I was considering hosting a charity golf event this fall.  I was wondering what people appreciate in a golf tournament? What draws you to charity golf events?  Your inputs are appreciated.

Just make it a good fun day. Some good prizes for long drives and closest to the hole. I played in one this summer that had a really nice putting contest prior to the start. Everyone got to take one shot at about a forty footer. The 10 closest putts, including a few that made it made it to the second round which was about a 20 footer. The closest five made it to the final round and the final putt was a nice 20 footer with about a 3 foot break to it. The closest putt won the prize which was a BOSE iPod docking station........I finished 2nd!

Good Facility, Good Meal, Good Fun, Good Atmosphere = Good Tournament

I wish you luck with the palnning of your event.

Straightest drive is a good alternative or addition to Longest. Gives your short hitters something to go for. Put a chalk line down the middle of a suitable fairway and nearest the line wins the prize. Good luck.

Naked caddies.

John Daley playing in his bare feet.

A self-congratulatory dinner afterwards where various characters can console themselves that getting fat and drunk "for charity" makes them worthy people.

Nearest the pin on the 8th...

I played in charity tournament last summer that was actually a handicapped, best ball tournament (2 best scores each hole) instead of a scramble format. I found this much more enjoyable than a 4 man scramble as I got to play my own ball. It also made play faster and leveled out the field a little more.

Agree.

We actually fill two courses....one is a scramble & the other is a best ball format. Much higher demand for "playing your own ball" formats with us.

Please make sure you do "half handicaps" to cut down on the number of cheaters out there....

Also, at the last tournament I played in, they had the following game:

*Make a 5 foot putt (relatively straight)
*Make a 10 foot pitch (into a stationary basket)
*Hit a 160 yard shot on the range inside of a circle the size of a green
*Hit a drive into the lines (they put these two lines that were about 5-7 feet apart down the middle of the range starting about 200 out and your ball had to stay between the lines)

If you were able to accomplish all of those things, you won a free outfit from the pro shop (shirt, shorts/pants, socks, shoes, belt)

Also at the end, they took the winning team back out on the course to the first hole (everyone else grabbed a beer and drove along and heckled them). They played their own balls on the hole and the lowest score on the hole (settled by a chip off in the event of a tie) won. That person got the chance to hit a shot on the following par 3 to try and make a hole-in-one (it was about a 125 yard par 3)...the shot was to win a million dollars (insured). The only hitch, if he made it, he got $500,000, the charity got $250k and the other $250k was split between everyone else in the tournament.

It made for a HUGE turn out for the tournament and everyone hung around to the very end. It was awesome....everyone was giving him advice about how far the hole was, where to hit it, etc....he stuck it to 3 feet and everyone let a collective groan and gave him high fives and everyone was buying him beers back at the club. It was a lot of fun.

+1

Our teams have been the victim of sandbaggers over and over again. How can you possibly shoot a 50 in team format over 18 holes is beyond me. I could have chewed nails!

I think you need to find a good track that people will want to play, maybe an exclusive private course. Especially in this economy, every club needs the business, so it might not be that hard to procure.

Hole-in-1 programs are usually a good draw; fairly low premium, but huge potential payouts. Games on some holes: closest to pin, long drive, straightest drive, beat the pro, etc.

The sandbagging effect is unavoidable. Maybe use a Callaway system.

I like the 2 man scrambles, that way the 2 teams in the foursome can monitor each other's scores and there is no cheating.

I agree with this first point. I think people would turn out to play an exclusive course for a charity event they couldn't otherwise play so easily. Asking people to pay above the regular green fee for a public track isn't going to generate as much interest.