Andy Myers is a certified PGA assistant professional at Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, N.Y.

As the tournament coordinator at Turning Stone, I like to make even our smallest golf groups feel special. Two years ago, we created a unique twist by offering customized tournament options for all groups of eight or more golfers. We provide custom scorecards, cart signs, contest signs and scoring for qualifying groups. As would be expected, this amounts to a large amount of additional work handled in the tournament office. Organization is critical to the success of our small group program. All of our materials are handled electronically through e-forms that groups can fill out with their pairing information, contest needs and any other services they select for their event. This gives them the chance to create their own tournament with the different customized options from our menu of choices. Some groups keep it simple with only cart signs or a single contest, while others have a variety of contests, special formats and scoreboards. This service is complimentary, which comes as a surprise to most groups and they really appreciate the personal touch it provides. We aim to provide an unforgettable golf experience to our guests and taking the time to customize their materials and add even more fun to their outing leaves a lasting impression.

Our goal is to grow our small groups (eight players or more) into larger outings. We tracked approximately 300 small groups last year, and 40 percent of them have returned with the same number of players or more. On average, the group size has grown by over four players. We have 45,000 annual rounds of golf played at Turning Stone and nearly 10,000 of those are handled through the tournament office. Providing this level of complimentary service has allowed our tournament business to grow year after year.