Golf outings a key fundraising tool for nonprofits
According to local organizations and golf courses, the game of golf provides the perfect blend of business and pleasure, as the game has grown faster than ever over the past few years.
Golf outings hosted by local businesses and charities have proven to be a way to make business connections, give back and support local initiatives, all the while making the game more inviting to those who are just starting out.
According to the United States Golf Association, 28.1 million Americans played on a golf course in 2024, including 3.3 million who played for the first time.
The total economic impact of the golf industry in the United States is a little over $100 billion annually, and one out of every 75 jobs in the country are impacted by the industry.
Jesse Horner, director of operations for Cranberry Highlands Golf Course in Cranberry Township, said his course set a record for rounds played in 2024 with 38,544.
This year, the course will host 33 closed-course golf outings which accommodate 100 to 144 people each, along with roughly 70 smaller outings that don’t close the course for the day.
“We have organizations like Sherwin-Williams to charity events like the Light of Life Rescue Mission,” Horner said. “Then we do the Lighthouse Foundation from Butler, among others.”
Horner said the closed-course golf outings, along with the smaller group outings that consist of roughly 50 people each, make up roughly 10% of the course’s rounds played per year.
“The other part of the outing business for us is food and beverage,” Horner said. “They might spend $85 on golf, but they might spend another $50 on food and beverage. We do a lot of events like business meetings that drive revenue as well.”
Repeat business is the name of the game at Highlands. Horner said nearly all of the organizations it accommodates come back year after year.
Closed-course outings at Highlands are fully booked for the rest of the 2025 season.
“When they come in, we cover it from A to Z,” Horner said. “That is why our success rate is like 99% for repeat business. It’s unfortunate if you are a new charity and we don’t have a date, you are kind of at the mercy of someone pulling out for you to get a date. That is the only downside. It’s a good problem to have.”
A PGA professional, Horner believes the game of golf is growing, but he has some concerns that could bring a halt to the growth.
“When COVID happened, it set golf back a little temporarily, but it really helped increase exposure to the game,” Horner said. “I continually see golf growing, as long as golf doesn’t price itself out of the market. There are courses being built that are off the charts and regular people are not going to see them because they are just out of their reach.”
According to the National Golf Foundation, the average cost of an 18-hole round of golf at a public course in 2024 was about $43. Horner said there are always going to be courses on the higher end of the price scale, but there still needs to be a places that offer a golf experience at a more reasonable price.
“I think we as professionals or people in the business we need to always remember golf needs to be affordable,” Horner said.
Another venue familiar with hosting larger golf outings is Lake Arthur Golf Club in Franklin Township.
Kathleen Bartony, who owns the golf course with her siblings Hank Bartony and Marie Uncapher, said Lake Arthur has about 30 outings lined up for the 2025 season, five more than last year.
“We set up their field of play where we use a product called Golf Genius,” Bartony said. “Using that, we can set up their foursomes, skill prizes and do net and gross in terms of what their skill prizes are. We have a caterer that can service up to 180.”
Each outing takes about seven hours for the golf portion, which still allows Bartony to open the course to the public at the end of the day if the outing starts early in the morning.
“Golf is a great way to get out there and be physical,” Bartony said. “At our facility we have a bar/grill room so they can come in afterward and get a bite to eat. It’s gaining in popularity, and one of the reasons is because of COVID. It was one of the few activities you could do outside.”
According to the USGA, in 2024 there were 7.9 million female on-course golfers, a 41% increase since 2019. Roughly 13% of all on-course golfers are age 6 to 17, and junior participation has increased by 49% since 2019.
“The newest groups to the game are women and children,” Bartony said. “I think with LIV Golf and the PGA there are some young guys that are pretty impressive with their golfing abilities. That catches the attention of the youth.”
Bartony said Lake Arthur also hosts non-golf-related events to help drive revenue, such as high school proms, weddings and business-related events.
“We have about 10 weddings a year,” Bartony said. “We have more weddings in the fall because that is when outings drop off.”
Like Horner said, a lot of organizations return to certain golf courses year after year for their golf outings, and that is no different with the YMCA’s annual Fore the Children Golf Classic.
Christina Dreher, development director at the Butler County Family YMCA, said this year’s outing will take place Sept. 22 at Butler Country Club and will be the outing’s 25th year.
“This event is a favorite of mine,” Dreher said. “It’s one of the highest revenue generating events we have. All of the proceeds benefit what we call our Annual Support Campaign. It’s through the Annual Support Campaign the YMCA is able to offer discounted memberships or program fees. Essentially scholarships for folks in our community who might not otherwise be able to enjoy a YMCA membership without the help of those funds.”
Dreher said anyone seeking a membership to the Butler YMCA or the Rose E. Schneider Family YMCA can apply for the discounted rates.
“We have an internal process where we review the applications as well as other financial documents to decide what discount that family or individual might receive,” Dreher said. “We offer different tiers from 25% off to 50% off and up to 75% off monthly dues and program fees.”
The event has a shotgun start with two foursomes starting on each hole, coming to 144 golfers. It starts with lunch and then players golf all day and wrap it up with dinner.
Dreher said there is more to the outing than golf and food.
“Within the golf outing itself we have things like beat the pro, closest to the pin, pink ladies, mulligans and all those things,” Dreher said. “We also have a 50/50, silent auction and we sell cigars that are donated to us. It’s a good opportunity to see the YMCA professionals and network with other organizations in the community.”
Dreher said last year’s outing raised more than $78,000 for the Annual Support Campaign, which helped benefit upward of 500 families.
One of the reasons Dreher believes the outing fills up every year is because of the venue itself.
“Unless you are a member of the country club, you don’t get to golf there unless it’s a special event,” Dreher said. “I think it is one of the premier courses for that kind of experience.”
Dreher said she thinks golf outings are a popular fundraising event in Butler County because they provide opportunities to network, as well as develop team-building skills.
“It's really an opportunity for professionals to get on the course, loosen up a little bit and talk to people in a casual way with not a lot of pressure,” Dreher said. “I also think for organizations that send four of their own people, that's a good team-building experience for them.”
Another local organization utilizing Butler Country Club for its annual golf outing is the Butler Memorial Hospital Foundation.
Kris Bowser, the manager of the foundation, said its golf outing, Tee Off Fore a Healthier Community, will take place June 16 this yer.
“It’s a great day,” Bowser said. “They start with registration. Then we’ll raffle tickets with skill games. They get a golf shirt as a gift. Then we do lunch before they go out. We do activities such as a putting competition where you get three putts for $5 and if you make one your name goes into a drawing for a prize.”
The foundation’s outing also sells out at 144 golfers, and the registration fees along with funds from the skill games raise more than $100,000 annually, Bowser said.
“This is our 26th annual event,” Bowser said. “In 2024 we netted over $110,000. It varies across the years.”
Bowser said the foundation raises about $1 million each year through events such as the outing and its Caring Angel Basket and 50/50 event, as well as its annual gala.
“It’s very different from having a gala,” Bowser said. “It’s outside and the people there are doing something they love. The networking and giving back is what it's all about.”
Funds raised at the outing go toward supporting the initiatives the foundation backs.
“We do a lot of work with patients,” Bowser said. “We do work with cancer patients particularly. We also have an employee relief fund. The foundation does a lot of good work that is helping employees, patients and more.”
This article originally appeared in the June edition of Butler County Business Matters.
