Hosting your very own golf tournament can be an unforgettable experience for both you and the people you invite. However, it can be a bit of an organizational challenge.
Therefore, if you plan to host your own golf tournament, you may wonder: how many people should you invite to your golf tournament?
In this article, we will tell you exactly how many people you should invite to your golf tournament, based on various factors to consider.
How Many People Should You Invite To Your Golf Tournament?
How many people you should invite to your golf tournament depends on many factors such as your budget, the size of the course, its difficulty, and more. You can invite up to 144 players on an 18-hole course if you play 2 rounds. You can invite up to 72 players on a 9-hole course if you play 2 rounds.
Hosting your own golf tournaments leaves you with many questions such as how many people you should invite.
The amount of people you should invite depends on many factors such as your budget (for green fees, refreshments, trophies, and more), the size of the golf course (9 holes VS 18 holes) and the difficulty of the course.
Down below, you can read more about how each factor may influence the amount of people you want to invite to your own golf tournament. You can play around with the importance of each factor to tailor them to your own vision of your golf tournament.
Size Of The Golf Course
The biggest limiting factor of how many people you can invite to your golf tournament at once is the size of the golf course you want to host at. There are 2 golf course sizes that are most common: 9 holes, and 18 holes.
You need to keep in mind that at full capacity, you can have about a group of 4 golfers per hole on a golf course. With groups larger than 4, the game will feel too slow to be enjoyable for many, and your event will leave a bit of a sour taste for some.
You can calculate the maximum amount of people that can play on a golf course at once for 1 round of golf by using the following formula:
Maximum Course Capacity = (Number of Holes)*(Size of Groups)
Applying this equation to 9-hole and 18-hole golf courses, we get the following maximum capacities:
For 9-hole golf courses:
Maximum 9-holes Course Capacity = (9)*(4) = 36 people per round
For 18-hole golf courses:
Maximum 18-holes Course Capacity = (18)*(4) = 72 people per round
In summary, 36 people can play at once on a 9-hole golf course, while 72 golfers can play simultaneously on an 18-hole golf course.
Want to invite more people? You can! Simply book the golf course for 2 or more rounds instead of only one. For example, if you book 2 rounds of golf, you can invite 72 people on a 9-hole golf course, or up to 144 people on an 18-hole golf course.
You may be able to fit 3 rounds of golf in one day on the same course, but it may be a bit of a stretch. In fact, playing a round of 18-hole golf can take up to 6 hours.
Do you really want to risk your event lasting 18 hours, while the equivalent of 2 rounds of players are not even playing golf? Probably not, unless you have other activities planned outside of golfing for people to enjoy.
You also want to consider inviting 8-16 people less than the maximum capacity of the golf course in order to give some breathing room on the course. If you invite the maximum capacity, some groups of 4 people will complete a hole faster than others, and will have to wait for others to finish before moving on.
Waiting on another group in golf can be quite annoying. If you want your guests to have the best time possible, it can be a good idea to limit how many you invite. Would you rather have 124 ecstatic guests? Or 144 disgruntled guests, tired of waiting to play golf?
Difficulty Of The Course VS Skill Level Of Guests
The next factor to consider when figuring out how many people to invite to your golf tournament is the skill level of your guests.
If your guests are all excellent golfers with 10-20 years of experience, then you can probably choose any golf course out there, and they will be glad to play, as the golf course will not be too difficult.
On the other hand, if you have many beginner golfers with less than multiple years of golfing experience among your guests, you can definitely choose a course that is too difficult. Choosing a golf course too difficult for your guests can discourage them, make them have a bad time, and irritate them.
If you have many newer golfers or people who have never golfed before among your guests, consider booking an easier golf course with fewer hazards.
It can also be a good idea to book a 9-hole course instead of an 18-hole course. This way, if people are struggling on the course, they will only suffer half as long.
Size Of Your Budget
Finally, you need to realize that the more people you invite, the more expensive your golf tournament will be. Although you can potentially find some sponsors to fund the event, if it is a private party, it will prove difficult. There are many costs of hosting a golfing tournament that you need to consider.
First of all, you need to calculate the green fees to book the golf course. These will constitute a large chunk of your costs. The more people you invite, the more rounds of golf you will need to book, and the higher your green fees will be.
Furthermore, people are living beings, and so, unlike robots, they need refreshments to have a good time. Consider budgeting for water, food, and other refreshments, especially if your event is held on a very warm day.
Another elements to consider is if you wish to purchase a trophy for the winner of the tournament. How big will the trophy be? How expensive will it be? Will you buy one trophy for the winning group? 4 trophies? Participation gift bags for everyone?
These are all costs that you need to think about before inviting many guests.
Conclusion
There you go! After reading this article, you have discovered exactly how many people you should invite to your golf tournament, based on a few factors. Remember to invite less people if you want there to be less waiting on and off the golf course to give everyone a better playing experience.
How many people would you invite to your golf tournament? Have you ever organized a golf tournament? Do you have tips for other readers about organizing your own golf tournaments? Let us know in the comments down below!
