Give me a Lesson on Golf Tournaments for association meetings etc....

[2rocky]

I was appointed to a trade group board that has a lot of meetings conventions and conferences that have a golf tournament the day before.

I have never Golfed...Other than a few trips to the driving range.

Are people's attitudes competitive at these? I'd hate to get put in a mixed foursome with people who want to win...

Or does our company need to put together a foursome?

What is the general participation level of spouses at these things? See, my other half is a pretty damn good golfer. Would people think it was sandbagging to bring in a spouse who would win longest drive, and low score?

Give me some guidance so I can know what to expect before I go to Indian Wells in April.

 

[Bob-WY]

Really depends on the people running it and the people in it. Some people are competitive no matter what, some have fun, no matter what.

Many of these are also a scramble, or best ball. Where everyone tees off, the group picks the best shot and all play from that spot.

 

[Zootownelk]

Yeah, almost all are 'best ball' as described by Bob. My experience is they are usually light-hearted and fun. There's always a few that take it too seriously, but even most people that casually play golf are not good at it. The nice thing about "Best Ball" is even though you may not be much help off the tee or long fairway shots, you can still help around the green and putt. Sometimes we'll have the least experienced person putt first to show the others what the break is. That's super helpful. Have fun!

 

[Deleted member 18333]

I play in a bunch of them. They are almost all just about having fun. Bring your wife. No sandbagging. Some teams take things very seriously, others (most) are just out to have some fun. BTW, "scramble" and "best ball" are not synonymous. Scramble is what has been described above. Each player hits from same spot and you pick which one you all like the best and then you all go to that spot and hit your next spot. Best ball, each player hits there own ball (location) the entire hole and at the end of the hole you pick the lowest score and that is the one your team records. Most tournaments are scrambles, IME.

 

[Bob-WY]

Even if you're no good, every team needs some to buy the beer

 

[Treeshark]

Agreed, I’ve never been to one of these types of events that wasn’t a best ball (and I’ve been to many).

A few rules for success for the non-golfer at these:

1. You don’t have to be good, just don’t be slow. Also- don’t step between the ball and the hole on the green, and try not to make noise when someone is about to swing.

2. Make sure you hit your chips and putts hard enough to get to the hole. If you’re paired with better golfers, your best shot at contributing is holing a chip or longer putt- won’t ever do that if you don’t at least get it there.

 

[Flatrock]

I'd say for the most part, they're pretty easy going. Most people just want to get drunk and have a good time. And since I'm married, this obviously doesn't apply to me but it is never a bad thing to have a good looking gal driving the beer cart......

I'd say my biggest piece of advice is that if you give out prizes, consider giving prizes to something like 3rd, 7th and 10th place. That way, literally every team has a chance of winning.

Also, I would just let people come up with their own teams. People want to play with friends/family, etc. I would much rather have it that way. And if someone brings a stacked team but 1st place doesn't win the "big" prize, then it really doesn't matter if the team is stacked.