- Member-Guest tournaments are often among the most important events on a club’s calendar, and flawless execution results in happy members and delighted guests. This type of event typically consists of several flights with six teams in each flight. Each team plays a round-robin schedule of matches within their flight, earning points as they win holes and matches. In this Spotlight, we will detail the features and some best practices that can make your Member-Guest tournaments truly outstanding.

The process begins with Member-Guest registration. Important information such as names and nicknames, guest clubs, Handicap Service IDs, contact details, and often things like shirt or shoe sizes and other information need to be captured. Furthermore, because of the popularity of this kind of event, registration may often require managing a waiting list. Managing the registration process manually can be cumbersome, time consuming and error prone. Most often teams are required to register for this event months in advance resulting in several changes up until the event is played. To manage these, we suggest utilizing an event spreadsheet to upload the players information into your event.

The Round Robin Scheduler will ensure every team or individual plays a match against every other team or individual. This is especially helpful in setting up a Member-Guest Invitational where each team plays five 9-hole matches against the other teams in their flight. When using the round robin scheduler, you can create it for two-person teams or individuals. Using the scheduler allows for easy hole assignments ensuring that each flight is playing on the same side of the golf course. 

Engage your Members and Guests with a Customized Event Portal:

The event experience can extend beyond the boundaries of your club property. With an online event portal customized for your specific Member-Guest, you can present a creative and informative website prior to the event. While the portal is a useful way to communicate with your players, it also raises the excitement level as teams can view the results of each round from their mobile device.  Participants can also relive the memorable experience by visiting the portal post-event. In addition to tee times and full leaderboard, here are some additional suggestions for creative portal pages:

• Round Robin Tee Sheet
• Message from the President
• Past Winners
• Rules of Competition
• Event Agenda
• Directions to the Club
• Weather Widgets
• Action, Team, and Winner Photos

Stay in Touch with the Members and Guests: 

Communication with members and guests before, during, and after the event is critical. Team/Flight changes, weather delays, round robin schedules, and mobile app instructions are just some of the informational emails that may be sent throughout the event. You can easily compose and send these emails through our software with an attractive customized banner. If using Event and League Registration, you can also collect email addresses from guests and communicate directly with them as well.

It’s not uncommon for clubs to incorporate Parimutuels into Member-Guest Invitationals. It can be stressful and difficult to manage by hand. However, with our Parimutuel feature, bets can easily be placed and viewed by the players.  Bets can be easily entered before the event while live odds are computed. After the event is complete, results can be computed within seconds with just the click of a button. Once a player has made a bet they will receive an email confirmation for each bet placed.

Create a “Tour Experience” with Live Scoring: 

The power and player appeal of live scoring cannot be overstated. Having the live leaderboard available on the mobile app, digital scoreboards, and portal will impress the members and guests throughout the entire event. Live scoring has been used successfully in thousands of events, and players love the feature. A Member-Guest event tends to create a hectic atmosphere. Players are continuously coming and going, and leaderboards need to constantly be updated. Utilizing the live scoring not only provides a unique experience for the players, but it also helps the pro staff minimize “time to results” and frees them up to interact with participants.

Before the event, email your players with mobile app instructions. As suggested above, consider using the mobile app during the practice round to get players comfortable entering scores. Before the matches begin, distribute the scorecards, and have the players enter their scores on the mobile app. After the completion of each round, players can hand in their scorecards and confirm that the results on the live leaderboard are correct. Distribute the scorecards for the next match and repeat the process.

Provide Best-In-Class Printed Material: 

Creating attractive and professional printed material is a must for showcase events like this. Our software provides the ability to create high-quality printed material with ease. Pair this with custom stock to provide that best-in-class printed material. Here are a few examples:

• Multi-Round Cart Signs: In many cases, teams will keep the same cart the entire weekend. These cart signs list their names along with their matches, starting holes, starting times, and handicap strokes for every match.
• Bag Tags: One of the first experiences a guest will have been stopping by the bag drop with their golf bag. Creating an attractive bag tag will let them know your operation is rolling out the red carpet. 
• Locker Room Cards: Yet another way to make your visiting guests feel special. Make them feel at home with a personalized locker sign. 
• Large Printed Scoreboards: We offer a few different Publisher Member-Guest scoreboard templates. Easily create and print attractive large format scoreboards for all your flights. If you do not own a plotter printer, try searching local printing companies that will print the scoreboards for a small fee.  

For a complete step-by-step tutorial on setting up this type of event, Click Here. 

For a complete step-by-step tutorial on setting up the Round Robin Scheduler, Click Here.

If you are interested in more information on this process, please contact Dave Miller at the Golf Association.