Golf Tournament Gifts
By: Brent Walter

Golf Tournament Gifts Buying Guide: It's easy to pick the perfect gifts to make your tournament a success.

    There is a lot involved with putting on a great golf tournament. Among the numerous things on your to-do list, don't leave off finding the perfect golf tournament gifts. Now, finding good golf tournament gifts may seem simple. However, with so many options and so many different events that need gifts, you'll quickly find that it takes a fair amount of planning. And if you plan your gifts just right, they can do much more than reward good performances. They can enhance the entire tournament experience and spread the good word about your organization. For example, your golf tournament gifts can entice more participants and spur intense competition. That air of competition can create a festive and exciting atmosphere. The last thing you want is a flat feel among the guests and participants.
    Even beyond bringing more participants and boosting the atmosphere, golf tournament gifts are a great way to spread the goodwill about your organization and sponsors. The gifts are an opportunity to display your logo and distribute it in association with winning and celebration. You couldn't buy a more positive image than having your name linked to victors or attached to a considerate thank you. But, for your gift to accomplish all of that, it must fit the situation. Here's what you need to think about to get the most of your golf tournament gifts.

Tee Gifts

    Usually organizations see handing out gifts to all the participants as a burdensome obligation, but they shouldn't. Handing out tee gifts is an amazing public relations opportunity. It isn't everyday that you get offers from hundreds of people to publicly display your organizations name. Tee gifts provide you with just that opportunity. To make the most of the your publicity opportunity, you must consider how the gifts will be used, in what circumstances they'll be used and when they'll be used. For example, many events give out tee-shirts with the event's title printed on them. However, tee-shirts usually aren't used during the event, and most people don't need an extra bum-around shirt. To pick a winner tee gifts, think about what golfers use and need. Also, think about golf-related items that are displayed publicly. You should also consider the climate you are playing in. If it rains a lot in your area, logo golf umbrellas may be perfect. Or, if you're in a sunny area, what about visors? Just think about golf-related items that are useful, necessary and can easily display your logo or name, and never underestimate the power of cool. If your tee gifts are cool, all your participants will want to show them off with pride.

Gifts for top Placers

    If you want to honor your champions, you have two routes to consider. You can either give very valuable gifts or special, prestigious prizes. For the valuable route, you simply have to find a golf tournament gift worth a lot of money that people will want to win. Whether it's a car, vacation, cash prize, gift certificate, golf equipment or anything else, it must be enticing, very enticing. That approach is easier than the prestigious route because monetary worth is easy to measure, but emotional worth is tricky. Think of the Claret Jug of the British Open. It is prized because of its meaning, history and reputation. Now, you won't easily match the sentimental value of the trophy from the oldest golf tournament, but you can learn from it. You can build your event and prize into more than a token gift from an ordinary tournament by increasing the honor of winning. The more competitors, publicity and talent associated with the tournament, the more prestigious the victory. The more prestigious the victory the more golfers will want to win. That desire and intense competition will make your trophy valued above money for what it represents. So, to build that emotional value you will have to work hard to attract competitors and publicity. Because that is difficult, most tournaments go the monetary route. But the choice is open.

Bonus Prizes

    Besides awarding the top placing participants, you can also generate excitement and additional fanfare by holding side games such as a hole-in-one competition, par-3 match, putt-for-cash or a chip-bunker competition. The extra events give more people the chance to win and can help you draw a larger number of players and spectators. The gifts for the par-3 and chip-bunker competitions can be lesser versions of what you gave to the overall victors. However, for the hole-in-one and putt-for-cash competitions, one great option is insurance winnings packages. The insurance prize packages allow you to offer gigantic prizes, such as $1,000,000 cash or a weeklong all-expense-paid trip, without having to foot the entire bill. For a reasonable fee, a company will agree to pay for the prize if someone does hit a hole in one or makes one of the long putts for cash. It's a great way to add a lot of buzz without a lot of money.

    Golf tournament gifts are too often overlooked by event planners. Make your golf tournament gifts pull their weight by carefully considering what will work best for you. You may be surprised by how much well planned golf tournament gifts can enhance any golf event.


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