Charity golf tournaments in New England represent a highly competitive business. For established events held at one of the area’s top-tier destination courses, a full field of golfers and an array of corporate sponsors will help to insure on-going success. The balance of the more than 5,000 charity golf tournaments held annually in New England face a sometimes daunting challenge, “How can we attract golfers and sponsors to our event when we are competing with nationally recognized non-profits and 5-star rated golf courses?” One proven approach is to add one or more celebrity players to your roster. A great example of the power of celebrity was last month’s 12th Annual Bourque Golf Tournament Presented by TD Bank, hosted by Ray Bourque and the benefitting the Celebrities for Charity Foundation. As they say, “Timing is everything” and in sports crazed New England what could be better than having Milan Lucic playing in your event a week after the Bruins won their first Stanley Cup in almost 40 years?
The place was electric from start to finish with local businessmen, golfers and network coverage all vying for a few seconds with one of their local heroes. Imagine how his playing partners enjoyed their five hours on the golf course talking about every subject imaginable. Of course, not every event can command an A-list celebrity but the number of well-known sporting and entertainment types who enjoy playing in charity golf tournaments is actually quite extensive. All of the major sports teams have alumni associations and oftentimes they are quite willing to participate in an event for charity for a modest stipend. When you start your planning for next year’s golf fundraiser don’t overlook one of the great resources we have in the region. Invite one or more celebrities to be part of your event. Chances are they will want to tee it up and share their “war stories” from their glory days. Even if they are not active golfers, having them at your awards ceremony and answering a few questions will be a hit with your players.
Neil Policow is a Partner in LeaderBoard of Boston and a certified golf tournament consultant. Last year LeaderBoard supported events raised more than $3 million dollars. Email him at npolicow@ltsleaderboard.com.
Related posts:
- Charity Golf Tournaments
- Paradis/Foulds Charity Golf Tournament
- ClubCorp Charity Classic
- Tom E. Cosenzi Driving for a Cure Charity Golf Tournament
- Annual Friends Fighting Cancer Charity Golf Classic
