The Talk Every Group Leader Should Have With Their Golfers

If you have ever planned a trip you have undoubtedly experienced the highs of leading your first buddy golf trip to the lows that seem to follow every year after that.  Why is this?  Planning a golf trip and enjoying a golf trip with your friends should be fun but unfortunately, things can get sideways in a hurry.  To solve this problem you should plan a group call 5-6 months before your scheduled trip.  Here’s a list of the important things to remember and topics to cover in that call….

1. Go Into the group call prepared with a prospective trip itinerary, or two.  Your group is going to be anxious to hear the preliminary plan you’ve cooked up.  Spend time in advance collecting competing quotes, as well as any additional itineraries the package companies may have offered.  This call should not be about gaining feedback from last year.  Every one is very busy so maximize your time with them with some plans to discuss.
2. Let your group know that you are working hard to deliver a great trip within budget.  Yes, this means that sometimes your group can’t play the cream of the crop.  To get around any complaining by your buddies, I always say communicate, communicate, communicate!  Let them know early in the process the courses your are thinking of selecting while at the same time listing any preferred courses that just don’t fit into the budget.  Shut the complaints down before they ever grow legs by stating that you could choose a more expensive course but it would increase the package by $X.  Who knows, the group might surprise you and say it’s worth the extra $30 to play the one course they really want to play on the trip.
3. Work off the No Surprise Rule!  I would highly suggest you don’t come in to the call with the mindset of “I don’t care what the group thinks. If they don’t like my itinerary they can plan it themselves”.  This is a recipe for certain disaster!  Again, be open to input from everyone on the call.  If they feel they have had an opportunity to add their two cents, you’ll be well on your way to a smooth experience.  Remember, no one likes surprises, especially if they have been looking forward to the annual golf trip since the day they got home from the previous year’s getaway.
4. Timely trip payments an absolute must.  One of the biggest headache for the trip leader is collecting everyone’s money.  Yes, it is very easy to be somewhat demanding when asking the group to make sure they meet the payment deadlines.  You are not a bank and the group should respect the fact you are spending a lot of time pulling this together and that you don’t have time chasing people for money. Now, saying that in a polite way can be tough but it needs to be stated.  I might also suggest that you set your payment deadline two weeks before the actual deadline.  You always have a straggler or two but the majority will get their money in on or before your deadline.  This will give you a little breathing room to wrangle in the slackers.
5. Newcomers needed?  Most groups suffer from a little attrition from year to year.  If this is the case and you have a few spots to fill take the opportunity to identify the types of people you want to fill those spots with.  Everyone has a friend or two they can probably call but do their personalities and/or skill level mesh well with your group?  I am always taken back to Jim Carey in the movie Cable Guy and the scene in which Jim is invited to play basketball for the first time with a new group of guys.  Needless to say his over-bearing, cocky attitude didn’t fit well and the scene ends with him breaking the backboard on a dunk and everyone leaving in disgust.  You want to avoid this at all costs so when you ask members of your group to see if they have someone that would want to accompany the group, make sure they are a good fit.

Tackle these topics in your group call and your next golf getaway will be great….well, provided you do not have to deal with any knuckleheads who prefer their trip be more about total alcohol consumption rather than total golf consumption.