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Thinking About a Golf Event?

Strategies for planning on-course and off-course events at golf clubs and resorts

Good weather means golf season for a lot of people. It's no secret that the game represents big business both for the properties operating the courses and for the players, who network, entertain, socialize, and strategize on and off the greens. Getting it right when you're planning a corporate golf event is crucial. The following will help provide the background you need to get the most out of your time on site, whether golf is the primary focus of the event or a downtime diversion after an important meeting.

Why Golf?

"There are a number of benefits to bringing a company event to a golf facility," says David Karner, general manager of the Royce Brook Golf Club in Hillsborough, NJ (roycebrook.com).

"The relaxed environment lends itself to socializing, creative thinking and team building. When you're holding a traditional business meeting, it's beneficial to add a golf outing to the mix because of the camaraderie and team-building nature of the sport. Additionally, golf has always been a great marketing tool for business as a vehicle to entertain clients and allow players to talk shop in a more relaxed atmosphere."

"Golf courses add a unique and exciting dimension to corporate meetings or events unavailable at most 'traditional' business meeting locales," adds Lynn Sexton, group sales manager at American Golf, which oversees operations at 10 public access golf courses in the New York/New Jersey metro area (americangolf.com).

In addition, many golf clubs have become full-service event facilities with a host of built-in amenities beyond the course, from meeting rooms with high-end A/V equipment to luxurious spas.

Depending on the venue, staff will help planners design creative, convenient meeting itineraries that not only incorporate the basics—accommodations (for multi-day functions), meals, meetings, breakouts and golf outings—but may add extra challenging and playful elements not limited to golfers, such as recreational team-building exercises and other sports activities, celebrity golfer appearances, excursions to local attractions, spa treatments, wine tastings and even cooking sessions. Coordinators at the courses work closely with planners to customize events to meet the needs of their particular clientele.

What kinds of events are popular?

Golf events can follow many different formats, depending on the scope of the facility and the clients' demands. "What we do varies tremendously and depends on the corporation," says Sandy Chiappini, senior corporate sales manager at Crystal Springs Golf & Spa Resort in Vernon, NJ (crystalgolfresort.com). "We can do a one-day event, or we can do a five-day, Monday through Friday event."

Crystal Springs hosts a lot of law retreats and pharmaceutical district sales meetings and training sessions throughout the year, even in January and February, because of their extensive meeting facilities, popular spa, world-class restaurant and wine cellar, and nearby ski slopes, but golf is the hot button. "Golf is what draws people in," Chiappini says. "In summer, spring and fall, nine times out of ten the event will include golf in some shape or form. Sometimes, for example, the VIPs will come in a day early, and go out and do their own thing. Or, it might entail the whole group going out for a golf outing."

A popular format is a three-day event, Chiappini explains. "Often they'll have two days of work and then a play day. It's good to follow an intense meeting session with some real good free time, where attendees can take a golf lesson, or swing clinic, or go out and hit on the course. Or they can get a spa treatment or massage."

Coming this year at Crystal Springs is a new take on the coffee break, Chiappini says. "Between meeting sessions, participants can take a couple of swings using the golf simulator. It involves hitting the ball against a screen and players can 'play' a number of different courses such as the famous Pebble Beach.

"Since we do so many meetings and different types of events, we have to keep it fresh. We're constantly coming up with new things," she says. "We'll do an iron chef event, trivia night, dance lessons. We can even organize a private Pilates or yoga class, as well as golf-oriented events."

She also coordinates day picnics for corporations, which may include families or it may be limited to the employees.

"We have all the catering on premise, so it's easy to do theme parties too—a luau, mardi gras, all types of theme events."

Customizing Your Event

Crystal Springs VP of Golf Operations Art Walton puts together different types of golf packages for clients, depending on who's playing and their objectives. "Groups come for different reasons," he says. "It might be a perk for employees, entertaining clients, or board members who want to get together. They might want a competitive event or it might be more of a social occasion."
One advantage Crystal Springs has is their wide variety of styles of courses and extensive clubhouse facilities to fit in to whatever a planner wants, Walton explains. Some of their courses are fairly easy, others very challenging, some offer a mix of more and less challenging holes, and some offer tremendous views. They have a lot of flexibility in accommodating groups of all sizes and skill levels.

One type of golf outing Walton sometimes suggests involves using a team score (teams of four) in a scramble event. It's a way of taking the pressure off the individual players, so everyone can enjoy the game. "In a scramble format everyone tees off, then after everyone hits a shot, they evaluate which shot was best to set them up for the next shot. The players in the team move their balls to the position of the person who hit the best shot. So if one guy hits it right on the green and the three others hit it into the woods, they all get to have the best position. That whole sequence continues until they finish."

The advantage to the scramble format is that everyone has a chance to contribute to the team's benefit and the beginner-level players don't have to spend as much time trying to extricate themselves.

Another game Walton might suggest is best ball scoring. "Everyone plays the ball right through to the hole and they keep track of the score but only the best score among the team members will count for that team. That permits everyone to be able to play the entire hole. This might be favored by those teams with more advanced or intermediate players who are able to navigate the golf course a bit better."

The club provides all the scoring services, the score card, and figures out the scoring at the end.

Golf is a big part of the equation but not the only factor in a corporate event, Walton adds. "A lot of corporations are out here for more than just the golf. They want a pleasant excursion from the rigors of their normal routine. We have a lot of banquet functions for them, for example, as part of an afternoon or morning shotgun (the term comes from the fact that everyone starts at the same time). Players congregate, go to the holes, and start at the same time, which means they finish about the same time, so we can then coordinate the catering before and after the event: breakfast and an early afternoon lunch, or lunch and dinner as part of their package."

For All Skill Levels

For players who want to hone their skills most courses offer lessons by the resident pro. Crystal Springs, for instance, has the David Glenz Golf Academy. New this year, the academy will hold an instructional clinic prior to the beginning of corporate events, Walton says. Three of their courses (there are six, with another on the way in 2008) include range balls so golfers can practice before going out, he adds.

Robbyn Sciullo, sales, events and marketing manager at The Garrison, a 300-acre, year-round golf resort in New York's Hudson Highlands (www.thegarrison.com) says, "We offer more than golf, so meeting attendees do not need to be avid golfers…We give non-golfers or beginners other options, because we can't put a novice golfer on the course. We would rather have beginners take a clinic with a pro, where they learn basic golf etiquette and practice.

"For experienced golfers, the pro can put together very large classes on the putting green and driving range," says Sciullo. "We also do golf-related competitive events such as closest to the pin and longest drive. It provides friendly competition and makes the game more interesting. We usually give out some gag award for highest/lowest score and best/worst team."

American Golf's golf tournaments/outings are included at the conclusion of the meeting in meeting/golf packages. Tournaments consist of 16 or more players divided into foursomes with shared carts. Prizes from trophies to a new car for a hole-in-one can be awarded for such competitions as longest drive, shortest drive, closest to the pin, straightest drive and longest putt. Also available are golf etiquette seminars, team-building exercises, golf lessons and clinics.

Nike Golf Mobile Clinics at American Golf's courses are a dynamic resource for organizations looking to improve business on and off the course as they can encourage employee performance, thank valuable clients or enhance any outing or meeting. They feature first-class instruction for novices and experts alike by top professionals in the industry. Programs can be customized to any duration, from a half-hour to two days. The clinics help improve business skills through sales incentives, reward accomplishments, enhancing morale and increasing loyalty.

American Golf hosts more than 35,000 special events each year at its courses around the country. In fact, the association has been named the "Official Golf Partner" of Meeting Professionals International (MPI), the largest association of meeting planners worldwide. All of its courses have well-appointed clubhouses that can be booked for events.

More Options for Entertaining

In-house coordinators at the various American Golf facilities employ other creative strategies for their clients too. "If your intent is to 'wow' your clients or guests," suggests Sexton, "you may want to consider involving celebrities and/or professional golfers. Many events will employ a PGA tour player to kick off the event with a clinic, play a hole with each group or give a motivational speech."

At Crystal Springs, guests have the rare treat of dining at top-rated Restaurant Latour. Its Wine Cellar is perfect for board meetings, Walton suggests, and high-end clients can book elaborate private tasting meals with wines to match at the restaurant.

At Harbor Links in Port Washington (harborlinks.com) Director of Golf Chris Pranis describes several options for using their facilities for business entertaining. He likes to put together night golf outings on their 9-hole Executive Course. It's a fun option for busy business people. "Guests can get in and out in four hours—they're not held captive for the whole day," he explains.

Pranis likes to schedule such events during a full moon, for added light. Staff illuminates the course with tiki torches and glow sticks and players use day-glow golf balls. "It's for fun and team building, not for hard-core, serious golfers," he says.

Harbor Links also hosts corporate mixers with tents on the greens. "We usually hold them at six or seven in the evening," he says. "Guests have drinks and hors d'oeuvre and can hit some balls if they like. It gives clients a chance to bring in people who don't necessarily want to golf."

Pranis also puts together corporate mini-golf events. Typically, they entail 20 or 30 guests and an informal barbecue. They are primarily team-building or networking outings where people can lighten up and have some fun without feeling intimidated or overwhelmed.