In da "Golf" Club

When I saw a group of four walking to the car with their golf clubs the other day outside of my dorm, I thought about how popular golf outings and, more specifically, celebrity golf outings are these days. The main reason I think this type of event has become so popular is that it combines the benefits of having fun, getting exercise, and raising large amounts of money for an organization. Once you attach a few “A-list” (or B-list) celebrity names to any charity golf tournament, people start lining up to join.

Since the summer months are upon us and, thus, more of the country is entering their “golf season”, it seems appropriate to discuss the growing popularity, and its related success, of celebrity charity golf outings. There are numerous charity golf outings taking place around the country year-round, but there is an obvious surge in the number of these events during this time of year.

Without seeming cynical about the motivation behind these events, it is important to recognize that, although there is some question about the motivation of the participants themselves, these events do still support some charitable cause and are still organized and managed by charitable foundations or events companies on behalf of some charitable organization.

That being said, it is still difficult to admit that celebrity golf tournaments are probably the highest revenue-generating charity functions out there. I was unable to find data or proven evidence to support this notion but, for the purposes of this discussion, we can all agree that golf outings are one of the most popular and well-supported charity events of which we know.
When trying to delve deeper into this issue, it is interesting to learn that blogs and websites out there definitely pay homage to this growing pastime, but it’s difficult to find information about the foundations themselves, or about other events and/or other ways to contribute to that particular cause.

There are books about “how to plan a successful golf outing” and a plethora of resources on the topic, yet one can find significantly and shockingly fewer resources about the actual charities/foundations associated with these events. Granted, these books and websites also provide help with planning or organizing other types of charity events, but again, golf outings, especially those that feature a few well-known celebrity names, are the most popular. There is even a website dedicated solely to listing a schedule of upcoming celebrity charity golf tournaments with the dates and information, highlighting the celebrities, of course, including a link to those sites. But it’s not as easy to find those foundations’ or community sites on their own, just as a simple ‘giving back’ Internet search. There are resources out there, even some helpful links in the above referenced “fundraiser help” website, wherein one can find other necessary information about charity events in general, but it seems clear that attaching a celebrity name to an event like golf, where people are doing something they would ordinarily do on that given day anyway, is the way to go. The issue I have with that, is that the participants, those who pay top dollar to play in these tournaments and pay that pricey fee just to be in the presence of these celebrities, are often doing so without ever knowing what cause they are supporting or, furthermore, that they are even playing golf FOR CHARITY that day.

At the end of the day, however, it is better to raise the funds and to support some good cause than not to do it at all. Maybe I should not focus so much on the way in which people choose to donate or how much they know about what cause they are even supporting that day, as long as they are supporting a cause at all. The fact remains that these golf outings are a huge success, no matter which way you look at it. If celebrities enjoy playing golf and help drive more support for a certain cause by doing it, it still fulfills some level of social responsibility with regard to giving back, and perhaps those celebrities, or the non-celebrity golf participants, would not have otherwise done so.

Posted by Stephanie Cantor