Partner Snapshot

When Dino Verelli’s father, Giovanni, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2008, he found very little in terms of support or resources for pancreatic cancer families. Dino decided to take action to rewrite the story of this formidable disease. He launched Project Purple in 2010, fueled by a commitment to his father and the countless other patients and families affected by pancreatic cancer. Sadly, Giovanni passed away in 2011, but his memory is honored through Project Purple’s work to raise awareness, drive crucial research into early detection, and provide aid to patients and families battling pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer has just a 13% five-year survival rate. Its symptoms often don’t present until the disease has advanced and spread to other organs, making early detection—when the chances of successful treatment are the greatest—even more of a challenge. Vin Kampf, Program Director at Project Purple, lost an uncle to pancreatic cancer within just six months of diagnosis, inspiring him to join the Project Purple team.

“One of the most important things we do is build community,” Vin says. “It trickles down into our other areas of focus.”

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“Fostering a community of support helps patients connect with others who are in the same fight. It’s been life-changing!”

— Vin Kampf, Program Director at Project Purple

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The Challenge

Vin oversees the marathon program at Project Purple, which raises funds through individual runners in marathons and races across the world. The program has helped build the community that’s become so important to the organization, joining together with the pancreatic cancer patients, their families, and the institutions conducting crucial research into a cure.

Vin also loves golf. He’s played in a number of golf fundraisers and helps with a tournament organized by an aunt in memory of his uncle. He saw the fundraising potential and reach of such an event, and wanted to bring that to Project Purple. “Who doesn’t love being outside, being together with others working toward a common purpose, and connecting with them on new levels?” he says. He started to think about how a golf tournament might work for Project Purple—and then the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

“All marathons were canceled, but we were able to move forward with a golf fundraiser,” Vin says. “It was the one fundraising event we could do safely.” They threw the first tournament together in just a few months for a fall event, then had a quick turnaround when they opted to move the tournament to June. He used the organization’s CRM and multiple spreadsheets for the first two tournaments and ran into roadblocks. “It felt clunky and inefficient, and the registration site didn’t look good or work very well,” he says, and began looking for a better way to plan and manage the tournament that was structured to handle golf.

Organizers wanted to make its annual charity golf tournament a marquee fundraising event for Project Purple.

The Solution

In the middle of planning for year two of the tournament, Vin started researching software options and came across GolfStatus.“We really wanted the golf tournament to become a marquee event for us, and we needed a solution that reflected that,” Vin says. He downloaded a handful of tournament planning resources from the online resource library and connected with the GolfStatus team. 

Once he learned more about the software’s capabilities, the premium sponsorship and add-on options, and the top-notch customer service, Vin realized GolfStatus was what was missing from the golf tournament. 

An event website made it simple for golfers and sponsors to purchase teams and sponsorships.

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“We really wanted the golf tournament to become a marquee event for us, and we needed a solution that reflected that.”

— Vin Kampf, Program Director at Project Purple

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The Results

The tournament has grown every year since it began, and Vin credits GolfStatus with helping reduce costs and opening doors to additional revenue streams. The 4th annual tournament brought in $130,000, which will fund patient financial assistance programs and research grants for early detection.

Boosting Revenue With GolfStatus Exclusives

Vin and his planning team are constantly looking for ways to boost revenue from the tournament, and GolfStatus provided a menu of options that elevated the tournament. GolfStatus’ Technology Sponsorship was folded into the tournament’s Title Sponsorship, providing additional value and touchpoints across the platform. The tournament also sold a Pin Flag Sponsorship that provided high-quality, TOUR-caliber pin flags on all 18 holes. “The flag sponsor was ecstatic!” Vin says. “He was over the moon about how great the flags looked and the exposure they got.”

What’s more, GolfStatus’ Bundled Hole-in-One contest package added two more premium sponsorships. “The Dormie Network prizes alongside the cash prizes made a ton of sense for our tournament,” Vin says. “We split the contest to two holes to capitalize on another sponsorship.”

Project Purple’s golf event raises funds for patient assistance and early detection research.

Increased Efficiency & Streamlined Tournament Management

Vin says the first year of the tournament felt like “organized haphazardness.” Between trying to get their CRM to function effectively for the golf tournament to creating processes that maximized the small planning committee’s time, Vin says they learned a lot, but knew planning and management could be improved from top to bottom.

“GolfStatus immediately saved us time and kept us organized,” he says, and laughs that “the spreadsheets could finally go away!” They simply share the link to the golf tournament website in all promotional materials where golfers purchase their team and any add-ons. Sponsors can browse available packages and submit their logos and messaging right through the event website, saving a ton of back and forth. “No one had any issues, it was super easy to get golfers and sponsors registered.” All golfer, sponsor, and payment information is accessible in the software’s back end, which Vin says was easy to navigate. And if he did have questions or needed guidance, GolfStatus’ in-house client success team was available whenever Vin needed them.

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“GolfStatus was transformative for our golf tournament. Everything is so streamlined and seamless.”

— Vin Kampf, Program Director at Project Purple

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Project Purple unlocked GolfStatus’ invoicing feature to work with some of the tournament’s sponsors, and says that was a huge time-saver for Vin. “I could send invoices right through the software, which freed up a ton of time for me to work on getting sponsors.”

The pre-formatted printouts saved even more time. Vin says a few days before the event, he was able to find the documents he needed—alpha lists, hole assignments, rules sheets, and scorecards—and just click print. “It was all ready to go!” Vin says.

The Hall of Fame ceremony has become a special part of the golf tournament. It recognizes people who have battled pancreatic cancer and had an impact on the Project Purple community.

Creating Cause Connecting Through the Project Purple Hall of Fame

Perhaps the most impactful part of the tournament is the addition of a hall of fame induction ceremony to the post-round dinner. It’s become a special moment of honor and recognition for individuals who have battled pancreatic cancer and had a deep impact on the Project Purple community. Inductees or their families receive a purple jacket and their picture hangs in the organization’s offices as a reminder of their fight against the disease.

“The hall of fame ceremony is such a meaningful part of the tournament,” Vin says. “People hear from those who have fought pancreatic cancer or family members of someone who passed away from it. It helps everyone understand the importance of what we’re doing.”

Building Momentum

Vin hopes to use the lessons learned from the Golf Classic for Pancreatic Cancer to build momentum and empower supporters to plan golf tournaments that raise money for Project Purple. “GolfStatus has helped us build the template for that—we just have to plug and play,” Vin says.

They’ve built a strong relationship with the host golf course, Shorehaven Golf Club in Norwalk, Connecticut, and are looking to broaden their volunteer and sponsor bases. “We have a great story to tell and more to offer sponsoring businesses,” Vin says of the digital exposure provided by GolfStatus, coupled with other ad space and exposure opportunities on the organization’s website. 

Project Purple’s golf fundraiser has grown every year since it began, and organizers credit GolfStatus with helping reduce costs and opening doors to additional revenue streams.

As Project Purple continues to build momentum for a cure, they’re building momentum for the 15th anniversary of the organization and the 5th annual golf tournament. Vin says he has big plans to mark the occasion—and big goals. He says he hopes to raise $200,000 in year five, bringing in more dollars to help patients cover bills and expenses so they can focus on fighting their cancer and fund early detection research that boosts survival rates. 

Vin is already planning for next year and looking for ways to elevate the experience for golfers while also raising more money. He knows $200,000 is a lofty goal, but is confident they can get there. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s been so rewarding at the end of the day. When everything comes together, and I’m driving around the course and seeing so many smiles, it’s all worth it.”

Golf for Good

As a nonprofit, Project Purple qualified to use GolfStatus’ golf event management software at no upfront cost through the Golf for Good program. Nonprofits can get an event website, client-only add-ons and sponsorships, access to Fundraising Specialists, time-saving tools, and much more. Click below to book a meeting with our team to learn more and get qualified!

The goal of the golf tournament was not only to raise money for a scholarship program, but to build strong connections among the chapter’s alumni.

Partner Snapshot

The Collin County Chapter of the Texas Tech Alumni Association had been defunct for several years when a group of local alums decided to resurrect it. As the chapter began to get back on its feet, the primary goal was to engage alumni and raise funds for a scholarship program. 

Collin County is located in North Dallas, Texas, with a large population base of Texas Tech alumni. The newly active chapter started out by hosting watch parties for Red Raider athletic events, but wanted to do more to build connections and replenish their coffers.

Though Sam Clark wasn’t a member of the initial board, he quickly volunteered to head up a golf tournament that would help the group reach its goals of alumni engagement and fundraising. “It was basically a done deal that we were going to have a golf tournament,” Sam says. “Everyone on the board plays golf or is a member at a country club, and everyone knew it was a great way to raise money.”

The Challenge

Right off the bat, Sam had questions. Though he had played in charity golf tournaments, he’d never planned one from ideation to fruition. “I wondered how we should handle registrations, payments, leaderboards, pin flags, and so many other details,” he says. Much of the initial planning phase was spent determining the overall approach to the golf tournament: target audience, the type of golf facility (public or private), price points (high-end or mid-level), and a budget. 

Next up? Determining processes and tournament operations. Sam knew they’d need a website of some type to collect registrations and handle payments, which he knew could end up being a hassle if they tried to build something from scratch or went with the wrong event management platform. What’s more, Sam wanted a one-stop shop for quality tournament add-ons so there were fewer vendors and moving parts to manage.

The Solution

Another member of the chapter’s board, Russell Hall, had run several tournaments through GolfStatus, and told Sam it was just what he needed. Once the major decisions were made about the host golf facility and team pricing, Sam connected with the GolfStatus team to get an event website up and running. 

“Since we were starting a tournament from scratch, I wanted one place to manage everything,” Sam says. “GolfStatus got us up and running quickly. It would have been a major headache to have to spend hours and hours trying to get a site built and payment processing set up.” Sam worked with the GolfStatus team to build the event website, share access to the software with members of the planning committee, and set up everything in the platform’s back end.

Tournament organizers worked with GolfStatus to get an event site up and running quickly, so they could start promoting the event and taking registrations right away.

The Results

“I honestly don’t know how we would have done it without GolfStatus,” Sam explains. “It would have quadrupled—or more—the work and time that went into the tournament.” The event pulled in 32 teams and primarily targeted local Texas Tech alumni. The nature of the tournament was centered around the Red Raiders in terms of giveaways and messaging, but no one was excluded. “A couple folks showed up that supported rival schools and had to deal with some friendly ribbing from the alums,” Sam laughs.

“For year one, we felt good about how we did,” Sam says about the tournament’s fundraising outcomes. He says they didn’t have a fundraising goal so much as they had a budget to balance with expenses and profit, plus learn from the first year to do it “bigger and better” in year two and beyond. The tournament’s revenue was split between a donation to the Texas Tech Athletic Department and the bulk going to reestablishing the chapter’s scholarship fund. Sam says that connecting alumni, with each other and the chapter, was just as important as the money that was raised.

To recruit sponsors, the planning team leveraged the networks of the chapter’s board and committee chairs and reached out to businesses in the area owned by alumni of Texas Tech. Those connections and relationships helped draw 22 sponsors to the tournament. GolfStatus’ exclusive Technology Sponsorship sold for $3,000 and provided robust sponsor exposure on the event website and leaderboards.

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“I honestly don’t know how we would have done it without GolfStatus. It would have quadrupled—or more—the work and time that went into the tournament.”

— Sam Clark, Golf Committee Chair, Texas Tech Alumni Association of Collin County

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Tournament Add-Ons

From the outset of planning, Sam knew the tournament needed quality add-ons that players expect when playing in a charity event, such as pin flags, hole-in-one contests, and high-end auction items. The fact that GolfStatus was able to provide all of this and more was huge for Sam and his team. “Having one place to get everything meant fewer things to manage,” Sam says. 

They purchased pin flags and hole-in-one insurance directly from GolfStatus, which handled all the details, plus unlocked the platform’s invoicing feature to simplify accounting for sponsors that requested invoices. The sale of the Technology Sponsorship and purchase of add-ons qualified the tournament for a Stay and Play package donation from the Dormie Network Foundation, which was leveraged as a high-end live auction item that brought in thousands of extra dollars. An accompanying silent auction also featured signed memorabilia from the Texas Tech Athletic Department and items donated by local businesses.

The chapter used its relationship with the main Texas Tech Alumni Association to involve some big names in the Athletic Department in the tournament. Head men’s basketball coach Grant McCasland, head football coach Joey McGuire, and the Red Raider mascot were in attendance, which attracted both golfers and sponsors to the tournament and added value and legitimacy to the overall event experience. 

“Incredible” Support

Sam says the support he got from the GolfStatus client success team was second to none, responding to questions and addressing any challenges right away. GolfStatus has PGA Professionals on staff, who provide a unique perspective and know the ins and outs of golf tournaments. Sam says he’s worked in customer service as an account representative before, and he says the service provided by GolfStatus “put me to shame! They were so knowledgeable and responsive.” Sam worked closely with Paul Murcek, PGA on the client success team. Paul helped build the event website and provide guidance on hole-in-one packages, and provided “incredible support, which is huge when throwing a big event like a golf tournament.”

The tournament achieved its goals of raising funds for the chapter and connecting with alumni.

Lessons Learned

As a first-time tournament organizer, Sam says that early on, he worried that he was behind the eight ball with planning, when in reality, many of the details come into place closer to the event date. “I wish I knew that from the get go,” he says. “In reality, getting the golf course booked and the website live are the first major things to check off the list. After that, we had to just wait to finalize a lot of the details.”

He says having a committed group of at least four volunteers was key. “Don’t try to do it by yourself!” Sam says, and make sure those folks are going to be in it for the long haul to make the tournament a success. 

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“I’ve worked in customer service before, and GolfStatus put me to shame! They were so knowledgeable and responsive.”

— Sam Clark, Golf Committee Chair, Texas Tech Alumni Association of Collin County

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The biggest lesson learned Sam says he’d share with other first timers? “Things are going to happen the day of the tournament, but more than likely, golfers and sponsors aren’t even going to notice and it’s not going to ruin the day.” Having a good support staff—including the GolfStatus support team—in place is key, Sam says, to ensure any issues that arise can be handled in a timely fashion and not interrupt the flow of the event. “When you’re bringing 150 people out for the day who are looking to you, it’s nice to know you have people in your corner so it’s not all on you to figure out.”

Building for Future Success

The chapter is excited for year two of the event, especially with the experience they gained with the inaugural tournament. They hope to expand the event to both courses at the host golf facility, Gleneagles Country Club, part of Invited Clubs, and fold in additional contests. “We’ll debate a lot of things about next year’s event, but it won’t be a debate at all over whether or not we’ll use GolfStatus. We’ll be back!” Sam says. 

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Get qualified for golf for good

Texas Tech Alumni Association of Collin County was able to utilize GolfStatus’ golf event management platform at no upfront cost through the Golf for Good program. You can get a free event website with online registration, access to exclusive sponsorships and add-ons, tournament planning guidance, and more at no risk. Click below to book a meeting with GolfStatus and get qualified!

The Klein High School Golf Booster Club helps fill the funding gaps between what the school provides and what the student athletes need to be successful.

Partner Snapshot

Golf may not be the biggest thing in football-focused Klein, Texas, but the boys and girls golf teams are talented, passionate, and growing. “The kids get so much out of being on the golf teams,” says Andrea Vickers, president of the Klein High School Golf Booster Club’s board. Klein High School provides some funding for the teams, but unfortunately, doesn’t have the budget to fully subsidize all the teams’ expenses and needs.

That’s where the Golf Booster Club comes in. The club wants to make sure any student who wants to play golf for the BearKats has the opportunity to do so and has the tools and equipment needed to be successful. The combined team of nearly 30 student athletes is becoming more competitive in local and regional tournaments and getting more kids excited about golf.

The Challenge

Filling the funding gap between what the school provides and what the student athletes need requires significant dollars. “Golf teams can’t just go play in the school gym or football field,” Andrea says. “We have to go to area golf courses and that gets expensive.” Other team expenses include entry and travel costs for tournaments, plus greens fees for practice rounds, uniforms, and balls for each golfer. 

Three years ago, the booster club decided to launch a golf tournament as the best option to raise as much money as possible. The first tournament was successful in terms of dollars raised, but the time and administrative burden on Andrea, her husband, and the rest of the planning team was significant. “We’re all busy parents who work full-time and shuttle kids to and from activities, so we really needed to get away from manual, time-consuming processes,” Andrea says. They used an online platform to manage registrations, but one that required much more time and attention than the team had to give. “It was loosely organized chaos!” Andrea says.

The Solution

After receiving emails about GolfStatus, Andrea connected with Account Manager Ken Boatman close to the inaugural event. “We were already in too deep with another platform to make the switch at that point, but loved what GolfStatus had to offer,” she says. GolfStatus’ no upfront cost through the Golf for Good program was especially appealing, along with an in-house support team, one-of-a-kind sponsorships, and time-saving automations. Soon after that year’s tournament, Andrea and her team saw a full demo and were excited about making the switch to GolfStatus’ tournament management software for the tournament’s second year in 2023. Klein Golf Booster Club qualified for the Golf for Good program, which gave them full access to GolfStatus’ software at no upfront cost. 

The Booster Club launched a golf tournament to help raise funds to cover costs like travel fees, tournament entry, and equipment.

The Results

In 2023, the second annual BearKat Golf Classic raised just shy of $20,000, with a goal to surpass that in 2024. In the event’s first two years combined, enough money was raised to purchase a golf simulator for indoor practice, which, in a rain-prone area, was a necessity to help golfers compete with other larger schools.

Just as importantly, using GolfStatus has lessened the burden in prep and planning for Andrea and everyone involved. “GolfStatus made everything so much easier! The tournament was less of a hassle and less stressful,” Andrea says. The staff at the host golf facility, Windrose Golf Club in Spring, Texas, were just as pleased with the platform—they could log into GolfStatus and simply hit “print” for pre-formatted cart signs, scorecards, and alpha lists, saving hours of office work.

The digital exposure provided by GolfStatus was combined with on-site signage that boosted ROI for sponsors.

Improved Organization & Processes

“Getting everything in one place in GolfStatus has moved us from organized chaos to an organized tournament,” Andrea says. Instead of bouncing around between numerous platforms, importing and exporting data, everything is stored in GolfStatus’ backend, where Andrea can see teams and sponsors who have registered and paid through the site. With the previous platform, “we had to track who would register and manually go in and update the site if a sponsorship was sold,” she says. Sponsors who purchase packages via the golf tournament website submit logos and assets at registration, eliminating the back and forth, and their logo appears on the site instantly and starts earning impressions right away.

Andrea could communicate with registrants with just a few clicks within GolfStatus. “It was all right there, I could send reminders, thank you, a survey. It was nice and easy,” she says.

GolfStatus’ support team was available to help Andrea and the planning team if they ever had a question or issue. “They really took care of us and were so patient, walking us through everything,” Andrea says about her Client Success Rep, Matt Richardson, who helped guide them through setting up the event, making edits to the website, and starting the tournament’s round to enable live scoring.

Easy Promotion & Sponsor Onboarding

Promotional materials linked to the tournament’s website, where golfers and sponsors could commit with a few taps.

Andrea explains that every member of the golf team is required to volunteer at the tournament until their senior year, when they’re eligible to play on their own team in the event. The planning team created promotional flyers that included the link to the event website for team members and families to help market the event and share with local businesses and contacts to drum up teams and sponsors. 

“Mostly we used our personal networks to get sponsors and donations for the silent auction,” Andrea says, mentioning how they assigned folks to reach out to specific area businesses to make the pitch and manage the sponsorship. She says they wanted to make it easy for parents to assist in reaching out to folks, which is why the event website was a great tool for people to send prospects. Sponsors included dentists, orthodontists, consultants, law firms, car dealerships, realtors, fleet services, and more.

GolfStatus’ tech provided immediate ROI for sponsors. “The title sponsor loved getting their name and logo on the homepage of the site, plus the link to their website,” Andrea says. The accompanying logo exposure in the GolfStatus mobile scoring app was an added bonus. “Sponsors loved seeing their logo on the app throughout the tournament!”

Fun & Fundraising

The planning team was adamant about making the tournament fun. Drawing inspiration from traditional golf-centric movies, games were added to three holes to boost fun and fundraising. On the “Tin Cup” hole, golfers draw an index card with a specific club on it and have to play the entire hole with the corresponding club. For the “Caddyshack” hole, golfers play with a tiara and tutu, alluding to the famous quote, “What an incredible Cinderella story, this unknown comes outta nowhere to lead the pack at Augusta.” Golfers can also opt to pay to have a member of the golf team tee off for them on the BearKat hole. 

The BearKat Golf Classic also utilized GolfStatus’ reliable live scoring. Teams submitted and tracked their scores using the GolfStatus mobile app, which synced to live leaderboards where golfers could see current standings and even make a donation to the golf team. “Golfers loved having everything at their fingertips!” Andrea says. 

The tournament gave people the chance to get to know the student athletes the event is supporting.

Connecting With Student Athletes

One goal for the tournament is to help golfers connect with the members of the golf team. “We want people to know who and what it is that they’re supporting with this tournament,” Andrea says. Team members are stationed on every hole, where golfers have the chance to chat with them, hear about their seasons, and just talk golf. “It really does make a difference to everyone to create that opportunity to connect,” she says.

The 2024 iteration of the tournament will raise money to purchase new winter rain gear for the team, replacing the current decade-old versions. “Our school colors are blue and gold, and the current rain gear, which was bought secondhand, is black and white,” Andrea says. “We want the kids to look and feel professional and confident, and the dollars GolfStatus is helping us raise mean they can rock their school colors and feel good on the course.”

Planning a Golf Tournament?

Whether you have a tournament on the calendar or are just exploring the possibility of a golf event, GolfStatus can help! With easy-to-use technology, tournament planning resources, and an industry-leading support team, you’ll be set up for success. Click the button below to book a meeting with the GolfStatus team to learn how you can use the software at no upfront cost.

Partner Snapshot

Mahoney Golf Course in Lincoln, Nebraska is part of the city’s robust municipal golf program. Head Golf Pro Jonathan Benson (JB) has been with Mahoney for nearly 20 years, nine of them as Head Pro.

Mahoney was built in 1976, the third of the city’s five courses. The par 70 course boasts some of the most challenging par four holes in the city, and as JB says, “is more difficult than some golfers think!” Its large, fast greens make for great playing conditions and multitude of trees present a challenge for every golfer.

JB loves the city’s approach to running its golf program, allowing pros to work as independent contractors within specific parameters. He also has the freedom to hold course-hosted golf events to engage golfers and the Lincoln community at large, getting them to the course for a day of fun.

The challenge

When JB and his predecessor launched Mahoney’s first event, the Mahoney Masters, they did all the prep work manually, taking registration and credit card information over the phone or in-person when a golfer would stop in the pro shop (and hoping the information was written down correctly) and tracking it all on a big, single access spreadsheet. Leading up to and on event day, they would spend 15 or more hours creating scorecards and cart signs, not to mention the time spent flighting results and breaking ties by hand.

All this manual work came with major challenges that took up valuable staff time. What’s more, it was often difficult to collect payment upfront. “When our staff would expand over the summer to 15 part-timers that worked the pro shop, it was a big problem to make sure they took payments when someone registered,” JB says. “We dealt with a huge number of no-shows without prepayment, sometimes up to 20% of registered golfers,” he says. He needed a tool to scale the course’s events while saving his staff time and effort.

The solution

A part-time staffer at Mahoney, Frank Cuddy, was also interning at GolfStatus and mentioned how its tournament management software would be helpful for managing tournament signups. “My first reaction was, ‘you mean I don’t have to do this over the phone?’” JB laughs. GolfStatus was a perfect fit for JB and his team, with robust enough features to streamline event prep but simple enough any staff can jump in and find the tools and information they needed.

“I haven’t seen any part of GolfStatus that I don’t like,” JB says. “We can spend two hours prepping for an event instead of 15. The support we get from GolfStatus is great.”

— JB, Head Golf Pro at Mahoney Golf Course

the results

No More Manual Signups

The online registration feature is what first drew JB to GolfStatus. “We were spending so much time on the phone, so anything that can cut down on that is huge,” he says. Online registration changed all that. “Everything is online these days so it makes sense to do this online too,” JB explains. Golfers choose their team packages, skins, and mulligans and pay directly through the website, giving them an increased confidence that their information is handled securely, as opposed to having a staff member write down their credit card information. “Even if someone calls, we now send them to the website to register,” JB says.

JB says having their branding on the event website is an added bonus, and if they have any sponsors for the events, they get great exposure.

Mahoney Golf Course’s event website for the Mahoney Masters, held every April.

easy communication

JB uses GolfStatus’ messaging feature to promote each event to past participants and other avid golfers in the area, which has helped Mahoney’s events grow significantly. He’s also able to easily share updates, the day’s itinerary, and other reminders without having to hunt down golfer emails and pulling them into a different platform. “I love being able to communicate with teams leading up to the tournament,” JB says.

More Golfers, More Events

The Mahoney Masters is a two-person scramble held the Saturday of Master’s week. In its first few years, the event attracted 60 to 80 golfers. But once JB started leveraging GolfStatus, the tournament regularly fills with 160 players. “We didn’t fill events until we started partnering with GolfStatus,” JB says. “Being able to promote tournaments online and have golfers register online has been amazing for our golf course.”

“We didn’t fill events until we started partnering with GolfStatus,” JB says. “Being able to promote tournaments online and have golfers register online has been amazing for our golf course.”

— JB, Head Golf Pro at Mahoney Golf Course

The success of the Mahoney Masters led JB to add three additional course-hosted events powered by GolfStatus:

• Mahoney North Side Scramble, a one-day four-person scramble

• Mahoney Open, a two-person scramble the week of the U.S. Open

• Mahoney Fantasy Football Scramble, which plays on fantasy football points

This slate of tournaments is great from a business perspective. It gets golfers to the golf course with guaranteed rounds and cart rentals and boosts sales across the golf course: food and beverage, merchandise, and gift certificates.

Printouts, Flighting & Tiebreakers

Automating the time-consuming aspects of a golf event is a huge advantage of using an online event management platform. Golfer information is easily accessible in the software’s backend, where JB and any of his staff can access it to make team pairings and hole assignments quickly and easily.

Before GolfStatus, custom printouts were a major time suck. “We would have to type everything into Excel and into a template, which took a long time and often had errors because we had to decipher handwritten golfer information,” JB says. Now, “we can do it in minutes!” Professionally formatted cart signs, scorecards, and alpha lists are auto generated—all staff has to do is click print.

Mahoney is starting to lean into live scoring a bit more. Teams record and submit their scores via the GolfStatus mobile app, which syncs to live leaderboards in real time. Not only does live scoring let golfers see current standings, but it’s also a time-saver when it comes to finalizing the tournament results. “I don’t have to type in the scores, they’re all there,” JB says. The software will flight the results and break ties automatically—with the ability to manually change them if necessary—so they don’t have to rifle through paper scorecards. “We’re able to announce results, award prizes, and get people done faster than ever.”

Golfstatus for every golf event

Golf facilities like Mahoney Golf Course benefit as much from GolfStatus’ tournament management tech as event organizers. Facility staff and the planning team can share access in GolfStatus’ backend to manage golfer and sponsor information, finalize team pairings and hole assignments, and save time from start to finish. Want to learn more about how your organization or golf facility can save time and raise more money with GolfStatus? Hit the button below to get in touch!

Once you’ve gotten a new golf tournament up and running—which is no easy feat—it can be tempting to simply cruise and maintain the status quo. But in order to grow your event into its second year and beyond, tournament organizers must find ways to keep golfers and sponsors coming back year after year. These 10 strategies can help.

1. Get Online

If you haven’t before, get your tournament online. A web-based golf event management platform saves you a ton of time and gives you tools to plan, manage, and execute a professional, lucrative event. Leverage an event website to easily promote your tournament, collect registration, onboard and recognize sponsors, and more.

Using digital channels for your golf tournament, especially an event website, is a great way to grow the event.

2. Expand the Event

This can be scary, especially if it comes with added expenses, but might be the key to scaling your tournament. Depending on the type of event and the capabilities of your golf facility, you might add an additional course, round, day, or accompanying event (such as a post-golf banquet or auction). This approach works best if you typically have a waitlist for your tournament or most of your teams are committed to sponsors and you’d like to open it up to other supporters. Do a cost-benefit analysis before you take the plunge!

3. Make it Memorable

Look for ways to build even more fun into the event. And lucky for you, many elements that make a tournament memorable also bring additional fundraising opportunities to the tournament. Exciting add-ons like on-course entertainment, golf tournament games, and contests are great ways to have an impact. Charge a nominal fee to participate in these add-ons, but don’t nickel and dime people. Consider selling a super ticket or wristband that provides entry or participation in each event for a flat price. Folks will remember the fun they had and come back in subsequent years.

Adding games to your golf tournament makes it even more fun and memorable for golfers and sponsors.

4. Boost Your Marketing

Definitely start your marketing efforts with past participants, sponsors, and anyone on the previous year’s waitlist, giving them the first shot at registering or purchasing sponsorships. Boost your marketing efforts in order to broaden your audience and spread awareness about your organization and cause. Leverage social media, partner marketing, sponsor promotions, and email campaigns to reach new folks. Consider an early bird registration period to create a sense of urgency and encourage golfers and sponsors to commit to your tournament.

5. Live Score the Tournament

Live scoring gives your tournament another level of engagement with golfers and sponsors. Golfers love to see where teams stand throughout the day on the event’s live leaderboards and you can use it as a call-to-action for folks to donate. Share leaderboards on social media so all your supporters can follow along. You’ll also give sponsors broader exposure with their logo in the live scoring app.

Live scoring via a mobile app keeps golfers engaged throughout the event and lets spectators follow along online.

6. Focus on Sponsorships

Sponsorships are where your tournament will bring in the bulk of its dollars. If your tournament regularly sells out, don’t be afraid to raise prices a bit. Talk directly with prospective sponsors to determine how your tournament can help them meet their goals, whether it’s straight up exposure, engaging with golfers, or something else. Identify new sponsorship opportunities—if you can put a logo on it, you can sell a sponsorship, so don’t be afraid to think outside the box! Including a team in sponsor packages not only adds value, but helps fill your tournament’s field, so price those packages accordingly.

7. Improve Processes

With one or more tournaments under your belt, it’s a good idea to take a look back at what worked, what didn’t, what tasks needed more time and attention, and what things you can omit altogether. Improving your processes lets you be more efficient with planning tasks and better use your time to pitch to sponsors, promote your event, and focus on the overall experience. Fine tune the planning infrastructure you already have in place—event website, graphics, vendors, etc.—to make the next go around less stressful.

8. Streamline & Simplify

Take a critical look at the tech tools you used to plan and execute your event. Did you spend a ton of time managing logins to umpteen platforms? Did you spend too much time bouncing between spreadsheets and tracking checks and receipts? Can all the functions be rolled into an all-in-one golf tournament platform? The lesson here is not to force a square peg into a round hole. Ticketing and event management platforms can’t handle the intricacies of golf tournaments and likely require your team to make time-consuming or complicated workarounds and adaptations. Look for a single software to manage everything from registration, payments, and promotion to hole assignments, sponsor onboarding, and flighting.

Using a golf-specific tournament management platform keeps everything organized in one easily-accessible place.

9. Shake Up Your Planning Team

Don’t force folks off the team if they still want to contribute, but consider bringing in a few new people that can provide a different perspective and connections. Reassign tasks if people are interested in spearheading a different portion of the tournament.

10. Garner Feedback

Make a point to chat with golfers and sponsors to get their immediate impressions of the tournament, then consider sending a quick survey in your post-event communications to ask them for additional feedback on the golf facility, format, add-ons, registration fees, what can be improved, what worked well, etc. Listening to participants gives you concrete ways you can make your tournament even better.

Ask your tournament’s golfers and sponsors directly what feedback they have about the event and implement suggestions that will help you scale.

Final Thoughts

One of the best ways to grow your event is to use a golf-specific tool to plan and manage your tournament. You’ll save a ton of time and get additional ways to raise funds, give golfers the best experience possible, and provide more value to your sponsors. GolfStatus can help with all that, and more. Nonprofits, charities, and those planning golf events to benefit one can use GolfStatus at no cost through the Golf for Good program. Click below to learn more and get qualified!

Golf has a ton of giving power. For nonprofits, a golf tournament is the chance to raise mission-critical dollars, engage supporters, build relationships, and ultimately, do more good. And while planning a tournament isn’t a small undertaking, the good news for nonprofit event planners is that the right technology can make it easier, more efficient, and more lucrative to organize a successful golf fundraiser.

So whether you’re planning your first golf tournament or your fiftieth, here are seven ways tournament management tech can upgrade and improve your golf fundraiser.

1. It Makes It Easier on Everybody

Golf tournaments come with a number of moving parts and specifics to handle that are much different than those that come with a gala or auction. Using tech tailored specifically to a golf event makes it simple to handle the golf details, like flighting, handicaps, tie-breakers, and live scoring. You’ll keep everything organized in one easily-accessible place, so you, your planning team, and even the golf facility staff are all on the same page and working with up-to-the-minute information and not bouncing between multiple platforms and spreadsheets.

Golf facilities love tech that makes it easier on them, too—they’ll spend less time in the back office creating cart signs, rules sheets, and alpha lists and more time out front assisting you and your tournament’s golfers.

2. You’ll Save Time, Resources & Effort

It starts with an event registration website with secure payment processing, where golfers, prospective sponsors, and supporters can learn more about your organization and event and commit to participating with just a few clicks. So instead of creating a costly promotional mailer, then asking supporters to fill out the form, track down a stamp, and mail it back, you simply share a link where folks can register online with a few simple, secure clicks.

Online registrations should automatically flow into the software’s backend, where you can instantly find golfer, sponsor, and payment information. That means no processing paper forms, checks, or receipts and no entering and re-entering information in different spreadsheets. What’s more, when it comes time to make team pairings and hole assignments, it can all be done right in the software. Your administrative burden is cut in half

3. Sponsors Get Better ROI

Sponsors get a ton of value out of the digital exposure provided by tournament management tech. Instead of being limited to signage on the golf course the day of the event, it’s amplified with the exposure throughout the platform before, during, and after the event. So every time someone visits your event site to register or just learn more about the tournament, sponsors get eyeballs on their brand.

Combine that with hole-by-hole exposure and push notifications in the live-scoring app, and businesses see even more value and ROI in supporting your tournament. Plus, sponsors can browse available packages, make a purchase, and upload logos and links right through the event website, eliminating time-consuming back and forth to collect assets and providing instant exposure.

4. You’ll Raise More Money

Any tournament management tech should come with tools that boost fundraising. At a minimum, you should be able to collect donations via the event website, but look for additional fundraising features like a donation tracker on the event site, multiple donation calls-to-action throughout the platform, the ability to round up and donate at checkout, exclusive sponsorships that can be sold at a premium, and fun add-ons that drive revenue (and bring fun and excitement to your charity golf tournament).

National Ag Science Center placed banners around the golf course to help golfers better understand their mission.

5. It Engages Golfers, Donors & Sponsors

Engagement—prior to, during the round, and following the tournament—is key to donor onboarding and stewardship. Instead of just sending golfers out on the course and not interacting with them again until after the round, look to technology to engage them in a variety of ways throughout the day. Live scoring is a great way to keep golfers engaged every time they check the current standings on the tournament’s live leaderboards (which also provides additional sponsor exposure and another opportunity for folks to make a donation).

Direct folks to the event website at the end of the tournament and challenge folks to make a donation, perhaps equal to that of the winning team or what their team shot. You can also leverage push notifications and email communications to share information and updates throughout the day. After the event, export your golf tournament donor data for inclusion into your donor CRM for additional follow up and stewardship.

6. You’ll Be Ready for Next Year

Rather than starting from scratch, you can simply copy your event in the golf tournament software platform, update the date and key details, and push it out to your audiences to save the date and keep it on their radar for next year. If you have a date set, include the link to your new event website in any post-tournament thank yous and follow-up communications to get a jump on promotion and sponsor sales.

7. You Don’t Have to Know About Golf

It doesn’t matter if you’ve never picked up a golf club, you hit the links a few times a week, or fall somewhere in between, you can plan a successful, lucrative golf fundraiser with the right tools and resources behind you. Your tech platform should come with a responsive, knowledgeable support team that’s there to coach you, answer questions, and troubleshoot issues for you and your event’s participants.

Golf for Good with GolfStatus

GolfStatus works with nonprofits and charities of all types and sizes to launch or level up their golf fundraisers. The robust platform streamlines the process from start to finish and is backed by an in-house support team available seven days a week.

Through the Golf for Good program, qualifying 501(c) organizations and others planning golf events that benefit a charity can use GolfStatus’ tournament management software at no cost, including an event website, online registration and secure payment processing, digital sponsor exposure, robust reporting, and more. Visit golfstatus.com/demo for more information or to get qualified.

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When golfers decide to play in a charity golf tournament, they often reach out to their friends, family members, neighbors, or colleagues to fill their team. This is good news for your organization—not only does it fill your tournament’s field, but your mission gets exposure to a brand new audience of potential new donors and supporters.

Take full advantage of this opportunity to introduce your organization to a captive audience at your golf event. Create a cause connection by helping golfers understand what your organization does, who it serves, and how their participation is a key part of fulfilling your mission. They may have come to golf, but when they see the tangible impacts of what the tournament is raising money for, it’s easier to convert them into donors.

Here are 10 ideas for your next golf fundraiser to connect golfers to your mission:

1. Add compelling photos and videos to your event website.

A picture is truly worth a thousand words, so take advantage of your event website’s customization features to add photos that illustrate your organization’s work and impact. If possible, add video too—anything from a simple slideshow of photos set to music, an impact story, or a polished marketing video are effective in telling your organization’s story visually.

Help golfers connect to your cause with powerful images and videos on your event website.

2. Invite a guest speaker to share their experience.

Kick off the tournament with a speaker who has benefited from your nonprofit’s services. Or add a presenter to a luncheon, banquet, or awards ceremony. Hearing first-hand from a beneficiary drives home the impact of your work. For example, Riverside Ranch, a therapeutic horse riding program, invited parents of riders to speak at their golf tournament’s luncheon and share what the Ranch meant to their family.

3. Include promo materials in player gift bags and golf carts.

A one-page flier, brochure, annual report, or other collateral can help golfers understand the depth of your mission. Be sure to include QR code on any printed materials with a direct link to the donation page on your event website where folks can donate right from their phones! Drop these in player gift bags or leave them in golf carts for golfers to peruse at their leisure. If your golf facility has carts with video capabilities, inquire about showing a video or photo slideshow on the screens. RiseUp Malawi, which provides educational opportunities in the African country of Malawi, played a video with a welcome message from some of the children the organization serves. They also provided each golfer with a book about Malawi with handwritten notes from the kids and on-site staff.

4. Place signage and banners around the golf course.

These pieces should be placed strategically around the course for maximum visibility. High traffic areas such as registration, driving range, putting green, and inside the clubhouse (near the bar or front door are good choices) are all guaranteed to get golfers looking. You can also place smaller signage unobtrusively on the golf course with information about your organization, facts related to your cause, or ways to take action. QR codes are a great addition to these as well to solicit donations.

National Ag Science Center placed banners around the golf course to help golfers better understand their mission.

5. Highlight your organization’s beneficiaries.

Depending on the work your nonprofit does, you could invite beneficiaries to attend or participate in the event. Personal connections are incredibly powerful, so provide opportunities for them to engage with golfers and sponsors throughout the day. For instance, if your golf tournament benefits a school, teachers or administrators could greet golfers as they arrive or even be added to teams. This isn’t limited to human beneficiaries, either! For example, pet rescue organizations could have adoptable pets at the golf course and an accompanying adoption drive.

6. Take advantage of downtime.

Downtime is a great chance to engage with a captive audience! Whether folks are waiting on the tee box, to check in, for a turn on the driving range, or for final results to be announced, your organization’s staff, board members, beneficiaries, or even volunteers can mingle with golfers to chat and have a conversation about your mission. You could also strategically station these folks on various tee boxes throughout the golf course (perhaps on a par 5 that might take groups longer to play through) to talk with golfers as they play their round or rethink your format to add in more opportunities for face time with participants. For example, Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center, an organization that removes barriers to outdoor experiences for those with special needs, used tee times rather than a traditional shotgun start to give them a few minutes to visit with each group as they waited for their turn to tee off.

7. Hold an accompanying event.

If it makes sense for your organization, hold an event in conjunction with your golf fundraiser that drives home your mission. Outlook Enrichment, a nonprofit that serves the visually-impaired, holds a blind golfers clinic alongside its annual charity golf tournament. The clinic features instructors and volunteers helping visually-impaired golfers putt, chip, and play a few holes. Many organizations also hold events targeting non-golfers, such as golf lessons, a wine tasting, blanket-tying or meal-packing event.

A volunteer coach helps a participant line up their shot during Outlook Enrichment’s blind golfers clinic.

8. Send push notifications.

Your golf event management platform should be able to send push notifications to golfers via a mobile app for easy communication. These notifications can help connect golfers to your mission by including a link to your website, testimonials from beneficiaries or volunteers, or even solicit donations for a specific program or outreach effort. Keep the notifications short, impactful, and time them strategically.

9. Display photos or memorabilia on the course.

Golfers want to know what the tournament is raising money for—what better way than to display photos or related memorabilia on the golf course. For instance, the Pat Neal Memorial Golf Tournament raises money for brain cancer research in honor of the tournament’s namesake, Pat Neal. A photo of Pat was placed on the course and golfers were encouraged to sign the photo as a keepsake for Pat’s family.

Pat Neal’s three children post with his picture on the golf course at his memorial golf tournament fundraiser.

10. Provide opportunities to take action.

The ultimate goal of helping golfers understand your mission is to have them take some sort of action, so give them the opportunity to do so. You could set up a donation station where folks can contribute, solicit volunteer sign ups, have a pop up shop to sell branded merchandise or products, or let folks start the process of adopting a pet.

Wrapping Up

First and foremost, technology is a major asset in creating cause connection. From your event website to push notifications to impact videos, leverage tech tools to be effective (and make it easier). Use tech to tell your organization’s story; engage with golfers before, during, and after the tournament; and ultimately, compel golfers and sponsors to further support it through a donation or future events. In doing so, you can demonstrate the impact your organization has on your community at large.

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Get Qualified for No-Cost Event Technology

GolfStatus’ Golf for Good program gives back to nonprofits by providing access to its full golf event management and fundraising platform at no cost, so event planners can focus on building relationships, stewarding donors, and doing more good. Get qualified by clicking the button below!

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