Until recently, live scoring was something only the highest caliber golf tournaments enjoyed. But thanks to golf-specific event management technology, charity golf tournaments can employ live scoring, where players plug in their scores to a central leaderboard similar to those displayed for pro-Tour events. Live scoring lets players track and share scores in real time via a mobile app that syncs with live leaderboards, keeping players and spectators engaged, both in person and online. Organizations can leverage this tech for another premium sponsorship opportunity, and live scoring expedites finalizing the tournament’s results while increasing the event’s professionalism.

Here are six best practices for live scoring at your golf fundraiser, plus what to look for in a live scoring platform and other tips to help you maximize live leaderboards to engage supporters and drive fundraising revenue.

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1. A User-Friendly Platform is a Must.

Any mobile scoring option should have a super easy-to-use interface for players, without glitches or complications. When it’s easy to enter scores, players actually do it and aren’t distracted by having to fuss with technology. They simply enter scores with a few taps and can remain focused on their golf game and enjoying the outing. The last thing you want to do is frustrate players with a complicated platform—or worse, an unreliable one.

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2. Sell a Leaderboard Sponsorship.

The live leaderboard is the cream of the crop when it comes to sponsorships. It captures the attention of players, sponsors, and spectators during and after your tournament, making it the ideal display medium for top-tier sponsors. If your live scoring platform doesn’t accommodate a leaderboard sponsorship, you’re leaving substantial dollars on the table and missing out on a crucial opportunity for a high-capacity donor.

3. Use Live Leaderboards to Engage Spectators and Solicit Donations.

A platform with a sleek, professional leaderboard lets spectators track the overall event or even specific players online via your event website. And when these leaderboards are displayed on your website, sharing them with supporters in the context of your event is as easy as sharing a link in your organization’s newsletter, website, and social media channels. Leaderboards are also a key touchpoint and opportunity to make donation asks, so be sure your live scoring platform has a donation function built in.

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4. Add a Virtual Round or a Virtual Only Event.

Live scoring and leaderboards make it possible to hold virtual events—either a virtual only tournament or an additional round for supporters that aren’t able to participate in the in-person event—where play is extended over a period of a few days or even a month or more. Since a virtual round or tournament is held across several golf courses, you’ll need a platform that provides live scoring plus aggregate and individual leaderboards. You’ll also need the ability to post and share those leaderboards online, so you can keep participants and sponsors engaged despite the non-traditional format.

5. Share the Tournament’s Final Results.

It’s a good practice to recap your event with folks who support and are connected to your organization and its mission. Leverage the ability to post the tournament’s final results in your organization’s newsletter, website, social channels, and more. It’s also a great way to make a final donation ask from participants—send each player their score with a link to the final leaderboard along with an ask for them to match their score (or the winning team’s score) with a gift. When it comes time to send save-the-dates for next year’s event, you can also use historical results to easily re-engage participants.

6. Employ Golf-Specific Event Management Tech

Live scoring is great on its own, but when it’s combined with tools and tech that can easily handle the specific nuances of a golf event, the tournament runs seamlessly. The event’s live leaderboard lives within an event website, where folks can register for the event or purchase a sponsorship before the event and check in on the standings or even make a donation during or after the tournament. What’s more, you’ll elevate the overall event experience for golfers and sponsors so not only will they have a great time, they’ll want to come back year after year.

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Get Started—No Cost, No Risk

Ready to add live scoring to your golf outing? GolfStatus.org makes it easy with sleek, simple live scoring technology and everything you need to get the most out of it. Best of all, it’s available at no cost—along with GolfStatus’s full suite of golf event management and fundraising tools—to qualifying nonprofits through the Golf for Good program. Get qualified by clicking the button below or email us directly at [email protected].

Originally published June 2020

Fun was at the heart of Pat Neal’s personality. A natural jokester and all-around personable guy, Pat loved playing in golf tournaments or playing a round of golf with his buddies whenever he could. “He had a good short game,” says Katie Little, Pat’s youngest daughter. Mostly, she says, he played golf for fun.

In early 2017, Pat was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive, incurable form of brain cancer. He was treated by Dr. Nicole Shonka at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, who was researching new therapies for brain tumors. Because of the nature of this type of cancer, treatment is often difficult, and more research is needed into new and better treatment methods and advances in early detection. 

Pat Neal

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dollars raised for brain cancer research

$24,000

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After battling glioblastoma for 16 months, Pat passed away in 2018 at the age of 67. The family chose the Brain Cancer Research Fund at the University of Nebraska, which helps fund Dr. Shonka’s work, as the beneficiary of memorial gifts—not only to remember Pat and celebrate his life, but to help further this important research for other glioblastoma patients. Dr. Shonka’s research into glioblastoma continued while she was treating Pat, which made the Neal family’s connection to her work even stronger. 

Yet the family wanted to do even more. According to Katie, the Neal family likes any reason to get together—whether it’s a birthday, helping with a project on a house, a barbecue, or a round of golf. “We all show up for each other,” she says. So when Pat’s nephew, Frank, threw out the idea of a golf tournament to raise money for brain cancer research, the family was all in.

Pat’s family in Hawaii in 2017

Getting a Tournament Off the Ground

In just a few short weeks, and thanks to some heavy lifting from GolfStatus’s golf event management platform, the first annual Pat Neal Memorial Golf Tournament was held in October of 2020. A friend of the family created the tournament’s logo based on a photo of Pat mowing the lawn in his bucket hat. 

The event sold out almost immediately. “So many people loved my dad and wanted to play for him,” Katie says. But with such a short time to plan due to golf course availability, Katie credits GolfStatus with making the event a reality. “It was crazy, but somehow it all came together and worked because of GolfStatus.” 

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“So many people loved my dad and wanted to play for him.”

— Katie Little, Pat’s youngest daughter

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With one year under their belts, planning for the second annual tournament was much smoother. Because they knew what to expect, Katie and the other family members helping to plan the tournament had a better idea of how to prepare for their July 2021 event, when things needed to be done, and how to make the event run smoothly. And above all, to keep fun as the focus of the tournament. 

Katie says that in its second year, people who didn’t even know her dad played in the tournament. “They saw it on GolfStatus,” Katie says, referring to the tournament’s listing in the GolfStatus mobile app and on events.golfstatus.com, a website that lists upcoming golf events in the user’s area. “It was great that so many more people heard about my dad and learned about glioblastoma.”

In its first two years, the memorial tournament raised more than $24,000 for brain cancer research. Beyond a sold out tournament field, the tournament benefited from the involvement of so many extended family members and family friends who personally knew Pat. Family members reached out to local businesses they had connections with to solicit sponsorships and donations to glioblastoma research. “We love being able to support research into this specific type of cancer,” says Tara Neal, Pat’s wife of 32 years.

Simple Technology Keeps Everything Organized

Katie’s first exposure to GolfStatus came through the mobile app, which she used when she played golf. The app not only provides live-scoring capabilities for fundraisers and other tournaments, but lets golfers record their scores for rounds played at any golf facility, track advanced statistics, and use GPS to gauge distances to the front, back, and center of every green. The app also lists tournaments in the user’s area, which makes it an especially easy avenue to reach avid golfers looking to play in a tournament. Golfers and sponsors can also register for tournaments right in the app.

For folks who want to start a fundraiser or are already charged with planning one, GolfStatus offers a program called Golf for Good that provides access to its golf event management and fundraising platform to events raising money for a nonprofit or cause at no cost. The web-based software makes it easy to plan an event, streamlining some of the most time-consuming tasks of golf fundraisers. “The best part of GolfStatus was how simple it made everything. We just shared the link to the website where people could sign up, and it was great to keep track of everything in one place,” Katie says. “It couldn’t have been easier!” She notes how they used their free event website not only for registrations and sponsorship recognition, but to share some information about glioblastoma and her dad, and where the money raised was going.

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“The best part of GolfStatus was how simple it made everything. We just shared the link to the website where people could sign up, and it was great to keep track of everything in one place. It couldn’t have been easier!”

— Katie Little, Pat’s youngest daughter

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The tournament also took advantage of GolfStatus’s mobile scoring capabilities. Each team in the four-person scramble recorded their score via the GolfStatus mobile app, which automatically synced to the tournament’s overall leaderboard. Not only can anyone follow along with the tournament’s progress, but donations to the cause can be made directly from the live leaderboard. “The mobile scoring was so great,” Katie says. “People really liked seeing how their scores stacked up against everyone else throughout the day.” She heard from golfers how it added even more fun to the day, and because the scores were already calculated, there was no waiting around at the conclusion of the round to announce the winners—it was all handled in real-time by the software.

Pat’s three kids, from left: Hank, Katie, and Emily

A Legacy of Fun & Generosity 

The focus of the Pat Neal Memorial Golf Tournament is simple—to have fun. “That’s exactly how he always played golf, just for fun,” Katie says. The tournament was a scramble, which is the most common format used for charity golf tournaments. A scramble is ideal for tournaments looking to attract a wide range of abilities and golfers who just want to have a good time. In a scramble, each player on a team (typically of four) has a chance to hit the ball; the team then determines which ball was hit in the best position. The team then plays the ball from that spot, and so on until the ball is holed. One person then submits the team’s score to the GolfStatus leaderboard through its live-scoring app for each hole with a few simple taps. 

“I know Pat would be the first one out there having a good time!” says Tara, noting how thankful they are that the tournament has a bigger purpose for a cause that’s so important to the entire family. “Dr. Shonka was so amazing to my dad, and the whole family is grateful to be able to contribute to her work,” says Katie.

As for the future, the golf tournament is another excuse to get the close-knit family together. “I think we’ll definitely keep this an annual tradition,” Katie says. “It’s too much fun not to!”

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“Dr. Shonka was so amazing to my dad, and the whole family is grateful to be able to contribute to her work.”

— Katie Little, Pat’s youngest daughter

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Want to Launch a Memorial Golf Tournament?

GolfStatus can help! Its event management platform is built specifically for golf, and streamlines prep and planning. Events that raise money for a charity or cause can qualify for GolfStatus.org’s Golf for Good program, which includes a free event website and access to GolfStatus’s golf event management and fundraising platform at no cost. Click below to get qualified or email [email protected].

Golf may be the medium, but the mission of First Tee extends far beyond the sport itself. Its approach uses golf as a metaphor for life—a game with unexpected challenges and ups and downs that help build strengths beyond the technical skills to play the game. “That’s what sets us apart from someone just offering junior golf lessons,” says Jeff Porter, PGA, First Tee Omaha’s Executive Director.

Part of the larger First Tee network with chapters in all 50 states, First Tee Omaha focuses on resiliency, building self-confidence, and a sense of belonging through golf. Its nine core values of honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy, and judgment serve kids well beyond the golf course. 

The Steve Hogan Memorial Golf outing is held annually to raise money for the First Tee of Omaha’s Golf and Life Skills youth development programming, but also to remember the contributions of founder Steve Hogan. A passionate advocate for junior golf in the area, Steve was the first African American PGA professional in the Nebraska Section and had a vision of using golf as a way to instill the values of being a good person, citizen, and student in kids from all walks of life. He founded Hogan’s Heroes Junior Golf Heroes, which later became First Tee Omaha.

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Sponsor contributions

20% increase

Revenue

30% increase

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Elevating the Event and Maximizing Fundraising

The 11th annual Steve Hogan Memorial Golf Outing was originally planned for July 2020, but precautions related to COVID-19 prompted it to be rescheduled for September. Jeff had already signed on to use the GolfStatus platform for the event, but credits the technology with helping them quickly adapt. “Like everybody else, we rolled with the punches and made the best of the situation that we couldn’t control,” says Jeff.

Like many other nonprofits, First Tee Omaha’s golf event is a huge part of its fundraising portfolio. One of Jeff’s goals for upgrading the outing with technology was to be more efficient while still offering the best possible experience for golfers and sponsors. “We want to honor Steve’s legacy with a great event,” he says. “That meant looking at what we have been doing for years and what we can do differently and do better.” 

As a nonprofit organization, First Tee Omaha qualified for a free event registration website, along with no-cost access to the GolfStatus platform through the Golf for Good program. The GolfStatus team built the site and worked with Jeff to set custom team and sponsor packages. The built-in online registration capabilities saved the planning team a ton of time. Instead of dealing with piles of mailed in registration forms, checks, and hand-written credit card numbers, folks registered online where their information was securely captured and stored in the software’s back-end. “It was great not to have to deal with checks, processing credit cards, and handling receipts for those that registered online,” Jeff says. “This was just another way to maximize the technology to make things easier and more efficient.”

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“This was just another way to maximize the technology to make things easier and more efficient.”

— Jeff Porter, PGA, First Tee Omaha’s Executive Director

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Jeff notes that the simple, attractive website made it easier for sponsors to want to sign on to support the event, and digital exposure added even more value to their investment. “For sponsors and potential sponsors to see their options and purchase them right there on the website was huge,” he says. The 2020 event saw an increase in sponsor contributions by 20% over previous years, much of which Jeff credits to the broad digital exposure provided by GolfStatus.

Organizations can build custom sponsorship packages and sell them right on the event website.

Saving Everyone Time

Jeff has been in the golf business for years. He spent 10 years as a golf course general manager before becoming First Tee Omaha’s Executive Director. His years of experience running golf events from the facility side makes him uniquely qualified to understand the work that goes into running a successful golf tournament. He points out that golf staff often have to do tedious, time-consuming tasks leading up to a golf event. But GolfStatus automates much of that work, freeing up staff to assist event organizers and golfers the day of the tournament. “GolfStatus is basically another pair of hands to help with event prep and execution,” he says, noting that the software eases their burden. Instead of having to enter golfer information for cart signs, tee sheets, and alpha lists, the pre-formatted printouts in the software were ready to go. “Really, there’s no downside to using it. It saves everybody time and manpower, elevates the event, and provides a great experience.”

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“It (GolfStatus) saves everybody time and manpower, elevates the event, and provides a great experience.”

— Jeff Porter, PGA, First Tee Omaha’s Executive Director

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The outing used GolfStatus’s reliable live-scoring feature to not only reduce the touchpoint of paper scorecards, but provide real-time standings throughout the day. “Having the standings ready to go on the live leaderboards literally cut an hour off the end of the day,” Jeff points out. Teams used the GolfStatus mobile app to record their score with a few simple taps, which automatically synced to the live leaderboards that anyone could follow on the event website.

Not only did live scoring and leaderboards provide digital sponsorship exposure during the tournament, but they saved golf facility staff, event organizers, and even golfers time when the event was wrapping up. “People are anxious to get to the outing and play, but they’re also anxious to go home,” Jeff says. He points out that thanks to the live scoring functionality, the results were available as soon as the last group finished their round. “This is just one more way we can streamline the process to be most efficient, and people liked checking the standings over the course of the day,” Jeff says.

Better Outcomes Thanks to Better Tech

Jeff credits GolfStatus’s premium features with elevating the overall professionalism of the annual outing. “GolfStatus did everything that we wanted it to as far as elevating the product and experience that we are offering,” says Jeff.

What’s more, the event saw an impressive increase in revenue—up 30% from previous years. “The overall workload on the fundraiser went down and our revenue went up. That’s a win-win!” Jeff says. “We were really excited that we saw an increase in proceeds from the golf event and I credit that to GolfStatus.”

To learn more about First Tee Omaha, visit firstteeomaha.org.

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“The overall workload on the fundraiser went down and our revenue went up. That’s a win-win!”

— Jeff Porter, PGA, First Tee Omaha’s Executive Director

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Planning a memorial tournament or other golf tournament fundraiser? Get qualified for our Golf for Good program and get a free website and no-cost access to GolfStatus’s golf event management technology.

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