When it comes to the most significant tournaments and outings of the year, choosing the right player gift can be challenging. PGA of America Professionals are tasked with giving participants something unique and exciting, while also useful in their lives and reminiscent of a great experience.
Case in point: When choosing tournament gifts at NCR Country Club in Kettering, Ohio, PGA of America Director of Golf Rob Karnes often turns to dishes, trays and other home goods that can be customized for the event.
For the Men’s Member Guest Invitational every June, he likes to focus on spouse/family gifts and has used Prestige Woodwide for a barbecue box that included a 15-by-12 inch custom engraved cutting board, spatula, tongs, brush, fork, knife, silicone hot glove and four skewers. He also works with Cappai Designs, which offers everything from barware and glassware to a variety of porcelain, aluminum, stainless steel and wood products.
“We’ve done several gifts with Cappai Designs, a small company with very nice people, including a wooden serving tray with the club logo burned into it and a lazy Susan with the same concept. This year, we’re doing porcelain baking trays,” Karnes says.
“We like to give one gift that is useful for the entire family instead of being centered just on the gentleman playing in the event.”
Bryan Nicholson, PGA of America Head Professional at Cherry Hills Country Club in Englewood, Colorado, received lots of positive feedback about a gift given at his club’s annual Smith Cole Tournament, an invitation-only pro-member event welcoming 27 teams from across the United States and internationally. At the mid-September event, last year’s field of 108 players received an acrylic photo of one of Cherry’s Hills’ signature holes mounted in a handcrafted wooden frame courtesy of Signs By the Sea.
“It was an outstanding gift that was very well received; the craftsmanship was exceptional and beautifully representative of the Cherry Hills brand,” Nicholson says. “The piece struck a perfect balance between being unique to the club and high in quality, and participants appreciated that it was both a meaningful keepsake and something they could proudly display at home or in the office.”
Last July, The Cedars at Dungeness in Sequim, Washington, held its annual Bob Cup – named for a club member who passed away eight years ago – giving the 60 participants a Seamus ball mark with the club logo on the front and their initials stamped on the back. According to Garrett Smithson, PGA of America Head Professional and Director of Group Services, customizing a tournament gift leaves a lasting impression of the event, the facility where it was played and the game of golf in general.
“Making events more memorable does so many things,” says Smithson. “You never know who is coming to an outing. It could be a first-time golfer, a player who has never played in an event before or a longtime player who hasn’t experienced the special touches of what an event can offer outside of a normal round of golf.”
In addition, at last year’s Tokatee Golf Club Celebration Tournament in McKenzie Bridge, Oregon, a four-person scramble typically held the Friday before the Fourth of July, the 236 participants received a dozen TaylorMade MySymbol custom golf balls.
“Our biggest event of the year, the Celebration Tournament is a really fun, festive day with food trucks, a beer garden, face painting, fireworks and a big community atmosphere,” says PGA of America Head Professional Kennedy Bodiford. “The logoed golf balls were a huge hit. They’re something everyone can actually use, so they felt both fun and practical. We got great feedback and saw people excited to take them home and play with them.”
And for Tokatee’s Club Championship, the facility created a limited-edition logo and had it etched into rocks glasses that were exclusive to people playing in the event.
“They felt special – almost like a limited-edition keepsake – and it really elevated the feel of the tournament,” Bodiford recalls. “Looking ahead, we’re excited to partner with Dash Clip next year to create custom engraved wallets for participants, continuing the trend of unique, high-quality and meaningful tournament gifts.”
