Tuesday’s Tournament Tip: Raffles and Auctions 🎟️

Golf Tournament Raffles and Auctions: How to Maximize Your Fundraising

For a charity golf tournament, the round fills the field — but raffles and auctions are often where the real money gets raised. A well-run auction or raffle can add thousands to your total and become a highlight of the day, turning the post-round gathering into the event’s most exciting hour. As the founder of Colorado Under Par, I’ve seen these go two ways: a flat table nobody noticed, or a buzzing competition that doubled the day’s fundraising. The difference is in how you run them. Here’s how to do it right. (For where raffles and auctions fit among all your fundraising options, see our 50 golf tournament ideas.)

Raffle vs. auction: use both, for different jobs

They raise money differently, and the best events run both:

• Raffles are broad and low-friction — everyone can buy a ticket for a few dollars and feel they have a shot. Great for volume: lots of small contributions add up. Ideal for mid-value prizes and impulse buys.
• Silent auctions run all day on bid sheets, letting people compete for items at their own pace. Perfect for a table of donated goods and experiences while golf is underway.
• Live auctions are the high-energy finale for your few marquee items, driven by competitive bidding in front of the whole crowd. Fewer items, bigger dollars.

A typical charity event runs a raffle and a silent auction throughout the day, capped by a short live auction of two or three standout items.

Source prizes worth competing for

The prizes make or break your fundraising — desirable items drive participation and bids. The good news is the best ones are usually donated, so they cost you nothing and raise pure profit:

• Premium golf gear — clubs, rangefinders, a quality bag
• Rounds and experiences — foursomes at prestigious courses, stay-and-play packages
• Travel and getaways — the classic high-value live-auction item
• Memorabilia and unique experiences — signed items, VIP access, money-can’t-buy experiences
• Local goods and services — restaurant packages, spa days, donated by businesses for the exposure

Lean on your sponsors and local businesses to donate these (it’s an easy “in-kind sponsorship” ask), and you fill your tables at little to no cost. (See our sponsorship guide for how to make the ask.)

Make it dead simple to participate

You lose money every time someone’s unsure how to play. Make the mechanics obvious: clearly mark ticket prices and where to buy, post simple bidding instructions on every auction item, and announce it all repeatedly from the mic. Take cards, not just cash — the single biggest raffle/auction killer is “sorry, cash only” when nobody carries cash anymore. The easier you make it to buy a ticket or place a bid, the more money you raise.

Bring energy to the live auction

A live auction lives or dies on energy. A skilled, enthusiastic auctioneer — a professional, or a charismatic local emcee — keeps bidding competitive and the crowd entertained, and can single-handedly push items well past their value. Schedule the live auction when the whole field is gathered (right around the post-round meal or awards), keep it short and high-octane with your best items, and let a good auctioneer turn it into the day’s most fun moment.

Reach people who aren’t there

Your fundraising doesn’t have to stop at the people on the course. Opening raffles or auctions online — letting supporters who couldn’t attend buy tickets or place bids remotely — expands your donor pool well beyond the field. This is especially powerful for charity events, where the cause’s broader community wants to support even if they’re not golfers. It’s exactly the kind of reach a digital platform makes possible, and a growing part of how modern charity golf events raise money.

Final thoughts

Raffles and auctions are where a charity golf tournament’s fundraising can really take off. Run a raffle and a silent auction all day, cap it with a high-energy live auction of donated marquee items, make participation effortless (and card-friendly), and extend it online to reach beyond the course. Do that, and the hour after golf can raise as much as the tournament itself.

When you’re ready to run your next one, you can list your golf tournament free on Colorado Under Par and reach players across the state.

Best regards,
Andrew Mueller, Founder, Colorado Under Par