Colorado Under Par has managed golf tournaments for 8+ years and supported 540+ events that raised $2.5M for Colorado causes. This is the plan we follow, step by step, with the free tools we built to do each part.
Quick answer: Start 6 to 12 months out. Build a small committee, set a fundraising goal and budget, book a course for a weekday (Mondays are often easiest), and plan for 120 to 144 golfers in a scramble with a shotgun start. Sell sponsorships early, open registration online, promote for at least 8 weeks, and run the day from a written run of show. Then send thank-yous and report what you raised.
Planning your first one? Answer 9 quick questions and get a free starter plan: venues near you, entry prices and a sponsor plan to reach your goal, a month-by-month timeline, and a one-page brief for your board.
Good courses book their best weekdays a year ahead, and sponsors set budgets months before your date. Six months is the minimum for a first event; 9 to 12 is better.
Start with two numbers: how much you want to raise, and how many golfers you can realistically fill. Everything else (entry price, sponsor levels, budget) follows from them. Pick a rain date at the same time, and ask the course what happens to your deposit if weather cancels the day.
Free tool: the starter plan turns your goal and player count into a month-by-month timeline, so you know what to do each month.
One person cannot run a tournament well. Name five roles, even if some people hold two:
Recruit from your board, past donors and the people your cause already serves. Warm introductions from committee members close far more sponsors and golfers than cold calls.
Free tool: in the Organizer Dashboard you can invite co-organizers, helpers and check-in volunteers. Each person gets their own sign-in and sees only the tools for their role.
Many courses, private and public, are quiet on Mondays, which makes Monday the easiest day to book a full outing. Ask each course for:
For 18 holes with a shotgun start, plan on 120 to 144 golfers: two foursomes on each hole is 144. A smaller field of 72 to 100 works well with tee times.
Free tool: the starter plan lists venues near you, and the Event Venues directory covers golf courses and venues across Colorado.
List every cost before you set a price: green fees and carts, food and drinks, prizes and trophies, signs and printing, player gifts, insurance, and payment processing.
Then work out your cost per player: total costs divided by expected golfers. Your entry price should cover that cost with room to spare, so sponsorships and on-course games become your profit, not your break-even. Offer a team price (a foursome) as well as a single player price.
Free tool: the budget planner in the Organizer Dashboard lets you model what you could raise and spend before you sell a ticket, then tracks the plan against real sales as they come in. Our Event Budget Planner guide walks through each line.
Most charity events pair a scramble with a shotgun start, where every group starts at the same time on a different hole, so everyone finishes together for lunch or awards.
Free tool: when you set up your event on CUP you pick foursomes or twosomes, shotgun or tee times, and team links where each golfer claims their own spot. Singles can be paired into teams.
Sponsors are where most of the money is. Build levels from the top down:
Send your sponsor packet 4 to 6 months out, follow up personally, and thank every sponsor publicly.
Free tool: CUP fills in suggested sponsor levels when you create your event. Sponsors upload their logo, website and socials when they pay, so you never chase files by email, and the logos flow straight to your sponsor wall and thank-you poster. More in our sponsor checklist and sponsor outreach guide.
On-course contests and extras add money and make the day fun:
We collected the best ones in 50 Charity Golf Tournament Ideas.
Free tool: the dashboard handles contests, 50/50, raffles, silent auction bid sheets with phone bidding, in-kind donations and donor thank-you letters.
Take registrations and payments online, not on paper or spreadsheets. Open registration as soon as the date and price are set, then promote for at least 8 weeks: a save the date, an event flyer, sponsor flyers for local businesses, weekly social posts and timed emails.
Free tool: Sell Tickets on CUP is free to build and costs 1% per paid order plus Stripe card processing, paid straight to your own Stripe account. Your event is listed on the Colorado Under Par Event Hub, where Colorado golfers and sponsors already look for events. Your marketing kit (save the date, flyer, sponsor packet, posters and promo emails) is built automatically from your event, logos, colors and fonts.
A tournament day runs 5 to 7 hours from setup to awards. Write a run of show with times and an owner for every step: setup, check-in, the rules talk, the shotgun, food on the course, scoring, awards and teardown. Feed people well: breakfast or lunch before play, snacks on the course and a meal at awards.
Free tool: CUP gives you a print-ready day-of kit (alpha sheet, rosters, cart signs, scorecards with QR codes, bag tags), a staff and volunteer roster, and a day-of task list that moves with your start time. Volunteers check golfers in on any phone, and teams score on their phones with a live leaderboard on the TV.
Within a week: finalize the money, thank every golfer, sponsor and volunteer, and share what you raised. Ask for feedback while the day is fresh, then book next year’s date.
Free tool: the money dashboard shows card, cash and checks in one view, with expenses, sponsor invoices and a board report. Thank-you emails go out from your dashboard, and you can duplicate the event for next year in one step.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| 9 to 12 months out | Set the goal and player count, form the committee, book the course and a rain date |
| 6 to 9 months out | Build the budget and entry price, pick the format, write sponsor levels |
| 4 to 6 months out | Send sponsor packets, open registration, send the save the date |
| 2 to 4 months out | Promote weekly, line up contests, prizes and auction items, recruit volunteers |
| 2 to 4 weeks out | Confirm food and carts with the course, make pairings, print signs and the day-of kit |
| Event week | Final counts to the course, volunteer briefing, run of show walk-through |
| Event day | Check-in, shotgun, scoring, awards |
| Week after | Finalize money, thank everyone, share results, book next year |
Want this filled in for your date? The free starter plan builds it month by month, and our Event Timeline Builder guide explains each step.
Six to 12 months. Courses book their best dates a year out, and sponsors set budgets months ahead. Six months is the minimum for a first event.
For 18 holes with a shotgun start, 120 to 144 golfers (two foursomes per hole is 144). Smaller fields of 72 to 100 work well with tee times.
A four-person scramble with a shotgun start. Every skill level can play, the pace stays quick, and everyone finishes together for awards.
Add up every cost and divide by your expected golfers to get your cost per player. Price above that so sponsors and on-course games are your profit.
Sponsorships first, then entry fees, then on-course contests, mulligans, 50/50 raffles and silent auctions.
Colorado Under Par is free to build on and costs 1% per paid order plus card processing, paid straight to your own Stripe account. It covers registration, sponsors, check-in, live scoring, the budget, the money and the day-of kit. See how it works.
Yes. CUP has managed charity and corporate golf tournaments in Colorado for 8 years. Have CUP run your event.
Watch: How to plan a charity golf tournament Read the guide
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