Enlist a good team of helpers.

Planning and executing a charity golf tournament is not a one-man or woman job. A lot of work goes into pulling off a successful and profitable golf tournament.

I recommend: Making sure that you have a good team of volunteers behind you.  Don't just limit yourself to volunteers from within your own organization.  Recruit volunteers from like-minded groups, from the community and from the beneficiary group/organization.  The more hands on deck, the more efficiently it will run from planning to the final putt.  More importantly, the more diverse your group of core volunteers, the more contacts you'll be able to make.  More helpers means greater access to resources within the community.

Plan well in advance.

It usually takes several months to one year to pull off a successful charity golf tournament.

I recommend: Beginning planning with a small, core group of volunteers.  It is from this small group that you will begin to branch out and recruit other volunteers and distribute various tasks to carry out over the next several months.

Garner business support.

Businesses are usually happy help a good cause. It helps them to raise their own profile in the community and gives them the chance for some inexpensive advertising and exposure.

I recommend: Recruiting business sponsors to donate cash, prizes/giveaways, food, and just about anything else that you require to pull off your charity golf tournament.

Offer advertising opportunities.

Charity golf tournaments are give and take affairs. When a business agrees to donate to your event, provide the business with a way to advertise before, during or after the event.

I recommend: Printing the logos of your major sponsor(s) on your fliers and newspaper ads.  Get one or two businesses to sponsor golf trophies and have their logos on embossed on them. Distribute prizes and giveaways like golf balls, tees and golf bags with sponsors' logos on them.  Print banners listing the names of business sponsors. Publish their names in your program.  Literally hundreds of creative ways exist to offer advertising in exchange for the support of business sponsors.

Flood the community with advertising.

Make sure that you give plenty of advance notice to the community about your charity golf tournament.

I recommend: Beginning newspaper advertising 4-6 weeks before registration for the event ends.  Other types of advertising can begin sooner, such as passing out fliers and hanging up posters.  Take advantage of all of the free advertising that you can get.  Hang up posters anywhere and everywhere that you can get permission to do so.  If your charity golf tournament has a website, flood the Internet with links to it well in advance of the event, even up to one year before.  Besides local newspapers, seek out other publications to advertise in.  Many communities have free daily, weekly and/or monthly alternative publications, and some may even publicize your event for free.

Thank your volunteers after the event is over.

Expressing appreciation for the work that your sponsors did goes a long way. It shows that you care, and will also give them a reason to volunteer again in the future.

I recommend: Giving sponsors something to remember the event with.  A mug or other small prize gives them a tangible reminder of the day.  Consider having a wrap-up party afterwards so volunteers can kick back and have some fun.