25+ Fun Charity Golf Outing Games to Shatter Your Goals

When you pair the fun of a golf tournament with the feel-good reward of giving back to the community, your nonprofit is sure to bring your event fundraising goals to life! However, you don’t want to just meet your goals; you want to exceed them. This is where engaging golf tournament hole ideas can help.

From theming your golf tournament to adding fun mini games throughout a standard course, the opportunities are endless. Let’s take a look at our favorite outing games to upgrade your next golf tournament:

• Classic Golf Tournament Hole Ideas
• Most Competitive Charity Golf Outing Games
• Fun Golf Tournament Hole Ideas for All Skill Levels
• 3 Additional Golf Tournament Ideas to Maximize Revenue

As you read through these golf outing games, consider your audience’s skill level and what would appeal most to their interests. Mix and match ideas or adapt them as needed to support your nonprofit’s fundraising goals!

Classic Golf Tournament Hole Ideas

1. Mulligans

In competitive gameplay, second chances are everything! Mulligans give your tournament players another opportunity to swing without counting the previous strike against their score. To make this a revenue-generating opportunity, consider the following strategies:

• Offer mulligans for sale to participants before or during the event. When participants buy their tickets for your big event, provide them the option to purchase a set number of mulligans for a fixed price. You can even enable donors to make add-on purchases during the golf tournament with the help of mobile bidding software! Consider offering discounts for bulk purchases to encourage participants to buy more mulligans.
• Give corporate sponsors the opportunity to sponsor mulligans by featuring their name and branding on mulligan tickets or at designated mulligan stations on the course. In exchange, sponsors can make a financial or in-kind donation to your nonprofit.
• Include mulligans as part of a silent auction or raffle package. Participants can bid on or purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win sets of mulligans. Consider hosting a fundraising gala with an auction or raffle component before your golf tournament to ramp up giving (more information on this in a later section!).

With the help of comprehensive event fundraising software, your nonprofit can easily build mulligans into the ticketing process, promote them on a comprehensive event microsite, and empower guests to easily purchase these special second-chance passes during the tournament from their phones.

Plus, event fundraising software streamlines your entire event planning process, making planning and hosting your golf tournament a breeze. Look for event fundraising software with these key features to maximize your event’s fundraising potential:

Event Management

Whether you want to host an in-person tournament or hybrid golf fundraiser with programming for an at-home audience, your fundraising software should have you covered. The right tool will help you facilitate a seamless online registration process, sell custom ticket packages, create table groups for a pre-tournament auction, track individual donor activity, and more.

Auction Tools

Thinking of pairing your golf tournament with a high-energy auction? No problem! With your event fundraising solution, host a live, silent, or hybrid auction to bring in even more earnings than your tournament on its own. Look for a fundraising platform with mobile bidding software and purchase capabilities so guests can submit bids and buy add-ons like mulligans all from their phones.

Online Giving

Seamlessly facilitate online giving before, during, and after your event by investing in a fundraising platform with online fundraising capabilities. Specifically, you should be able to create fundraising microsites to engage donors and inspire registrations, create mobile-friendly donation pages with secure SSL/PCI payment processing, and enable supporters to create their own personal fundraising pages.

Text-to-Give

In the last few years, mobile giving has risen in popularity as donors look for simple ways to give. Take your golf fundraiser to the next level by allowing participants to submit extra donations via text-to-give software. This allows people who aren’t able to attend your events to still make an impact and conveniently give from anywhere at any time.

Sponsorship Management

Between reserving a golf course, arranging food and beverages, and procuring exciting items for a pre-event auction, your tournament can quickly add up in costs. But, if you have corporate sponsors on your side, you can save your hard-earned funds and boost profits. With the help of your event fundraising solution, you should be able to easily customize and manage sponsorship packages while tracking overall impressions to demonstrate sponsor ROI.

OneCause is the premier all-in-one fundraising software for your golf tournament needs. With all of these core features and more, OneCause can help your nonprofit put together an unforgettable event experience guaranteed to maximize earnings and strengthen donor relationships. From planning your event logistics to adding in plenty of extra fundraising opportunities, OneCause will support your team every step of the way!

2. The Pink Ball

This popular golf tournament fundraising idea is easy to set up and execute. Each team begins to play using a pink ball, which is rotated between players for each hole. During the rotation of the pink ball, the score of the golfer with the pink ball is recorded.

Any team that loses the ball is eliminated. If more than one team manages not to lose the ball, then the winner is decided by the teams’ scores for the pink ball. This is a great way to add some friendly competition into the mix and encourage camaraderie among each of your teams.

You can either allow your donors to register in teams before the tournament or randomly assign them to groups once it kicks off. Either way, make sure all of your participants belong to a team so you can boost everyone’s sense of belonging!

3. Hole-in-One Contest

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of making a hole-in-one! Capitalize on this excitement by setting up a classic hole-in-one contest, which challenges your golfers to hit the ball from the tee to the hole in just one stroke. Designate one hole on your golf course for this challenge—it’s best to choose a par-3 hole so your golfers have a fair chance at making the shot.

Then, offer a special prize to the golfer who makes this shot, such as branded merchandise, new golf gear, or even a cash prize sponsored by one of your corporate partners.

If multiple golfers make the hole-in-one, provide an additional challenge for them to complete to name the final winner! For example, you might organize a closest-to-the-pin shootout on another designated hole to determine the ultimate winner. We’ll discuss how to set up this charity golf outing game next.

To secure a corporate sponsor for your hole-in-one contest, keep these tips in mind:

• Research like-minded organizations: Look for local companies that share a similar purpose or values. For example, an animal welfare organization might partner with a pet supply store in their area. This commonality will make it more likely that a partner will want to sponsor you, especially if there’s an obvious benefit to them (like a shared target audience!).
• Develop corporate sponsorship tiers: Various sponsorship tiers will allow businesses with different giving capacities to still participate in your fundraiser. For example, you might offer a bronze tier ($1,000), silver tier ($5,000), and gold tier ($10,000) with the value of the return on sponsorship increasing with each tier.
• Write a corporate sponsorship letter: Explain the purpose of your golf tournament, the specific type of support you’re requesting, and what your nonprofit can offer in return. In most cases, this will be featuring their name and logo across your marketing materials. Send your sponsorship letters far in advance of your event so you can effectively budget.
• Market your corporate sponsors: The right fundraising software will help you feature sponsors in sidebars, custom pages, and logo rotation on your event microsite. Then, you can track impressions and engagement to demonstrate how your organization is boosting the partner’s visibility.

Once you start scoring corporate sponsorships, create open lines of communication with your partners and express appreciation. This can lead to longer-term relationships that you can both benefit from for years to come!

4. Closest to the Pin

Test your golfers’ skills on a par-3 with a contest called “Closest to the Pin.” Whichever golfer can put their ball on the green closest to the hole wins! In order to show the current leader, you might bring a physical scoreboard to the putting green and create a virtual scoreboard on your event microsite for remote participants to follow.

You can incorporate this game into your charity golf tournament in two ways: as one of the holes in a traditional 18-hole tournament or as a standalone event. Whichever way you choose, you can always amp up fundraising by hosting an online auction—not only does this give your players something to do while they wait for their turn, but it also increases your earnings!

Encourage golfers to view and bid on auction items with mobile bidding software, helping your cause raise more. Consider auctioning off themed items, like golf clubs, a golf watch, or a new golf bag. You can mix it up by offering items that appeal to a diverse range of interests, like a baked goods basket from local bakeries or front row tickets to an upcoming concert.

Check out our list of the most profitable silent auction item ideas to inspire your item procurement efforts!

Most Competitive Charity Golf Outing Games

5. Beat the Pro

This charity golf outing game takes a bit more planning, but can help you reap plenty of rewards, like enhanced donor engagement, additional publicity, and more revenue to name a few! You’ll need to coordinate with the golf club or course you’re partnering with to station a local pro at one of the holes.

Your golfers will place bets with the pro that they can hit the ball closer to the pin, depending on the par. If the participant hits the ball closer than the pro, then they win the bet and are paid double. If the pro wins the bet, the money will go to the nonprofit.

Additionally, see if your pro is free to offer a few lessons. Golf pointers are one of the most reliably effective charity auction item ideas.

If your golfers actually beat the pro, they’ll want to share the news! Make sure your fundraising software integrates with social media so golfers can easily share their success with friends and family—and spread the news of your nonprofit in the process.

6. Hire-a-Pro

Hire-a-Pro is another game that you can play if you have a pro golfer at your event. Here’s how it works:

• Station your golf pro (ideally, one who’s particularly strong at hitting long drives) at the longest and toughest hole on the golf course.
• Once a team gets to the hole where the pro is stationed, they can pay the pro a set amount (we recommend $10-$40 per swing) to make the shot for them.
• The team can continue paying the pro to finish the hole if they need the support.

This game requires you to quickly accept donations at tee-off, so make sure you have mobile-optimized event fundraising software on hand. This way, your donors can easily take their phones out of their pockets, submit another donation, and be right back in the action of your golf tournament.

Some teams will naturally opt out, but in the heat of the competition, we’re willing to bet that this will be an opportunity many teams can’t refuse! In any case, Hire-a-Pro is a fun way to add a competitive edge to your event, all while raising a little extra money for your cause.

7. Longest Drive with a Marshmallow

Designate one hole as the “marshmallow hole.” Then, station a volunteer at that hole to give each golfer their marshmallow. Whichever golfer can hit their marshmallow the farthest wins a small prize! This game allows your golfers to have a little lighthearted fun and gives them the potential to win a great prize in one fell swoop.

The best prizes for golf outing games are related to the game and to your organization. Think about items like:

• Branded golf shirts
• Golf balls
• Towels
• Prime parking at the golf course
• Complimentary caddie services at your next golf tournament

If you want to get the biggest bang for your buck, consider asking sponsors to pitch in for prizes as part of their sponsorship package. They might be interested in including their own logo alongside yours on the items themselves as well as on your online event materials. Not only does this relieve your financial burden, but it gives your sponsors a chance to increase their brand visibility, making it a win-win situation!

8. Speed Golf

With speed golf, strokes and minutes count equally, so your participants have no time to waste if they want to win! This fun game challenges golfers to move quickly through the course and be as precise with their swings as possible. Plus, it adds an additional level of physical fitness since golfers will need to run to reduce their overall time.

To make speed golf even more intriguing, consider these ideas:

• Introduce fun and creative obstacle course challenges along the course to add excitement and variety to the speed golf competition. For example, you might add water hazards, inflatable obstacles, or themed challenges inspired by your charity to the course.
• Organize team relay races where participants take turns completing designated sections of the course. Teams must pass a baton or marker to each member as they progress through the course, further bolstering their sense of teamwork and camaraderie.
• Project a timer showing how long it takes each team to complete a course to further gamify your event and keep energy levels high.

You can also ask your speed golf teams to peer-to-peer fundraise in advance of your golf tournament to spark more giving and engagement. This involves creating team fundraising pages, setting a goal, and sharing this page widely among friends and family members.

A successful peer-to-peer fundraiser can help your nonprofit:

• Engage your entire community in fundraising
• Raise awareness around your cause
• Build stronger donor connections
• Grow your network of supporters
• Increase your total event earnings

To bring your peer-to-peer fundraiser to life, work with top peer-to-peer fundraising software. Look for a platform that offers the following features for supporters to hit the ground running with personalized campaigns and spread the word about your nonprofit far and wide:

Fundraising microsite builder

Promoting your event shouldn’t feel like a hassle! With dedicated peer-to-peer fundraising software, you can generate a seamless microsite that communicates your golf tournament fundraiser’s purpose, fundraising goal, and perks of attendance in just moments.

Social integrations

Make it as simple as possible for your golfers to share their peer-to-peer fundraising pages by embedding social sharing buttons. This way, it only takes one click to broadcast your nonprofit on platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and X (formerly Twitter).

Built-in gamification tools

Friendly competition can be just the spark your fundraisers need! Leverage the following tools to make raising money for your nonprofit a rewarding and exhilarating experience:

• Fundraising thermometer: Track individual and team-wide progress on the way to participants’ fundraising goals.
• Participant dashboards: Give donors enhanced visibility into how their fundraising is progressing.
• Leaderboards: Bring a competitive spirit to your golf tournament peer-to-peer campaign by highlighting the top fundraisers.
• Milestone badges: Award donors with digital badges when they hit major benchmarks like passing the halfway mark on their fundraising goal.

You can also use your fundraising software to send segmented email communications that highlight supporters’ accomplishments and encourage them to keep going.

Event management

OneCause will walk you through every step of bringing your peer-to-peer fundraiser to life. Specifically, you’ll be equipped to create flexible registration options, set up custom discount codes with maximum usage, embed your branding in your online donation page and peer-to-peer fundraising microsite, and much more.

By leveraging a true all-in-one fundraising solution like OneCause, you can manage your peer-to-peer fundraiser and golf tournament all under one roof. With OneCause, you never have to worry about siloed tools and data slipping through the cracks; everything you need is accessible, organized, and right at your fingertips!

Fun Golf Tournament Hole Ideas that Appeal to All Skill Levels

9. Hole of Fortune

Give your charity golf outing some off-the-wall flair by incorporating a game of Wheel of Fortune.

Near one of your holes, you can place a wheel sporting different instructions, some advantages (automatic hole-in-one, starting closer to an important hole, etc.), and some embarrassing tasks (take your next swing blindfolded, do a silly dance before your next hit, etc.).

If you want, you can have golfers make donations to spin the wheel to incorporate additional fundraising opportunities for your event. For example, request $10 for each additional spin. This is an easy way to immerse your golfers in your event, increase earnings, and bring more levity and light-heartedness to your competition!

10. Frisbee Golf

If you want to make your golf outing really unique, try using a frisbee! The basic gist is the same, except your “golfers” will be throwing a frisbee instead of hitting golf balls. You might have to alter the format of the game, but it’s pretty easy to change up while leaving the overall feel of the game intact.

Because your participants don’t have to be golfers to play, you can expand your marketing techniques if you decide to go with a frisbee golf tournament! Along with targeting major donors, you might also encourage them to bring their children for a more laid-back version of the traditional charity golf outing. Ensure your fundraising software can record seating requests to keep families together on the course and in the clubhouse.

11. Opposite-Handed Sets

Lefties become righties, and righties become lefties in this zany golf tournament hole idea! Designate one or several holes where golfers have to try using opposite-handed golf clubs. We recommend choosing a par-3 hole on the golf course so golfers have a fair chance to make the hole in as few strokes as possible.

Or, use this fun idea for a putting contest to make it a little simpler on your golfers. Whichever way you decide to put this together, place markers by the holes where this contest will take place.

12. Blindfold Putting Challenge

A blindfold putting challenge is a unique and engaging activity that adds an extra element of fun and unpredictability to a standard golf tournament fundraiser. Set up a designated area of the putting green where golfers will be blindfolded and challenged to make the shot.

Ensure this area is free of obstacles and hazards to ensure your participants’ safety. Then, gamify your contest by awarding a special prize to the participants who are able to make the hole in just one stroke.

3 Additional Golf Tournament Ideas to Maximize Revenue

13. Pair your golf fundraiser with a gala

Why not pair two powerful fundraising events together to bring in even more revenue for your cause? By connecting your golf fundraiser with a fundraising gala, you can further build upon your relationships with major donors, raise awareness for your cause, and shatter your fundraising goals.

To host the perfect fundraising gala, follow these steps:

1. Set goals and objectives: Follow the SMART model (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound) to set concrete goals with key performance indicators (KPIs). This will help you design a clear roadmap to success.
2. Assemble your gala team: Put together a stellar squad of staff and volunteers who can handle event logistics, marketing, sponsorships, audience engagement, and more.
3. Create your agenda: Create an exciting program that will keep your audience’s interest and give you plenty of opportunities to bring attention to your cause. These activities can include a live or silent auction, networking, dinner and dancing, and multimedia presentations.
4. Choose your theme: An engaging theme can set the tone for your event and enhance the attendee experience. For example, a marine conservation organization might use an “Under the Sea” theme to further connect attendees to their mission. If your golf fundraiser already has a theme, use the same one for your gala to make your fundraiser more cohesive.
5. Invest in the right tools: Your tech stack should consist of a dedicated fundraising platform with a full suite of features, including event management, online giving, and auction tools like mobile bidding.
6. Select a venue and hire vendors: If you’re hosting your gala in person or in a hybrid format, book a venue that accommodates your audience size and has the equipment and amenities you need, like a stereo system and chairs and tables. Hire vendors for entertainment, catering, and decorations.
7. Promote your gala: Use a multi-channel marketing plan to connect with various audiences and keep your organization top of mind. For your major donors, send handwritten invitations to create a more genuine and personalized feel.
8. Keep attendees engaged: Leverage gamification tools like fundraising thermometers and scoreboards to keep energy levels high.
9. Follow up with attendees: Thank your donors for attending and share other opportunities for them to get involved in your organization, such as volunteering or peer-to-peer fundraising.
10. Reflect on gala performance: Determine if you met your goals and identify ways to hone your event strategy for the future.

To take your gala a step further, you can create unique VIP experiences to strengthen connections with prospective major donors. For example, you might make your gala hybrid and only invite your major stakeholders to your in-person gathering, offering them exclusive perks like food, catering, and entertainment.

Make sure to break up your programming with fund-a-need appeals to encourage more giving and exceed your goals!

14. Leverage ambassador fundraising

Ambassador fundraising is a form of peer-to-peer fundraising that taps your most well-connected supporters to spearhead campaigns on your behalf. With their influence and wide networks, you can easily boost your nonprofit’s awareness and bring in more funds in the process. To get started with ambassador fundraising, use these strategies:

• Recruit ambassadors among your board members, volunteers, sponsor connections, and well-connected donors.
• Determine what your ambassadors will do to support your golf tournament fundraiser (promote event attendance, lead social media campaigns, etc.)
• Set up program goals and clear guidelines for your ambassadors.
• Provide peer-to-peer fundraising training.
• Gamify fundraising with a leaderboard and fundraising thermometers.

After your ambassador fundraiser, make sure to express appreciation for all of their hard work! You might even be able to retain their support for your next golf tournament fundraiser or other event!

15. Host a matching gift drive

Corporate sponsors can be a huge support system when it comes to hosting large-scale events like golf tournament fundraisers. They can offer you help in the form of:

• Funds: Philanthropic companies can provide direct financial support to bring your event to life.
• Goods: In-kind donations, like venue space or auction items, help to cut down costs and save you planning time.
• Volunteer time: Skilled volunteers streamline event management and fill in any gaps in your team.

One of the most lucrative types of corporate sponsorships that can accelerate your giving is matching gifts. Ask your corporate partner if they would be willing to host a matching donation challenge to encourage major donors to elevate their giving.

For example, a corporate sponsor might pledge to match every dollar donated up to $30,000. Once $30,000 is reached, the corporate sponsor would then give your organization an additional $30,000, earning you plenty of funds to advance your mission with full force.

Eager for even more fun golf tournament hole ideas? Check out these 10 additional charity golf outing ideas sure to explode your fundraising results:

• Drink tickets: Offer participants the option to purchase drink tickets for access to beverages throughout the tournament.
• Logo accessories: Provide branded merchandise or accessories featuring the tournament logo, such as hats, towels, or ball markers, available for purchase or included in registration packages
• Best-dressed contest: Host a contest for the best-dressed golfer or team, encouraging participants to showcase their creativity and style.
• Mini-golf inspired hole: Set up a mini-golf-inspired hole with fun obstacles and challenges.
• Night golf: Organize a night golf event with glow-in-the-dark balls, illuminated markers, and course lighting.
• Team relay hole: Create a team relay challenge where players must work together to complete a designated hole within a set time limit.
• Mystery hole: Designate a mystery hole where the challenge or obstacles are kept secret until participants reach the tee, adding an element of surprise and excitement to the tournament.
• Putting roulette: Set up a putting roulette game where participants putt to random holes on a specially designed putting green, with prizes awarded based on the outcome.
• Golf marathon: Make your golf fundraiser an all-day event, with golfers competing through the course several times. Award prizes to the golfers who earn the best scores or finish the marathon first.
• Flamingo hole: Put a flamingo marker by one of the holes and encourage golfers to take their best swing posing like a flamingo with one leg raised up!
• Trivia hole: Designate a hole where participants must answer a trivia question before making their shot. Each correct answer earns them an advantage for their next shot, like a closer tee location or mulligan.

No matter what hole ideas you use, you’ll need the right fundraising technology to make your golf fundraiser a success. Let’s take a closer look at how OneCause can transform your fundraising event planning and management:

Get Started with OneCause

The OneCause Fundraising Platform makes giving modern, flexible, and seamless to drive deeper engagement and grow your fundraising. Whether you’re pairing your golf fundraiser with a silent auction or ending the day with an unforgettable fundraising gala, OneCause makes it simple to host events of all types.

OneCause comes with a full suite of tools to amplify your impact, including:

• Custom ticket packages for in-person and virtual guests
• Express check-in and check-out with QR codes
• Item procurement status tracking and management
• Customizable online sponsorship packages
• Donor cultivation insights with real-time fundraising analytics

Take a look at this versatile all-in-one fundraising software that meets the expectations of today’s donors.

TAKE A TOUR

Wrapping Up

A golf tournament fundraiser is the perfect way to cultivate and steward relationships with supporters and maximize giving. With the right hole ideas, you can elevate your fundraiser and drive high engagement rates, leading to better fundraising outcomes for your organization.

Interested in learning more about planning a winning golf tournament fundraiser? Check out these additional resources:

• How to Run a Charity Golf Tournament. Ready to put on your first charity golf tournament? You can’t go wrong when you use our free golf tournament checklist!
• Golf Tournament Fundraiser Ideas that Drive Revenue: Need more golf fundraising ideas? Check out our list of the 18 most popular (and profitable!) charity golf tournament ideas for nonprofits!
• Planning a Showstopping Fundraising Event in 10 Steps: Get back to the basics with our guide on how to plan an inspiring fundraising event from start to finish.