Picture this: Samantha, a self-proclaimed "non-golfer," is laughing her head off as she announces the winner of the "Most Creative Team Name" contest at her your charity golf outing. She's having a blast, and she hasn't touched a club all day.

As golf event organizers, we often focus solely on the players. But there’s a community of non-golfers who would enjoy attending and participating in golf events and they bring a lot of benefits in the process. 

Getting non-golfers involved can: 

• Boosts attendance.
• Adds layers of entertainment. 
• Takes some of the responsibility off your plate.
• Opens doors to new sponsorship opportunities.

So, how do we make this happen? 

Volunteering

Before the event, create a list of the jobs that you’ll need help with leading up to and throughout the day of the event. This may include

• Registration and check-in: A friendly face to welcome everyone
• Course marshals: Keeping the peace and the pace
• Refreshment station managers: Because hydrated golfers are happy golfers
• Golf cart drink distribution engineers: To drive around and deliver the beverages to golfers. 
• Hole-in-one reward marshals: To verify a golfer’s hole in one if there’s a giveaway
• Event space set up: To decorate the area where golfers will congregate and eat
• Social media mavens: Capturing and sharing the day's highlights
• Raffle ticket sales: Charge them with selling as many raffle tickets as possible

For those who want to participate and don’t mind helping out, assign them any of the above roles and encourage them to have fun with it. For example, decorate your drink cart in a tropical theme or something. 

Spectator Gallery

For any non-golfer who attends and isn’t volunteering, encourage them to congregate around different holes and cheer on (or jeer) the golfers as they play the hole. 

Depending on the size of the group and how many beverages they’ve consumed, this can add a fun dynamic to your event, making it feel like the WM Phoenix Open. 

Just make sure they know where they can stand and go on the course and where they cannot. If they are not golfing, there’s a real chance they don’t understand golf etiquette. In this case, they may need some coaching on when to cheer, where to stand to avoid getting drilled by a golf ball, and other tips to avoid pissing off your golfers. Your best bet is to keep them close to the club house, so they aren’t traversing the course while your golfers are trying to hit. 

Dinner Only

Make sure to have a dinner-only ticket available if you are doing a post-round dinner. Many will show up to support your course and to get a meal of food. Obviously, without the greens fees, this ticket will be less expensive. If you applied a profit percentage to your golfer entry fees, just apply that same percentage to the cost of dinner. 

Give your dinner-only guests the opportunity to also buy raffle prizes and enter any other fundraisers (e.g., 50/50 raffle). This just expands the pot and fun. 

Golf events aren't necessarily all golf anymore. By thinking creatively and inclusively, we can create experiences that everyone in our community can enjoy and support. So next time you're planning an event, remember Sarah and all the other potential non-golfer superstars out there.

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