At the time, they were the Friday afternoon, after work, 9 hole events with cocktails and dinner at an exorbitant price. He said, well Ok. You're in charge. There are times in which it is appropriate to keep one's mouth shut. We set up a schedule of one Sunday every eight weeks during the months of April-Oct. I knew that I wasn't going to host all of them. So I garnered the women who like to do stuff and asked if they'd like to "host" one of these Sundays. They'd have to put up the sign up sheet, be responsible for advertising, set the tee times, set the format, and GET PEOPLE involved! I wanted these to be a success so we could show the pro that couples' events can be successful. We charged $20 a couple plus plus and all of the entry fee money went into the prizes. We had wait lists. At the end of the year I asked for feedback. It wasn't something the pro shop wanted to hear. Mostly the responses were: we pay the pro shop to do stuff like this so why don't they? I told the pro shop about the responses and guess what? We no longer have Sunday 18 hole couples' events UNLESS you do what I did and put together your own tournament. And the good/or bad part is you don't have to host every year. The winner of the event hosts the next year.
The title for the event is a crazy title which mocks my husband's ethnic background. He's of European descent. We created a trophy to remind people of the great prestige that comes with winning the event. It has a marble base, a tinned can of food glued to it, with colored golf balls glued on the top like a crown and encircled with Mardi Gras beads. The winner for each year gets a small name plate with the year they won on it that is then glued to the marble AND they get to keep this prestigious trophy for one year. It's been in the foyer of an office, in the office of a big corporation, even gone on a ride on a Harley. We have people clamoring to participate. We call it an INVITATIONAL. Usually everybody gets to play but it makes it sound soooooo exclusive. This year we have 10 tee times, 20 couples. All invitations and RSVP's, followups etc are done by email and the emails put on "the cloud". We have a pre-party the night before with a cocktail hour followed by a pre-selected meal in the dining room of our club. Tee times start at 1:00. The cost is $25 per couple and all monies go to the prizes. We do have closest to the pin awards for the women and the men. The hosting couple picks the format but because this is such an exclusive as well as coveted trophy, the format is not silly. You have to earn it baby. This year is 9/9. You pick the husband's best nine net and the wife's best 9 net but they CAN'T be the same holes. 90% handicaps. We have handicaps ranging from scratch to 38 (max). We then go into our mixed grill to await the big news about the lucky people who will get to take my wonderful baby home (my husband and I did win it last year. Come to Momma sweety.) Drinking, trash talking and the gaiety begins.
The pro shop does the cards and rules sheets, sets up the scoreboard and audits the cards. We do tip the assistant pro that helps. So, it's not so hard. Have fun with it. Every year I have people come up to me and ask, "when is the (name of tournament) scheduled? I want to play!"
A Woman Who Loves Golf
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