OK folks let's review.
Trying to locate a venue that will block tee times for two days for a large group of strangers hoping for some rate consideration is an arduous task to begin with. In this pandemic climate we are finding that resorts are running at 110% capacity with waitlists. Top 100, no, make that Top 1000 courses are restricting outside play, their membership, ownership, and some municipalities are understandably cautious. Tee sheets are booked from dusk to dawn. This has taken hours from days that frankly do not exist. Lawsonia rescued 2020. Some Muny's don't even answer their phone anymore and send you to the web.
Securing confirmation for this in 2021 was a "situation". We're already working on 2022.
Additionally, we joked about it, but in all seriousness, for the first time, we went to extra lengths to make sure people were aware of our developments.
1- We announced the venue and summary of the events.
2- We then announced the schedule/date/time when we were planning to post the sign up list so people, if they were interested, could plan to sign up.
3- We posted the list at that time
4- People signed up
We have one criteria, you need to be registered with GCA and that is the only prerequisite.
Getting these things organized are a labor of love. This year was a bit of a grind.
We are not a for profit travel planning event agency and tend to get these arranged via relationships and GCA Member volunteer efforts " for the good of the architecture"... and our collective amusement.
It would be a great development for the good of golf if the current COVID fueled golf boom sticks, and rounds continue to outstrip capacity. Tee times at prime locations private and public will likely remain tight thru 2021.
Our ad-hoc system is not perfect but it is magnanimous. Mashie cancellations and drop outs have historically run 25%-30% and a good number of waitlist folks have gotten into the events.
We have used our club memberships, resort management, architect and other relationships to get these set up.
Many times, these go on personal accounts at the clubs, or as the case last year with Forest Dunes, it was necessary to secure fast depleting prime time fall tee sheet and room availability with a personal credit card, then request deposits from GCAers, then ultimately send individual refunds when the pandemic forced a cancellation. (Its all electronic this year. no checks)
With that in mind, we have not considered the addition of point systems, tracking donor participation tallies and the like. If our 2021 event yields 100% of people confirmed with little movement off of the wait list, we will have reached a tipping point and can look at adjustments.
No system is perfect. Historically, the volunteer hosts have spent time managing the cancellations, waitlist notifications, refunds and adjusting slots with venues, so I would pose that if that amount of time is diminished by full attendance, we can dedicate those hours to a points management system. For now? No