Golf Tutorials

How to Organise a Corporate Golf Day

By Spencer Lanoue
July 24, 2025

Organising a memorable corporate golf day is one of the most effective ways to build strong relationships with clients, reward your team, and showcase your brand in a relaxed, engaging environment. This detailed guide provides a clear, step-by-step roadmap to help you plan and execute a flawless event, covering everything from setting initial goals to the final prize presentation.

Step 1: Define Your Goals and Guest List

Before you even think about booking a course, you need to be crystal clear on what you want to achieve and who you're inviting. The answers to these two questions will steer every subsequent decision you make.

Set Clear Objectives

Why are you hosting this event? Your primary goal will shape the entire day’s tone, budget, and structure. Common objectives include:

  • Client Appreciation: Thanking your most valuable clients for their loyalty and business. The focus here is on a premium experience, excellent service, and gifting.
  • Lead Generation & Networking: Creating an opportunity to connect with high-value prospects. You might invite a mix of current clients and potential new ones, with a focus on facilitating introductions.
  • Team Building: Rewarding your staff for their hard work and fostering camaraderie outside the office. The day will feel more relaxed and internally focused.
  • Charity Fundraising: Raising money for a worthy cause. This involves seeking sponsorships, selling mulligans, and hosting auctions or raffles to maximize donations.

Once you’ve defined your main goal, youることができます measure its success after the event.

Build Your Guest List

Your guest list flows directly from your objectives. Whether a small, intimate day for ten key stakeholders or a large tournament for 120 people, curating the right-sized list is vital. Consider your ideal number of attendees - most courses can comfortably host between 72 and 144 players for a "shotgun start."

Start a spreadsheet to track invitees, RSVPs, and importantly, their golf handicap or skill level. This information is a huge help when creating balanced teams. Send out a "Save the Date" email as early as possible - at least three months in advance - to make sure your event gets on people's busy calendars. Follow up with a more formal invitation that includes all the key details: date, time, venue, format, and an RSVP deadline.

Step 2: Set a Realistic Budget and Choose the Perfect Venue

With your why and who established, it’s time to tackle the financials and find the perfect stage for your event.

Crafting Your Budget

A corporate golf day is an investment, so creating a detailed budget is non-negotiable. This prevents costs from spiralling and helps you allocate funds effectively. Your spreadsheet should include line items for all potential expenses. Be sure to account for:

  • Venue Fees: This typically includes "green fees" (the cost to play), golf cart rental, and access to practice facilities.
  • Food & Beverage: Account for breakfast/coffee on arrival, on-course drinks and snacks, and a post-round lunch or dinner.
  • Prizes: For the winning teams and on-course contest winners.
  • Goodie Bags: Branded apparel, golf balls, tees, etc.
  • Signage & Branding: Welcome banners, sponsor signs for each tee box, and branded collateral.
  • On-Course Contests: Costs for a 'beat the pro' challenge or a putting contest prize.
  • Photography/Videography: Capturing the day is a great marketing tool.
  • Staffing: Do you need to hire extra help for registration or coordination?
  • Contingency Fund: Always set aside 10-15% of the total budget for unexpected costs.

Scouting Your Golf Course

The choice of venue has the biggest impact on your guests' experience. Don’t just look for a pretty course, evaluate its suitability for a corporate event. When contacting potential venues, ask about their corporate packages and speak directly to their event coordinator.

Things to consider:

  • Location: Is the course easily accessible for the majority of your guests? Consider travel time from major business hubs.
  • Reputation and Condition: Is the course known for being well-maintained? A pristine course shows you value your guests.
  • Clubhouse Facilities: Can the dining room or patio comfortably accommodate your group for the post-golf meal and awards ceremony? Are there adequate locker room facilities?
  • Practice Facilities: A good driving range and putting green allow guests to warm up before they play, which is a great touch.
  • Staff and Service: A course with an experienced events team will make your life infinitely easier. They can manage everything from on-course signage placement to tournament scoring.

Step 3: Choose the Right Format and Add On-Course Fun

The gameplay itself should be accessible and enjoyable for everyone, not just the seasoned golfers. This is where choosing the right format is absolutely fundamental.

Selecting the Funniest (and Fastest) Fomat

For a corporate event with a mixed bag of golfers - from complete beginners to low-handicappers - the Texas Scramble (often called a Four-Player Scramble) format is the gold standard. It’s a team-based game that removes individual pressure and speeds up play.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Everyone in the four-person team hits a tee shot.
  2. The team decides which drive was the best.
  3. All three other players pick up their balls and drop them within one club-length of the best shot's location.
  4. Everyone then plays their second shot from this spot.
  5. This process repeats until the ball is in the hole. The team records one score for the hole.

This format is fantastic because one great shot can help the entire team, making everyone feel like they contributed. It avoids the dreaded- feeling of a struggling player slowing down the group.

Adding On-Course Contests and Activities

Competitions within the main event add another layer of excitement. They are also excellent- opportunities for sponsorship. Classic contests include:

  • Longest Drive: Usually held on a long, wide par-5. A marker is placed in the fairway where the longest drive lands. The ball must be in the fairway to count.
  • Closest to the Pin (or Nearest the Pin): Held on a par-3. A tape measure is used to measure the distance from the ball to the- hole for any shot that lands on the green from the tee.
  • Straightest Drive: A line is painted or chalked down the middle of a fairway. The ball that comes to rest closest to the line wins.
  • Beat the Pro: Hire the club's pro to stand on a par-3 tee. Guests can make a small donation to charity to play against the pro. If their tee shot ends up closer to the pin than the pro's, they win a prize (e.g., a sleeve of premium balls).

Step 4: Organise Killer Food, Drinks, and Giveaways

The details surrounding the golf itself are what elevate a good day to a great one. Thoughtful planning of food and gifts leaves a lasting positive impression.

Fueling Your Guests: Food & Beverage Planning

A golf day is a long day, so keep your guests well-fed and hydrated. A typical catering schedule looks like this:

  • Arrival (Morning): Coffee, tea, and breakfast rolls (bacon, sausage, or egg) are a classic way to welcome everyone during registration.
  • On the Course: Arrange for a mobile drinks cart to circle the course with water, soft drinks, and snacks. Alternatively, a "halfway house" located after the 9th hole is a great place for players to refuel.
  • Post-Game (Afternoon/Evening): The post-round meal is the centerpiece of the event's social element. A relaxed buffet, BBQ, or carvery works excellently, allowing guests to mingle before the prize giving proceeds. This is where you conduct the awards ceremony.

The All-Important Goodie Bag

A goodie bag is a tangible reminder of the day and a gesture of appreciation. Don’t justfill it with junk, focus on providing value and items people will actually use.

Great Goodie Bag ideas include:

  • Branded Golf Balls: Every golfer needs them. Get a reputable brand like Titleist or Callaway printed with your company logo.
  • A Quality Polo Shirt or Cap: A well-made, nicely-designed shirt with a subtle logo is a fantastic gift that will be worn again and again.
  • Practical Accessories: A pitch mark repairer, a high-quality ball marker, or a branded towel are always useful.
  • SPF Sunscreen and Lip Balm: A thoughtful touch that guests will appreciate on a sunny day.

Step 5: The Big Day - Executing Flawlessly

All your hard work comes down to this. Smooth execution is the result of meticulous preparation and staying calm under pressure.

Your Pre-Game Checklist

Arrive at the course well before your guests. Run through a final checklist with the event coordinator and your own team:

  • Set up the registration desk with the welcome packs, scorecards, and the day's itinerary.
  • Ensure all branding and sponsor signage are correctly- placed on the course.
  • Confirm the starting hole for each team if you are running a 'shotgun start' (where all groups tee off simultaneously from different holes).
  • Arrange the prize table so it looks professional and appealing.
  • Have a microphone ready for announcements and the awards ceremony.

Managing the Flow of the Day

As the host, your job is to guide your guests through the day. Be visible and available. Make a clear welcome speech before play begins, explaining the format, rules, on-course contests, and the schedule. Once play starts, you can ride around the course to check on your guests, take photos, and make sure everyone is having a good time. Encourage a "shotgun start", as this method ensures all groups finish at roughly the same time, which is essential for getting everyone together for the post-round meal and prize giving- without long waits.

The Final Awards and Closing Speeches

Gather everyone promptly after they've had a chance to shower, change, and grab a drink. Keep the final ceremony concise and upbeat.

  1. _Start by genuinely thanking your guests_ for attending and your sponsors for their support.
  2. _Acknowledge the golf club staff_ for their fantastic service throughout the day.
  3. _Announce the competition winners clearly and efficiently._ Start with the on-course contests (Longest Drive, etc.) and build up to the main team prizes for 3rd, 2nd, and 1st place.
  4. _Conclude_ with a a final warm thanks, reinforcing the purpose of the day and expressing your desire in seeing them again soon/

Final Thoughts

A successful corporate golf event is a powerful business tool, but it's built from dozens of well-executed small details. By defining clear goals, planning meticulously, and focusing on creating a fun and seamless experience for your attendees, you can deliver a day that fosters relationships and achieves your objectives.

A great golf day is all about creating memorable experiences, and that includes helping your guests feel confident on the course. To give every player a competitive edge, no matter their skill level, our app, Caddie AI, acts as a personal caddie right in their pocket. It delivers instant, tour-level advice on club selection, shot strategy, and can even analyze a photo of a tricky lie, giving every golfer the supportive guidance needed to play with less guesswork and more enjoyment.

Spencer has been playing golf since he was a kid and has spent a lifetime chasing improvement. With over a decade of experience building successful tech products, he combined his love for golf and startups to create Caddie AI - the world's best AI golf app. Giving everyone an expert level coach in your pocket, available 24/7. His mission is simple: make world-class golf advice accessible to everyone, anytime.

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