Think your group golf trips are fun and memorable?
On a recent trip to Ireland, your fellow reader Ken A. and his group of eight ramped things up by hiring a professional photographer to follow them around for 18 holes.
And that was just the start.
They also created a logo -- a play on Nostradamus and Doomsday 2012 -- and had it embroidered on a hat and sweater vest for everyone. Group members could then send in additional items they wanted logoed.
Pretty cool, huh?
These types of things do wonders for memorability and camaraderie...and they don't have to be expensive.
In Ken's case, it cost $300 to create and set up the logo for on-demand embroidery. The photographer's fee was 390 Euros (about $500), which four guys split as a gift to the group.
"By the time we finished dinner, our eight CDs were delivered with about 400 images and a slideshow with music," Ken told me in an email. "We love those pictures and they certainly beat the snapshots everybody else took." (See below.)
I've also heard of groups making a custom trophy that gets passed from one year's winner to the next; groups that commission custom cigars (or just the cigar bands); and, of course, all manner of wacky traditions and rituals that don't cost anything (unless betting is involved).
I want to thank Ken for sharing his group's ideas, which he did, in part, to open a discussion on what is probably a fertile topic:
What has your group done -- or considered doing -- to increase the memorability, camaraderie and fun-factor of your golf trips?
Please share your thoughts or read what others are saying below.
I've been lucky and fortunate to go on a few awesome trips of my own as of late. A few of my takeaways that are always big hits...
Bandon Dunes -- stay at one of a few amazing houses right near the course. Have stayed at the Hagen House twice and loved it. It is the ideal setup for a group of 8 golfers, and we had no problems securing our tee times when we needed them.
Cool souvenirs that we do are towels -- get them screen printed with the dates/course logo, etc. usually around $8 total -- do the design myself in Powerpoint. Perfect for a greenside towel, wipe clubs, etc. Also, and this is my favorite gift to give that's always a hit -- buy ball marks when you're at the course. Then when you get home, buy a $10 frame from Target, put the traditional group 1st tee photo in the frame, and glue the ballmark to the frame. Awesome keepsake for literally around $15!
The photographer was Nelius Buckley. He's based in Kinsale, about 20 minutes from Old Head. neliusbuckleyphotography.com.
I am bringing a group to Ireland in July 2013 - would love to use your photographer while there. Can you give me the deatils of who you used?
Thanks
Bede
Have a group of poker/golf buds who have gone to Atlantic City area for 20 years. We don't play cards, we have a rotational match set up so you partner once with all. It's 8 guys. Nothing is done with logos or shirts or similar. On an extra nine on saturday we play a scramble for dinner and play an 8some. We always finish the last hole in dark as we go in the fall.
Thank you for the logo info....It will come to good use!
Basic logo work is very inexpensive nowadays -- I recently had a great experience using fiverr.com, a site where people will do all kinds of stuff (including freelance logo work) for five dollars. Yes, five bucks. Obviously, you have to choose your contractor carefully, but there are some good ones on there. Another site is 99designs.com. As for where to buy and embroider the shirts, I recommend golfballs.com. They really know what they're doing, and they do it fast. On the homepage, click the far right tab that says, "Custom Logo," then choose the item(s) you want embroidered.
What companies can you recommend re doing the logo and then doing the apparel.
Great ideas, we have also created a logo for our group who has been at it for 15 years.
Everyone breaks out the hats, polo's, or tee shirts with the logos on each trip. We are fortunate to live in the great Pacific Northwest and have no shortage of great courses and houses to rent. Our group is called Boys Golfing and Gambling, on top of golf we play poker each night and combine golf scores with gambling winnings or losses and present a trophy each year to the person with the lowest combined scores. We are also fortunate to have an ex - chef who owned some high caliber restaurants in the area and we enjoy the finest food for a long weekend. We have slide shows and picture CD's with each years best photos.
The guys trip is a treasured event each year and gets bigger and better each year. I have pictures of both the logo's and group if you want to submit them.
I have organized a number of Scotland trips with groups of 8-12 and each has been memorable.
Here are a few keys points which worked for us:
By organizing the trips ourselves, we were able to play all different manner of courses from Open rota course to some local gems.
We wrote ahead to some clubs and, after presenting ourselves as a travelling side from the US, challenged the men`s club to a friendly match. Invariably, it was a lot of fun meeting the locals in such a setting and they would usually have a dinner for us afterward which would wind up with the special club whiskey coming out from behind the bar.
We have also done the logo thing which we put on a windshirt.
We usually have some competition going over the course of the trip like skins just to have something going. It should be for just enough to make it interesting, but so nobody`s trip is ruined because they got killed.
I love these trips and look forward to when we might go back.
Our group has been together for twenty years we play weekly and travel together at least twice a year. We are known locally as the "Back Nine Boys" and have our own homemade wine and label. We also have handrolled cigars with labels and a variety shirts. Annually we play a three day Ryder Cup competion for a trophy in Myrtle Beach since two members have condo's there. We also have a golden ball award given to the member who was won the most matches for the year april 1 thru november 30..