Golf Goodie Bags

What should you put in your golf tournament goodie bags? That is a question every tournament director must answer (You might not call it a Goodie Bag). This question will be answered differently with each tournament but how about if we break golf tournaments down into 2 categories: Yearly Golf Tournaments, One Time (I’ll never do this again) Golf Tournaments.

It is proper protocol for everyone in the tournament to walk away with a goodie bag. If this is your first and last tournament go cheap. Ask businesses for promotional items with their logos on them. We have all gotten them. Tees, ball markers, etc. You want to take anything you can to “fill” the goodie bag. Next go by different food suppliers in your town, ask them for small items they can use for a write off. (You will not be the first to do this so relax and ask,,,the worse thing they can say is no.) Go cheap and get this thing over.

But, if you are going to hold an annual golf tournament you must not go cheap on the goodie bag gifts. In fact, we would encourage you to see these gifts as “seeds” you plant for next year’s golf tournament. With that in mind, the better the seed you plant this year, the better the harvest will be next year. You can use the same advice we gave the one-time tournament director for “filling your bag but you need one gift in your bag that will get the golfers talking about you and your tournament.

Word of mouth is huge and what better people to have there “promoting your tournament” than the golfers that actually played in your tournament? We believe you need to set a percentage of your net proceeds per player. How do you figure net proceeds per player (Simple example below)

Example: You are charging each player $100.00 to play. The golf course is charging you $35.00 per player for green fees, cart and lunch. That leaves you 65.00 net profit from each player. This $65.00 is what you need to work with while deciding on your gift bag. Go too cheap and they will throw it in their trunk and find it next year when they clean their car out.

We believe the “newer” your tournament, the more you need to spend. I know you think we are crazy but hear us out. Assuming you are going to do this for 10 more years, you need to envision what you want year ten to look like. You need to create a “buzz” in the early years (1-4) to get the excitement going. Think corporate sponsors, they don’t give thousands of dollars to “start-ups”. If you want your tournament to go big…you must think big.

We have much more to say about this topic but you are tired of reading (really I’m tired of writing)  We will finish this thought next time…

We have a “Goodie Bag” section at “golf tournament gifts” check it out.

Until next time remember, if someone yells, “DUCK!!!”…don’t look up.