Ask someone what happened at last summer's company golf day and you'll usually get the same answer. Nice course. Decent weather. Somebody from accounts put one in the lake. Then a long pause.
That's a problem when the business spent thousands on it. Golf days aren't cheap, and most of them end up as just another round of golf: a pleasant day out that nobody can connect to anything the company was trying to achieve.
Having spent the last few years around golf days, on the organising side and the playing side, these are the places I see them go wrong most often.
Nobody decided what it was for
Plenty of golf days run on habit. It happened last year, so it's happening again. Nobody sat down and asked whether it's there to thank clients, win new ones, bring the team together or put the brand in front of the right people.
Without an answer, every decision defaults to whatever's easiest. Easiest is forgettable.
The organiser never gets to host
Whoever is running the day spends it with a clipboard, chasing scorecards and finding out where the bacon rolls went. The person who should be shaking hands and having the good conversations is the one person who can't.
Nothing happens between the tee and the green
Eighteen holes is four or five hours. If the only thing on the course is golf, the golfers have a decent time and everyone else counts the holes. The days people remember have things going on: a bar cart doing the rounds, a pro to take on at Beat the Pro, nearest the pin and long drive, a hole or two with some tech on it. Every one of those is a story someone tells in the office on Monday.
Nobody knows who's winning
Paper scorecards handed in at the end mean the leaderboard is a surprise at dinner. Live scoring changes the day. Teams check it between holes, the rivalries build, and by the prize giving everyone has an opinion on who cheated.
Your brand isn't there
If the only sign of your company is the name on the invite, the course gets the credit. Branded tee boxes, kit and signage mean every photo from the day carries your name, and those photos travel a long way on LinkedIn.
There's no reason to care
This is the big one. A golf day with a cause behind it feels different. Raising money for a charity gives people a reason to dig deep at the auction, buy a mulligan they swear they won't need and stay for the prize giving instead of slipping off early. It's also something your team can feel good about on Monday morning.
It ends in the car park
Most days finish when the last car leaves. No photos, no thank you, nothing to share. The good ones carry on for a week: photos out the next day, a note to everyone who came, and a total raised that people are proud to repost.
What the memorable ones have in common
None of this needs a bigger budget. It needs someone treating the day as an event, with a purpose, a plan and a finish.
That's what we do at FFG. We run the whole day so the people hosting can actually host, and every day has a charitable donation built in. If you're planning one yourself, the is a good place to start. If you'd rather hand the lot over, let's talk.