How to Plan a Golf Trip for Clients, Prospects or Your Team
You like golf, but you have to work. A tale as old as time
But what if you didn’t have to choose?
Your PGA Tour dreams may have paid the twilight rate and gone home by now, but surely there is another way.
Success in business can be defined in a number of different ways. For me, it’s measured in how much time I’m able to spend working on the golf course.
Whether you’re entertaining a client, trying to win over a prospective client, or just bonding with your team, there’s just something about playing golf while you’re working that makes you feel like you’re teetering on the edge of slipping on a green jacket.
At Fairways & Dreams, we can’t help you play better golf. But we can make sure that your business conducted on the golf course is optimal. Here are some ways to make that happen.
Start with what you’re trying to accomplish
The purpose of the trip changes how it’s planned.
If you’re entertaining clients or wooing prospects, you may want to focus on some of the bigger names. They will also likely come with a bigger price tag, but you need to spend money to make money, right? Chances are you’ll make a bigger impression shooting 112 at Sawgrass than you would taking them through a 50-slide deck in the conference room with a tray of cookies and stale coffee to get them through the afternoon.
If you’re doing a team retreat, that changes things. Now you’re after the experience more than an outcome. Bucket list golf courses are certainly an experience, but many lesser known destinations can accomplish this and more for a fraction of the cost. Depending on the size of your group, you may also want to consider the dining and group amenities.
Know your group
This is the most important part of planning any golf trip, and a key component of what Fairways & Dreams is built to help with.
Factors like skill level, age and physical ability, and how serious people are about the game should play heavily into where you decide to go.
Is it a small or large group? Is golf just going to be something to do with the team, or the main focus? Are there a good amount of non-golfers or is it primarily made up of people whose entire personality outside of work revolves around golf?
Many golf resorts have something to offer for everyone. And some of them aren’t the ones you’d think of right away.
Pick the destination around the group
Figure out your group first, then the golf.
A group of golf sickos may want to make the pilgrimage to Streamsong or Sand Valley. They’re about the golf and don’t really care how long it takes to get there or how little else there is to do.
But if you have a varied interest in golf, including non-golfers, you may want to look at destinations with a little more going on. Places like Traverse City or St. George are great for this with great golf and a lot to offer everyone else.
Client entertainment may call for something a little more polished, especially if you’re trying to make an impression. And if people are flying in from different places, how easy it is to get there should probably factor into the decision.
It’s hard to please everyone. That’s just an unfortunate truism. But bring the right group to the wrong destination and you’ll wish you went with the standard pizza party instead of the retreat.
Don’t overbook it
It’s really easy to look at a golf resort when you’re booking and have your eyes be bigger than reality. You see replay rounds, available dinner reservations, and nearby activities and you want to make sure you get the biggest bang for your buck.
But often times, what you save in money you pay for in stress and fatigue when it comes time to cash it in. The time playing those extra holes could be better spent building new relationships and strengthening existing ones. I’ll be the first one to tell you how great golf is, but don’t forget the reason for the trip.
Handle the logistics
I know you’re technically working, but nobody wants to be on a trip and feel like they just picked up a side hustle getting themselves around town. Figure it out ahead of time. Transportation is a sneaky one depending on where you go. Some resorts have shuttles that can take the whole group at once. But the ones that are further from the airport usually require using a third party. Don’t make everyone call their own Uber.
Make sure everyone has clubs. If they’re bringing their own, see that they check them properly and know where they’re coming out at the final destination. Some of them come out in a special area designated for oversize baggage. If you really want to ensure the clubs end up where you’re going, you should consider using a service like Ship Sticks.
The logistics can be endless if you let them. Club rentals, airport transfers, dinner reservations, and conference space. All of that needs to be sorted long before you embark.
Some Top Destinations for Work Trips
Big Cedar Lodge (Ridgedale, MO)
Three full eighteen hole courses and three short courses allow your group to mix it up and get in some extra golf without blowing the whole day. It’s also a giant wilderness resort with plenty of outdoor activities and dining options, so the non-golfers in the group have plenty to do too.
Pinehurst Resort (Pinehurst, NC)
With ten eighteen-hole courses at the resort and even more golf in the area, you’re not going to run out of options at Pinehurst. Everything is close together, and the village has plenty of restaurants and bars for when the golf is over. It’s an easy place to build a trip without spending half of it getting from one place to another.
Streamsong Resort (Bowling Green, FL)
Three eighteen-hole courses and a short course give you plenty of golf without ever leaving the property. Everything else is right there too, including lodging, restaurants and meeting space. It’s remote, but for a work trip that can be a good thing. Get everyone there and you have little else to worry about.
Sea Island Resort (Sea Island, GA)
Sea Island makes sense if golf is part of the trip, but not necessarily the entire trip. There are three courses, but also plenty to do away from them, including fishing, the beach, a spa and several restaurants. That makes it a good fit if you have spouses, non-golfers or just people who don’t want to play 36 holes a day.
Scottsdale, AZ
Scottsdale gives you a ton of golf without locking you into one resort. There are dozens of courses to choose from, plenty of hotels and restaurants, and enough to do away from the course that nobody has to pretend they want to play another 18. Phoenix is also easy to get to from most major cities, which matters when you’re trying to get a group of coworkers or clients to the same place.
Making It Happen
There are obviously plenty of other places you can take a group, and the right one depends on who’s going and what you want the trip to look like.
But wherever you go, somebody still has to put the whole thing together.
Tee times, lodging, transportation, dinners, budgets, schedules and all the other details that are easy enough for four guys and get a lot more complicated when you’re trying to organize a group of coworkers or clients.
That’s where Fairways & Dreams comes in.
We can help figure out where to go, where to stay, what to play, how everyone is getting around and all the other details that turn into somebody’s second job if they aren’t handled ahead of time.
You get to take the credit for getting everyone out of the office and onto the golf course. We’ll handle the rest.
And if you happen to close a deal or get a promotion somewhere along the way, even better.
Fairways & Dreams helps groups plan custom golf trips built around how they actually travel, play, and spend time together. From destination recommendations and lodging selection to tee times and trip coordination, we handle the details so your group can focus on the golf.
Golf is hard. Golf trips should be easy.