Planning a Business Meeting on a Golf Course

More and more people in the corporate world are appreciating the great game of golf. Having a golf game with a boss, colleague, or client has become a more relaxed way of dealing business. However, if you are tasked to create a large-scale corporate meeting on a round of golf, putting it together could be taxing. Here are what you can do in organizing a business meeting on a golf course.

Know how many would attend - Determining the number of attendants would give you an idea how many holes would the meeting cover and what type of format would they play. An 18-hole course, for instance, can handle up to 144 players but would be prone to long delays in play and limits in tournament formats. You also need to include how many non-playing staff would be present at the venue as this would affect overall costs.

Select a golf course - Try booking a tournament in the local course where the guests already live. You could also consider choosing a golf course that is located conveniently among all players, especially those who live far from others. Aside from location, you also need to inspect the clubhouse locker rooms, banquets, and meeting facilities. Get yourself acquainted with the club sales manager and the in-house catering manger (if they have one, or ask if you could bring catering into the golf course).

Develop a timeline - An organized event agenda keeps your guests in check, but you need to make sure that it works for all of you. Make sure that all of you are available on a set date, then line up the list of activities for the day, from registration, opening remarks, starting of the group tee, lunch, cocktails, and even an awards ceremony.

Select the caterer - Some golf courses have in-house caterers. If they do not have one, ask the sales manager if you could bring in your own caterer. Since this is a whole-day affair, your guests could start the day with a continental breakfast buffet, boxed lunches, and a themed reception food (like Italian or Barbecue). Order extra bottles of water, which would be charged on consumption. Cover all beverage cart expenses, making sure they are fully stocked.

Highlight the business meeting - Although the guests come to the course to enjoy a round of golf, you need to emphasize the importance of establishing business during this event. You could have the hosting executive deliver opening remarks for 15 minutes, then present any relevant presentation is a relaxed manner. Do not forget to recognize everyone in attendance.

Select the tournament format - There are various types of play that you could choose from, but make sure your final format would be quick to accomplish and enjoyable to all. For instance, the Scramble allows each player in a team of four to tee off and then play is continued from the best tee shot. This play continues until the ball is holed. Meanwhile, the Best Ball allows all players to play their own ball, but only the best score in a foursome is recorded.

Add contests and prizes - Golfers enjoy competing for prizes. Make sure everyone is given at least one gift, starting upon arrival. Meanwhile, you can give the winners of the match some popular golf gift ideas like golf shirts. You could also include some special events contests like the longest drive, shortest drive, closest to the pin, and the longest putt. Other suggestions include raffling off names of guests to receive special sponsor prizes (if any) or gift certificates to the golf shop. Also, try giving a gag gift to the team with the lowest score, such as tennis rackets.

Confirm your budget - A golf meeting with 100 or more attendees would cost between $15,000 to $30,000. Expenses include green fees, food and beverages, tournament gifts and prizes, hole-in-one contest insurance, promotional materials, guest speaker honorarium and fees, and gratuities.

Invite guests - You could either invite guests through a traditional invitation card or make a registration online.

Determine the pairings - Although the inviting hosts are the ones who would put the foursomes together, you need to consider each of the guests' handicaps, while VIP guests should be placed at holes closest to the clubhouse, and that a host player should be with every foursome.