Did you know that one of the best ways to raise money for your favorite charity or youth sports league is to host a golf tournament? For a small fee, most public golf courses will allow you to host an event and you can charge between $400 – $750 per 4-person team.

The key to your event being a success is attracting many golfers – the more golfers playing, the better. What can you offer that would get their attention? Food and drinks? Sure. Prizes for the winners? Definitely. What if you offered them a chance to win 1 million dollars? That might get their attention. Give your players the ability to support their community and a chance to win some serious money. What golfer would pass up on that chance? All they must do is make a Hole-in-One!

As a golf tournament director how great would your flyers and emails look with the following statement? Make a hole-in-one during our event and win 1 Million Dollars.

Sure, it sounds great, but you can’t afford to pay out that prize. It would bankrupt you and your organization. Here is the key – you don’t have to! Do you know how hard it is to make a hole-in-one? The odds of an average golfer making a hole-in-one are 12,500 to 1. That being said, it is still a gamble – you don’t want to promise your players a prize you can’t pay.

If only there was a way to offer this type of eye-catching prize without assuming the financial risk. We have the answer. Did you know that for a small fee your tournament can purchase Hole-In-One insurance? Basically, your tournament pays a small price to be able to offer the prize and if someone wins it, the insurance company is responsible for paying out the cash. Pretty cool.

The cost of the Hole-in-One insurance will vary based on several factors. How many players will participate in the shootout contest? Some tournament directors randomly select (via raffle) a couple of players that get a chance to make a shot from 165 yards after the tournament, while others may decide to put the “big” prize on a par 3 and let the entire field take a shot as they play their round. Obviously, the more players that get the chance, the higher the price of the insurance.

Still not sure it is worth it? Let’s assume you are charging $500 per 4-person team for your tournament. Do you think offering a million-dollar shootout prize will attract at least two additional teams? If it does, you have already covered the cost of most hole-in-one insurance. Do you run a tournament every year? If so, this type of prize will add excitement to your event that will bring teams back year after year.

You might have noticed we didn’t literally provide a million reasons, but you really only need one. Include a million-dollar shootout in your next tournament to enhance the golfer experience. You will gain more entries, raise more money, and your players will have a memory they will be talking about for years. “Remember that time I had a chance to make a 7-iron for $1,000,000?”.