Hospital Golf Tournaments & Golfing Stardom

An International Blog

I guess you could say I have an international blog. Does that mean I’m a golf star? Yesterday I had three visitors to my site from Brazil and one from Ireland. I do have an uncle that lives in Brazil. If he is promoting my blog I guess I owe him all of the royalties from the last month. Expect the check soon. The only person I know from Ireland is Rory Mcilroy. Welcome to my blog Rory.

Me filming my friend Rory Mcilroy at the 2018 US Open @ Shinnecock Hills

A Devoted Fan

I woke up this morning to a message from one of my followers:

“Big fan of the blog. Long time reader, first time writer. Just wanted to say that I loved the brisket post (Interesting coming from a Vegan but I once saw him cheat with a high priced steak). Can’t wait to hear what Minnesota Fat Means. (He happens to live in Minnesota). I’m also writing to request an advice post: hospital golf fundraisers.

There’s a ton out there on how to organize them but very little about which events are the most fun or what strategies work. Pink ball, marshmallow, straightest drive-How does a top 100 physician golfer play to win?”

-Devoted Physician Reader

Hospital Foundations Help Save Lives

First off, thank you for the questions. I was a member of the foundation board of one of the hospitals I work at for 3 years. It is very impressive to watch the amount of time and devotion that members of the community give to fundraising for local charities. My reader in Minnesota is no doubt a class act and top rate physician. Kudos for supporting your local hospital.

The local hospital foundation I was a part of, Kadlec Foundation, has been instrumental to our community by helping raise money to support our local NICU, provide mammograms for women in financial need, and support local nursing programs through scholarships. This is just a small sample of things that they are doing for our community. Please DONATE. I will match the first $500 worth of donations from my blog.

Golf Tournament Success

I was the Vice President of the BYU Golf Club from 2005-2007. Up until that point in life that was the highlight of my resume. Honestly it still probably is. I have put together quite a few golf tournaments in my day. Here are my thoughts on how to make a hospital golf tournament a success.

1. Scrambles are the Best Format

In a scramble all four golfers will hit the ball from the same spot. Out of the four golf shots you will take the best shot and all four players will play from there. This is a very fun format that golfers from novice to pro will enjoy. Many people confuse this with a Best Ball Tournament. That is an entirely different type of format and would not be good for your hospital golf tournament. In the most recent hospital foundation tournament I was a part of they required we use 3 tee shots from every golfer during the round. I recommend that for your tournament as well. This ensures that everyone is participating form the foursome and one good golfer in a group won’t dominate the tournament. Definitely use a scramble format.

2. Don’t Skimp on the Free Stuff

Your goal is to get people to open their pocket books. If you don’t play to their egos by giving them prizes just for showing up then they will close their wallets to your foundation. Most tournaments will give a sleeve of balls, a shirt or jacket, lunch/dinner, and several drink tickets. The donors want to feel like they are being pampered. Whatever your thoughts may be on participation trophy’s, the truth is that for a foundation or hospital golf tournament, participation trophies work.

3. Bring the Local Celebrities

It doesn’t hurt to have some star power at your events. One year they invited one of the Long Drive Champions from our area to wow everyone with his monster drives. In Minnesota I would definitely invite the cast of the Mighty Ducks to come to your event. Maybe in a few years I can be the guest celebrity there.

4. Mulligans for Mo’ Money

There are lots of side games that golfers can pay for to help raise money for your foundation or hospital golf tournament. Mulligans are a common one. In the most recent tournament I played in if you paid $50 you got two mulligans for the round. In reality if you don’t buy the mulligans you have no shot at winning. You have to assume everyone else will buy them. Included in that $50 was the use of a Golf Ball Pro Launcher which I highly recommend.

My friend lays claim to the first eagle of his life after using the launcher to hit a green 400 yards away and then made the putt. I was on his team so I guess I’ll count it as legit. The golfers in your tournament will like using this.

5. Sponsored Holes

Get local companies to sponsor challenges on various holes. It is common for car companies to sponsor hole in one competitions where they give away a car for a hole in one. One of the greatest thrills of my life was watching my ball sail towards the hole with a brand new BMW in the background. My ball ended up one foot short of the hole and I didn’t win the car.

Eagle at 11.
?ACE at 12! ?

Chris Naegel is trying to do something special @PortlandOpen. pic.twitter.com/3kEbfV5orZ

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) August 11, 2019

Last week on the Korn Ferry Tour (the minor leagues of the PGA) Chris Naegel hit a hole in one and expected to win the BMW x7 that was sitting behind him. It turns out that it was just a lawn ornament. If you have a car dealership sponsor your tournament make sure they pony up if someone aces the hole. They have insurance for that type of thing. After some twitter backlash, BMW ended up giving Chris Naegel a free 2 year lease on a BMW x3. It’s not the x7, but I wouldn’t complain.

6. Other Competitions with Prizes

There are a few other competitions that are needed for every Hospital Golf Tournament you play in or are setting up: (1-4 are musts, 5-8 would be fun)

1. Longest Drive (helpful to have male/female competitions)
2. Straightest Drive
3. Closest to the pin on every par 3.
4. Hole in one prize
5. Longest drive with a marshmallow
6. Chipping competitions
7. Worst Ball- make players play the worst shot, not best, on a hole
8. Draw from a hat to choose the club you will play the entire hole with

The GolferMD Approach to Winning

Taking 1st in any scramble is not easy. There are a lot of good golfers out there. It would seem that my chances would be pretty good at a hospital tournament given I am a Top 100 Physician Golfer in the US. Three years ago my team took second with a score of 11 under. This year we shot 11 under and didn’t even place. The winning score was 19 under par. To take 1st in a scramble you have to have four amazing golfers playing on your team. Only about 20% of golfers in our hospital tournaments actually work at the hospital. The rest are sponsors who stack their teams with all of the college golfers in the area. Excuses, excuses.

Thanks for the comments from my readers. If my reader from Minnesota will advertise for me in his tournament I will sponsor some golf balls for prizes. If any of you have a topic you want me to discuss or some tips for your game feel free to reach out to me.

About the Author:

I am a husband, father, ER doctor, and an avid golfer.  With a handicap of 3.8 I have a fairly legitimate claim to be among the Top 100 Physician Golfers in the United States.  You can read more about my story on my about page. Feel free to contact me or follow my sites on social media.