Tim Wagner, a Certified PGA Professional in golf operations, is the PGA head professional at Lake Naomi Club’s Timber Trails Golf Course in Pocono Pines, Pennsylvania.

An important event held at the end of the season at Timber Trails Golf Course is our annual awards ceremony dinner, where we are able to thank everyone for their hard work and recognize the members who won various events throughout the year. In 2014, our turnout was smaller than expected due to redundancy. This year, we looked at out-of-the-box ways to increase participation, and decided to pair the ceremony with a season-ending “Wacky Open” scramble tournament. It immediately became one of the most buzzed-about events at Timber Trails. The format of the “Wacky Open” scramble featured a different twist on every hole. Members were also able to make their own foursome.  Our superintendent and I had a lot of fun setting up the event, which included parking equipment on the course, varying cup sizes, requiring members to play one hole left-handed, cross country golf, and utilizing our aqua range as part of the course. We even had a mannequin, which looked like part of the greens staff, set up behind a net. The members loved this and it gave them an opportunity to take a unique selfie.

Tim Wagner on the business impact of creating fresh ideas to keep members guessing:
Tying in the “Wacky Open” scramble with our annual awards ceremony had a positive impact on our club in a number of ways. It significantly boosted our food & beverage revenue, increased participation by 50 golfers over the prior year, and generated positive promotion for the club, with members sharing their selfies on social media.  Creating the event also became a great team-building exercise between the golf and maintenance staff. Due to the addition of the event, our end of the year ceremony’s attendance tripled in size. Most importantly, the “Wacky Open” scramble has left our membership really excited about golf and looking forward to getting out there next year after another long Pocono winter.

If you would like to email the author of this Best Practice directly, please email twagnerpga@gmail.com

Editor’s note: The above comments reflect the opinion and experiences of the submitting PGA Professional and are not endorsed by PGA Magazine or the PGA of America.