John Johnson is the PGA general manager at Red Ledges Golf Club in Heber City, Utah.

If you find yourself with some time to fill before or after an outing, offering a fun, golf-related contest is a great filler. Not only does it improve the experience for the participants, but it gives added value to your outing. Before moving to Red Ledges, I was at Shark’s Tooth Golf Club in Panama City, Fla., another Troon Golf-operated facility. From past experience, at Shark’s Tooth we knew we would have time to fill between the first round of our Men’s Member-Guest Tournament and that evening’s dinner. So we created a putting contest that wowed the participants. While the golfers were out playing, we transformed our practice green into a nine-hole replica of our course. It had everything that you would find on the golf course, from sand to water to palm trees. Golf tees were painted red and used as hazard stakes markers. Sand from the course comprised the fake bunkers. The result was a layout featuring doglegs, double breakers, uphill and downhill holes. We also gave out gifts to contest winners. Participants were thrilled by our efforts, and sincerely enjoyed it. You don’t necessarily have to landscape your entire putting green, but doing something special for the participants will surely pay off.

Offering a fun additional golf-related contest lends added value to your outing and helps differentiate your facility from the next. It can be a great selling point for outing retention and make your facility seem more fun and appealing to members and guests alike.