How to organize a charity golf tournament

A charity golf tournament is one of the most reliable fundraisers there is: a day on the course, a good cause, and sponsors who are happy to be seen supporting it. But the difference between an event that nets a few hundred dollars and one that nets thousands usually comes down to organization — the format you pick, how you collect money, and how little of the day you spend doing math by hand.

Here's the full playbook, in the order you'll actually do it.

1. Pick a scramble format

For a charity outing, the format is almost always a scramble, and for good reason. Everyone on a team tees off, you play the best ball, and everyone hits from there. It's fast, it's social, and it's forgiving — a beginner who shanks one into the trees doesn't hold anyone up or feel bad, because the team has three other balls in play. That matters when half your field is there to support the cause, not to post a number.

A scramble also keeps scores high and fun, moves fast enough to finish before the lunch runs out, and works with any mix of skill levels. If you want the full rundown of why it beats the alternatives for a mixed field, see our guide to golf league formats.

2. Set a fundraising goal and a budget

Before you price anything, work out two numbers: what you want to raise, and what the day costs you. Typical costs are the green fees and carts (your course will usually give a group rate), food, and prizes. Typical revenue is entry fees, sponsorships, and the fundraising extras we'll get to below.

A simple rule: if your costs are covered by sponsorships alone, then every entry fee and every raffle ticket is pure profit for the cause. That's the structure you're aiming for.

3. Line up your sponsors early

Sponsors are where a charity tournament makes its real money, and they're easier to recruit than most organizers expect — a local business gets its name in front of a captive, well-connected audience for a day. Build a simple tier structure:

• Title sponsor — top billing, named in the event title and on everything.
• Hole sponsors — a sign at a specific tee, usually the cheapest and easiest to sell in volume.
• Contest sponsors — attach a business to the closest-to-the-pin or longest-drive hole.
• Cart, lunch, or beverage sponsors — one business covers one cost in exchange for signage.

With GetFairways you can put sponsor logos right on the live leaderboard and the printed materials, so a hole sponsor isn't just a sign at one tee — their name is on the board every player checks between holes and on the scorecards everyone carries. That's a tangible upgrade you can sell when you're pricing the tiers.

4. Open online registration and collect entry fees

The clipboard-in-the-pro-shop era is over. Online registration lets players sign up and pay from their phone, and gives you a live roster instead of a stack of checks to chase. Share one link — by email, text, or your event's social post — and watch teams fill in.

A couple of things to get right here:

• Collect the entry fee at registration. Money upfront means no "I'll pay you Saturday" and no awkward chasing. With GetFairways, payments run through Stripe straight into your account, and there's no per-player platform fee — you keep the entry fees minus only Stripe's standard processing.
• Capture what you'll need day-of: name, email, phone, and team or sponsor. If you're importing an existing donor or member list, a CSV or spreadsheet import will bring everyone in at once.

5. Sell the fundraising extras at sign-up

This is the step that separates a tournament that covers costs from one that raises real money. The highest-margin dollars at a charity scramble don't come from entry fees — they come from the add-ons, and the trick is to sell them at registration, while the player already has their card out.

GetFairways lets you offer these right on the registration page:

• Mulligans — sell them in packs ("3 mulligans for $20"). Golfers buy them cheerfully because it helps the cause and gets them a do-over on the first tee.
• Raffle tickets — bundle them into registration so people buy in before they even arrive.
• Straight donations — a simple "add a donation" option at checkout, for the people who want to give more than the entry fee.

Selling these upfront, online, typically raises far more than passing a bucket around at the turn — because the ask happens at the moment of least friction.

6. Build teams and the tee sheet

Once registration closes, assign teams (if players didn't sign up as a foursome) and build your tee sheet. A few days before the event, confirm your field so you're not scrambling to fill empty spots on the morning of — a quick "you're all set for Saturday" message doubles as a reminder.

Then print what you need for the day. GetFairways generates print-ready scorecards, tee sheets, cart signs, and bag tags in one click, formatted and ready — with your sponsor logos on them.

7. Run it live on the day

Live scoring is what makes a charity event feel like a real tournament instead of a casual round. Players enter scores on their phones hole by hole, and the leaderboard updates in real time for everyone.

The underrated move: share the spectator board. Every GetFairways tournament has a public, no-login link anyone can open to follow the leaderboard live — perfect for the clubhouse TV, for sponsors who want to see their name on the board, and for folks following from the office. It turns a quiet fundraiser into an event people are watching. Here's how the spectator board works and how to share it.

8. Wrap up and report the results

When the last group finishes, results are ready instantly — no sitting in the pro shop adding up scorecards. Announce the winning team, hand out the contest and raffle prizes, and thank your sponsors by name.

Then do the one thing that makes next year easier: report the total raised. Send a short thank-you to every player and sponsor with the final leaderboard and the dollar figure the day brought in for the cause. People who can see their impact come back — and bring a team next time.

Charity tournament checklist

Everything above, in one list you can work down:

1. Choose a scramble format and add 2–3 on-course contests
2. Set your fundraising goal and cover costs with sponsorships
3. Build sponsor tiers (title, hole, contest, cart/lunch)
4. Open online registration with entry-fee payment
5. Offer mulligans, raffle tickets, and donations at checkout
6. Confirm the field, assign teams, and build the tee sheet
7. Print scorecards, tee sheets, cart signs, and bag tags with sponsor logos
8. Run live scoring and share the spectator board
9. Announce winners, award prizes, and report the total raised

Do those nine things and you'll run a tournament that looks professional, moves fast, and raises more for the cause than a stack of paper scorecards ever could.