All for a good cause

Behind the scenes of hosting charity event

Staging a golf event is a good way to raise money for a charity. People have a good time, and a worthy cause benefits. But was does a charity golf event mean to a host facility and the golf course superintendent? What’s involved?

Mission, Kan.-based Great Golf Events organizes and facilitates golf events throughout the world. Roger Caldwell, president and founder of Great Golf Events, says the host facility is in charge of approving the event and golfers.
“I don’t know about their clients, they do,” he says.

Caldwell’s business is a mix of different types of events: 25 percent is charity only, 25 percent is a mix of corporate and charity, 25 percent is corporate only, and 25 percent is conference and trade shows.

Charity golf tournaments are more involved than corporate golf events, partly because of the money transfer that occurs at charity events, Caldwell says. There are different sponsorships and forms of payment – cash, credit card and check.

“You usually are giving away more valuable items at a charity event, and you have money transfer on site,” he says. “There are usually more signs, banners and volunteers at a charity golf event compared to a corporate event, so a charity event causes more wear and tear on the course.”

One course that hosts many (40 to 45) charity events during a year is the private, 18-hole Sanctuary Golf Course in Sedallia, Colo. It’s owned by David Liniger, founder of Re/Max, the well-known real estate company, and his wife.

“This is their course,” says golf course superintendent Dave Hare. “You only play here by invitation. They utilize this golf course to give back to the community. I would say we have more charity events than normal – four outside events a week.”

During the year, there are 23 tournaments held by outside charity organizations, three military days, 10 to 12 events associated with Re/Max, and three to five general business events, says Hare, who’s been at Sanctuary 11 years. The events are local, regional and national.

“We’re unique in that we donate the money generated by each event to the charity the event raised money for,” Hare says. “In 2005, the course generated $4.5 million that was donated to charities. The course has generated $23 million in eight years through hosting events.”

The biggest events Great Golf Events organizes involve 350 people. There are many changes involved with golf events, even up to and including the day of the event.
“For a 40-player corporate event, a course thinks nothing of it,” Caldwell says.

At the Sanctuary Golf Course, the maximum number of players for any event is 128 instead of the usual 144 because the owners want golfers to have a pleasant experience. Hare says it takes about 5.5 hours to finish a round.

Caldwell says charity participants pay anywhere from $100 to $150 at a nice public course and about $550 plus food and beverage at a private club. Clubs usually generate $65,000 to $100,000 per outing, he says.

“Some private clubs nickel-and-dime you and charge for every little thing, sending a message that they really don’t want to host events like these,” Caldwell says.

At the Sanctuary Golf Course, which at its highest point is 6,500 feet above sea level, people pay $500 to $1,000 to play in charity event, Hare says. For the larger events, people pay $2,000 to $3,000.

“Each charity can sell it how they like,” he says.

Private facilities usually have events on Mondays because courses are usually closed that day. Hare says the Sanctuary course is closed one day during the week, which is usually Tuesday, but it doesn’t always work that way.

Setting it up
The general manager or director of golf is Caldwell’s main contact at a facility. He says 50 percent of the time the golf course is already secured for the event and the rest of the time he has to secure it.

“I usually call the salesperson at the facility to book the event at the course, then I work with the tournament director,” he says. “With a private club, I talk to the g.m. That relationship is key. If it’s the first time having an event at a private club, I usually need a member to sign off, but after that, I usually don’t need a member sign-off because they know how we run an event.”

In terms of impact on superintendents, the two items Caldwell is concerned with are the tee locations and pin placements.

“We’ll talk to the tournament director, and the director will talk to the superintendent,” he says. “I usually don’t talk directly to the superintendent.”

Caldwell arrives at a golf course the day before an event to tell the tournament director where to put pin placements. Sometimes superintendents follow a routine and have to change the pin placements for the event. Certain pin placements are needed during a charity event. For example, when Caldwell entertains people on a par 3, he’ll hit balls on the green all day.

“The hole-in-one shot is insured, so why not try to have a winner,” he says. “The only downside for the superintendent seems to be that the players tear up the course because there are often bad golfers that play in charity events. As a general rule, if there are 144 people, 40 are bad golfers.”

Hare says 50 to 60 percent of people at an event are first-time players and maybe 30 percent are repeat players.

Caldwell says most players in an event at a private club aren’t using the members tees. They’ll move up 20 yard so they won’t tear up the members tee boxes. Members at a private club generally will speak up if there’s damage to the course or there’s something they don’t like that’s happened as a result of the event.

Because the only players at the Sanctuary are invited, Hare doesn’t have to worry about members complaining about charity-event players tearing up the course.

During a charity event, there can be a lot of traffic – carts and volunteers who don’t know golf etiquette running around on the golf course – so a superintendent needs to tell the g.m. about the results of the golf course after a tournament.

At the Sanctuary, the crew – 35 seasonal and 10 full-timers – start work at 5:30 a.m. to prepare the 223-acre course for events, which are usually 11:30 a.m. shotgun starts. After an event, the maintenance crew is back on the course at 5:00 p.m. and works until dark.

“My assistants each have an evening shift, and I have evenings sometimes,” Hare says.

During the off day, the Sanctuary crew applies fertilizers and pesticides and topdresses. It performs cultural practices it can’t do during days when events are scheduled.

“We try to avoid getting in the way of golfers,” Hare says. GCN