Deciding To Play In A Charity Golf Tournament

[Golfspy_CG2]

So I from time to time, like to get the pulse of the golfing public for my job.     So as I'm helping planners plan for their Spring and Summer outings in 2019, I'd like to hear from everyone as to what things are important to you in deciding if you're going to play in a charity golf outing or not. 

Please take the poll as well as leave any comments here regarding what factors in and what you like and don't like about the outings.   Except for the blatant cheaters, we know about them and they are just a fact of life.

thanks everyone

[tony@CIC]

The title says pick 3, but I'm only able to pick 1, when I pick the 2nd it negates the 1st. 

[PlaidJacket]

Honestly, I hate scrambles as that's what most charity golf outings are. I don't even like calling them tournaments. I play in very few because of that so I'm most selective as it relates to the cause. Golf is last on the list and I don't enter to win a dime.

[GolfSpy MPR]

In general, I play cheap golf. I also, in general, like to play fast golf.

Charity scrambles, then, aren't something I play chiefly for sheer enjoyment

So if I'm going to play not-cheap and not-fast golf, it's going to be because the extra money is going to something that I'd be likely to donate to anyway. That's why I choose the answer "Believing in the cause."

[tony@CIC]

7 minutes ago, tony@CIC said:

The title says pick 3, but I'm only able to pick 1, when I pick the 2nd it negates the 1st. 

Ok it's fixed now and my votes are in. 

[Golfspy_CG2]

11 minutes ago, tony@CIC said:

The title says pick 3, but I'm only able to pick 1, when I pick the 2nd it negates the 1st. 

Sorry I forgot to unlock multiple picks.  It should let you now.

[Golfspy_CG2]

9 minutes ago, PlaidJacket said:

Honestly, I hate scrambles as that's what most charity golf outings are. I don't even like calling them tournaments. I play in very few because of that so I'm most selective as it relates to the cause. Golf is last on the list and I don't enter to win a dime.

I understand, and that's why I refer to most of what we do as outings, we do have some legit tournaments I run as well, but those are entirely different than Charity Outings, or hit and giggles or Cheat then Eat, as they are also referred to....ha

[TheWahoo]

My selections were (not in any order of priority): 

The course-is it one I like to play or one that I want to play

Timing-will it fit my schedule

The Charity-is a charity that I have a particular relationship or perception.

Personally, to me, another factor is the food.   I have been in many outings where my playing partners and I know we have no chance of winning and the response often heard is: hope the food is good.  I continue to participate in some outings that I have never won a thing, but got a good steak after the round.   Feed me well and you will see me often. 

 

[silver & black]

I play scrambles just to have a good time with my buddies. If we win something, cool. If not, we still had a good time and the "cause" was contributed to.

[Peaksy68]

The last charity day I played in was very different to any other I've been involved in. Basically it was a 1/2 price round at a course rated in Australia's top 20, that is usually difficult to get on. All proceeds went to the local primary school, no prizes, no competitions. I played with a mate who is the principal of the school, and they decided to just make it a fun day. We certainly had fun, our group played a 2 man scramble against the other pair for bragging rights, with one regular golfer on each pair.

The previous charity day I played in was huge. A mate rang me the day prior to see if I could play. It ticked just about every box, it was free (paid for by a company that did business with the company my mate worked for), it was at a top course (Metropolitan, host of the recent World Cup of Golf) it was for a good cause, and it was all laid on, food, drink all day. I've got no idea how much it would have cost if I was paying myself, but I'm pretty sure I couldn't afford it. Needless to say, I rearranged the roster at work and gave myself the day off. The prizes were extravagant, but we weren't too concerned about them, which was good as we finished well down the list.

[GB13]

I picked "believe in the cause". If I play a charity scramble, I am just there for fun and to help out a good cause. I don't care much about the price (within reason) since it goes to a good cause. The course could be a good incentive, but again, I am really just there for fun. Basically, the only reason I go to charity scrambles is to help out a good cause.  

[Mr. 82]

The last two charity scrambles I played in were for two different reasons.  The first one was sponsored by my company.  OK, you're paying for me to go play golf for the day at a decent local private club?  Sure, sign me up.  Free golf, AND I get out of work.  I'm in.  Oh, and it didn't hurt that I was the "C" player on this team, with two of my co-workers being scratch golfers.  My normal scramble usually works out like the other one I played last year, which was...

Several of the guys from my Tuesday night league begged me to play in their scramble for their church.  Oh, ok, I don't want to piss you off, so sure, I'll play in your stupid scramble and suck it up.  So what happens?  I show up, pay for the thing, and don't have a team.  So what do they do?  Pair me with three guys who haven't picked up a golf club in two years or more.  Frankly it gets pretty boring and retarded when after all four players hit everyone says the same thing, "we'll take your shot."  I mean, how bad can it get?  I played in a scramble for my own church years ago in North Carolina, solely because I went to the church, and I would have been the only man in the church who plays golf who didn't participate, so yeah, I gotta play in the thing.  Sure, Phil plays golf, so pair him with some guys who really can't play.  Essentially I'm playing my own ball for every shot.  How bad is that when you can't even count on the other three guys to even know how to make a putt of more than 2 feet long?

But it is funny though that I've been drafted to play in so many scrambles, and I get the shaft with the non-golfers every time that borrowed clubs from a friend just to play in this scramble, that I now don't even care about the golf when I play in them.  I go out and try and make everyone on my team feel important and hopefully we can get them to contribute a few shots along the way.  But the last one I did this in, I was so not caring about the golf that I just truly didn't care and started hitting shots I couldn't believe I was hitting.  Something along the lines of unconscious to where I was essentially -8 on my own ball.  Three guys who can't play and me end up -8.  So I show up after the round and had a great time with three guys I had never met before who don't play golf.  So as they are announcing the teams who won the net tournament I was more focused on the brownies they had put out as part of the dessert, when I hear my name called.  Wait, what?  My team won 3rd place for the net division?  I just start cracking up something hysterical.  I mean, I'm about a 6 handicap, and three guys who weren't even a 30 or better, go -8 and we got 3rd place.  LOL, thanks for the little trophy that still sits on my desk and reminds me that maybe I should always show up in IDGAS (I don't give a s***) mode.

So yeah, it's an excuse to get out of work more than anything else.  Prizes and other such nonsense I could care less about.  Although I will say that the most unique contest in a scramble I have ever seen I won in the last scramble I played in.  I've never seen a "longest putt made" contest in a scramble, but the last one had one of those.  What it is is that they picked the hardest par 4 on the course, and wherever your group lands on the green, you measure the length of your putt if you make it.  So we're on the green, but barely, and the pin is way on the other side of the green towards the back.  So the other three guys in my group give it a rip and no one comes closer than three feet.  An uphill right to left breaker that turns hard at the hole to the left.  A total speed and feel putt that is just blind luck even to get within a foot or so.  So I rare back and let it go.  Wait a second, that sucker is tracking.  Hey, that's looking pretty good.  Wait, BOOM, and in my best Bill Murray from Caddyshack voice, "IT's IN THE HOLE!"  45 feet, 10 inches baby.  And the only reason we knew the distance was because we had to measure it after I made it.  And they gave me a nice little trophy for winning that contest.  We hit that hole pretty early in the round.  My name was the only one on the card.  Good times!

[RickyBobby_PR]

Charity outings for me are mostly where I have a personal connection to the organizer or the cause.  I don’t play in them with the quest of trying to win it but will still play my best. It’s all about giving to the charity.

I stick to the ones with connections because unfortunately even for charity there are some that play to win at all costs and it rubs me the wrong way even more in those cases

[GolfSpy_BNG]

I play in a couple charity outings that go for local school scholarships.  For me it is usually more just an excuse to get out to the course with some buddies I don't get to see often.  We usually have 2 teams and always ask to get paired together,  The only winning that ever gets talked about is who won the hole as we normally play $1-5 a hole.  We also do whichever team is losing at the turn buys the drinks before we start the back nine.

[00sportsman]

I play scrambles just to have a good time with my buddies. If we win something, cool. If not, we still had a good time and the "cause" was contributed to.

This is 100% my take as well. It strictly comes down to being able to get three of my buddies together at the same time there's a charity event going on.

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[cnosil]

I’ll only participate in charity tournaments if I am asked to play and then I am still pretty selective. For me it is more about who I would be playing with. I generally avoid them because they take so long to play. I don’t care about the prizes or food and whatever charity is benefitting is not a consideration as there are events I should play in but don’t.

[ga_pike]

We put on a yearly Lions Club event and I've made it a point to mix up how the awards are done each year to 1. eliminate sandbagging and 2. keep it fun and enjoyable.  We've done things like require every player to place a flag on their ball on the longest drive hole, one year we picked the shortest drive and one year we had a secret target spot...  winner received a new driver.  We've done reverse awards where the worst team won the grand prize and the "best" team got nothing.  We once had a target score and the closest team won with ties being broken by regression.   

We place the format in a sealed envelope that is notarized the day before and then it's opened after everyone has completed the round.  Only 1 person and the notary know what the format is and it really makes things interesting because it allows everyone a chance to compete and you'd be shocked at how different the scores are when it's not guaranteed that lowest score wins.  

We also have done 2 man teams and then a random draw to pair them with another team for score.  This format was advertised in advance because of the 2 man team instead of 3 or 4.