This installment in our PGA Q&A blog series discusses a popular topic for charity golf tournament planners: food and beverage. Food and beverage can play a major role in elevating the tournament experience, but many tournament organizers aren’t sure how to tackle this part of planning. Get insights from GolfStatus’ on-staff PGA Professionals: Cash Dinkel, PGA; Jason Meininger, PGA; and Paul Murcek, PGA.
Q: where do i start in choosing food and beverage for my tournament?
Cash Dinkel: First, determine whether or not you want to have any food and beverage (F&B) associated with your event. Most tournaments we work with offer F&B, and to be honest, it’s become an expectation when playing in these events. Your best bet is to start with the golf facility. Many facilities will have F&B operations on site and will bundle F&B into your tournament package, which makes coordination much easier. Next, determine your budget. You can either wrap the F&B costs into player registrations or sell a sponsorship to cover the costs. Finally, you’ll need to determine if you’ll offer a grab and go/boxed lunch or a sit down meal and if you’ll distribute F&B during play or post-round. Don’t forget to ask about food allergies during registration if you’re offering F&B.
Jason Meininger: Your host golf facility should have a banquet menu for you to choose from and they can offer suggestions on what meals are good options for golf outings. Cost will also be a factor to consider.
Paul Murcek: Start with the facility hosting the event. Some will require that you use their F&B service. Other facilities may allow you to cater a meal or have a sponsor like a local restaurant provide lunch in the cart. Be sure you ask questions when outlining your contract so you and the facility are on the same page with F&B.
Q: I’m trying to decide between a public facility and a country club. Is there a difference when it comes to food and beverage?
Jason Meininger: Yes, there will likely be a difference in both the quality, available options, and cost. I recommend getting menu options from private and public golf facilities so you can compare offerings and costs.
Paul Murcek: More than likely a private country club will have more top-tier options for F&B (but they’ll also come with a higher price tag).
Cash Dinkel: Most country clubs have high-level F&B operations in their facilities, which typically mean a higher quality of food and presentation. Because of that, costs are also typically much higher per person. You can also expect a higher level of service at a country club.
Post-golf dinner, drinks, and entertainment help enhance the overall tournament experience for golfers and sponsors.
Q: If my host facility doesn’t offer food and beverage, what recommendations do you have?
Paul Murcek: At the golf facilities where I worked that didn’t have F&B options, we had recommendations for several local catering companies to offer multiple price points and food options to meet the needs of all events. So definitely ask the golf facility for ideas and recommendations for caterers.
Jason Meininger: When I ran tournaments, we would work with a dedicated catering company to provide a meal for the outing, or give the organizer the choice to find their own provider. We would often see nonprofits work with a sponsor to donate a meal.
Cash Dinkel: Reach out to local restaurants and catering companies to see if they can provide the F&B the day of your event. They may even be willing to donate food and time for some extra exposure at your event. Be sure to check with the facility to see if they will allow you to bring items they don’t offer on property.
Food and beverage is important at all golf events—even mini golf! Participants of all ages enjoy complimentary snow cones at this putt putt event.
Q: What are some ways you’ve seen of tournaments using food and beverage to enhance the tournament experience?
Jason Meininger: Some fun ones I’ve seen:
Bloody Mary bar on the range for morning events
Mobile food truck with drinks and light food
Kegs of beer on designated holes
Margarita machines on designated holes
Cash Dinkel: F&B can really change the tournament and make it memorable for golfers and sponsors. Here are some ideas that I’ve seen work well at charity golf tournaments:
Coolers with water, Gatorade, and snacks on all par three holes that are free to grab.
Very high-end sit-down plated meals either the night before the tournament or the evening of the event.
Grab-and-go breakfast before the event starts, or lunch if it’s an afternoon start.
On-course tasting stations of food and beverages. This is great for local restaurants and caterers, and another sponsorship option.
Chick-fil-A delivered on the course to golfers as they were playing.
Q: Should we offer food and beverage to volunteers? What about golf staff?
Cash Dinkel: 100% for volunteers. They are donating their time and energy to help your event, so definitely make sure they have food and drink available to them throughout the tournament. It’s also nice to offer the golf staff food and beverage, but definitely not expected.
Jason Meininger: Yes, definitely to volunteers. If there’s enough available, I would offer it to golf staff as well.
Paul Murcek: In my experience, it’s a courtesy to provide food for the tournament’s volunteers, as well as the golf staff.
Tournament organizers can opt for a sit-down meal or grab-and-go options.
Q: What is the standard range I can expect for gratuity on food and beverage at my golf tournament?
Paul Murcek: I’d say you can expect a charge of 18% to 20% on large orders at a private golf facility.
Jason Meininger: It really does vary from facility to facility, but I’ve seen 18% to 20% as a standard.
Cash Dinkel: This is totally up to the facility. Most will have gratuity built into the pricing and should be discussed before signing a contract. While I agree with my colleagues that 18-20% is a fairly standard range, be prepared for a wider range depending on the facility.
Q: Do you recommend having drink tickets, complimentary beverages (alcoholic or nonalcoholic), or a cash bar?
Cash Dinkel: Yes to any of the above. Making sure your participants have access to beverages the entire time they are at your event is a must. Most events will have a traditional cash bar. The next most popular option is giving each player one or two drink tickets with their registration, then they can pay for anything from the cash bar after using their tickets. I would say it’s not very common to have complimentary beverages, simply because of the cost. That being said, finding a sponsor to cover the cost of drink tickets for players is a great way to get that cost covered and provide an additional sponsorship opportunity.
Jason Meininger: Most events I’ve seen provide drink tickets. If you can get a sponsor for the beverage cart or bar service, then you could provide complimentary drinks.
Paul Murcek: If you can find a sponsor or sponsors to pay for complimentary drinks, this is a great way to increase the fun of the tournament and keep golfers and sponsors coming back.
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