Considerations for Holding a Contest
or Donating a Grand Prize
If you're interested in holding a contest whose grand prize is of substantial monetary value, or if you're thinking about donating a big prize, think about getting hole-in-one insurance. Here are a few things to consider before holding a contest or when donating a prize.
Rating your risk. What is the probability that a contestant will sink the shot? You should find out. This information affects the amount you pay for your insurance premium. What is the yardage on the grand prize hole? (Most insurance companies require a minimum of 150 yards while others require at least 175 yards.) If professional golfers are participating their odds of making a hole-in-one are much greater than amateur players. (The odds are most often stated as 1 in 12,750 of an amateur making a hole-in-one. A PGA Tour pro’s chances are much better at 1 in 3,756.)
Appraise the Prize. If you are donating cash, the value is obvious. New cars, too, are easy to put a monetary value on. However, there are some prizes out there, like trips to Disney World or tickets to the NCAA finals that are harder to valuate. This, like the probability of winning, is extremely important to know, because it affects how high your hole-in-one insurance premium will be.
Number of Participants. In order to get hole-in-one insurance quotes, you must know how many participants there will be in the contest. If you are unsure, consider estimating on the high side. If you find you have fewer players you can request a refund.
One Day or Multiple Days? If your tournament is longer than one day, you must specify if you want coverage for multiple days. Each day's 18 holes of play are considered one round. If your tournament includes two or more days of hole-in-one promotion or contest, you will need to be sure and designate what day or days the insured prize will be offered.
Nine-Hole Course. If you’re playing on a 9-hole course, the target hole must be designated by hole number and whether it will be on the front or the back nine holes of play. Otherwise, the insurance company will not reimburse any prize unless the hole-in-one is made the first time the designated hole is played by the tournament player.
If you want prize coverage for both the front and back nine holes of play, you must designate this as two target holes.
Supplemental Prizes and Promotional Supplies. Many hole-in-one insurance brokers provide supplemental prizes for your other par 3 holes and some even offer a certificate for free golf clubs for all participants. Be sure to select a hole-in-one coverage provider that has personalized signs for all the par 3 holes so your sponsors get maximum exposure.
Plan Ahead. Hole-in-one insurance, and its cousins like sweepstakes and gaming insurance, are gaining popularity, so you'll want to look into buying insurance well in advance of promoting or hosting a contest. For example, avoid the month of September. That is the busiest time of the year for hole-in-one insurers, because many of the major sports are starting up and all the colleges are getting back to school.
Add-on Contests. In addition to being affordable, add-on contests also give you the opportunity to generate additional revenue by featuring a local sponsor, auctioning the shots or by selling raffle tickets. Contestants can be chosen a number of different ways from random drawings to winning scores, the possibilities are only limited to your imagination.
For non-profit events, this is an excellent opportunity to raise extra funds for your cause. Raffle or auction off the chance to compete in exciting shootouts and increase your fundraising efforts substantially!
A shootout gives a single participant one opportunity to make a hole-in-one from at least 165 yards for a lump sum cash payout. Hold the contest on a par 3 hole or simply have the contestant set up 165 plus yards away from the pin in the middle of the 18th fairway at the end of regulation play or during cocktails.
Putting Contest offers a golfer the chance to win a prize by taking one putt at a distance no shorter than 50 feet.
Prize Restoration. Will your insurance carrier pay for each and every hole-in-one that is achieved during your event? That means that every participant in a tournament gets a chance to win the prize even if someone else has already accomplished a hole-in-one on the target hole. (During the Carmel County Club Pro Am the insurance coverage provided two players with new Mercedes Benz cars when they aced the target hole. In the same tournament, the insurance company paid out two hole-in-one prizes of $100,000.
The Prize Sponsor. In the event of a claim, the prize sponsor is the person, company or organization to whom the reimbursement check will be written. In most cases, the prize sponsor is who pays the cost of the hole-in-one event coverage.
Have Questions? One last thing to keep in mind: If you think your idea for a contest is good, but you're not sure if you can afford to part with your prize, check it out with a hole-in-one insurer. Chances are, they can make the contest possible with their coverage, and in the process improve your image in your community
