or maybe two
events annually, the golf courses in this report host
25-80 charity tournaments a year. How much can they give
away? Tournament rounds can represent 20-35% of a golf
course’s total revenue, so to the golf courses, tournaments
are business, not charity.
 ATTITUDE:
Your personal relationship with the golf course and key
golf course personnel can be very important in determining
whether a discretionary price break or extraordinary service
will be offered to your tournament. Don’t go into negotiations
with the attitude that the golf course is the adversary.
Understanding the pressures facing the person you’re negotiating
with and having a pleasant attitude will put you in the
best position to strike a good deal. So be nice!
A FAIR DEAL: I can’t emphasize enough the importance
of striking a deal that’s good for you and the golf course.
If you squeeze the last nickel out of the price, the service
provided to your golfers will suffer noticeably. You want
your golfers to have such a great time that they come
back again next year, so be reasonable. Win-win is always
better for your tournament than win-lose, no matter who
the loser might be.
DO YOUR HOMEWORK: In interviewing golf course personnel
for this article, the phrase I heard most often regarding
the services provided and pricing was “it’s negotiable.”
Your final number of paid golfers, the day of the week
you play, the time of your tournament, the month you choose
and the amount of food and beverage will all come in to
play. So do your homework. All the golf courses featured
here are very experienced and good at what they do, but
they’re all different. Understanding what’s available
and the needs of the people on both sides of the bargaining
table will serve you, your golfers and your charity very
well.
Eric Tracy is a sportscaster on KFWB NEWS 980. To find
out more about The Mulligan Man visit www.TheMulliganMan.com
or send email to Eric@TheMulliganMan.com
|
