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Golf Tournament Entertainment

Can you ever really have too many layers of entertainment? Of course not, don’t be ridiculous. That’s like saying you can have too much pizza or fun or puppies—it’s impossible! So, when hosting your golf tournament event, let’s pile on the delightful amusements. Here’s some suggestions on how to entertain your tournament guests and leave them with (almost) best day ever overload. Point is to extend hospitality to guests.


Brass Band Brassanimals Golf Tournament Entertainment

1. Host a golf-inspired banquet.

If you have read any of our other blogs, you knew we were going to start with our favorite—food (and of course drinks!). You might be thinking not really special– every tournament does some type of food or banquet. So how are you going to make yours different and way more noteworthy? With a bit of creativity and maybe some golf-theme inspiration via Pinterest and a couple of dynamite blogs.

Can we do dessert first? Yea, let’s throw convention to the wind and do dessert first, consequences be damned. If you do a quick Google search, you’ll come up with almost endless golf ball and grass dessert ideas. So much deliciousness to choose from whether you are going to make it yourself or call in a professional.

To help you narrow it down, a couple of dessert ideas that we loved best were these golf ball truffles and putting green brownies, powdered sugar donut holes on cake pop sticks in craft grass (spiked or unspiked), dessert crumble sand traps, and/or designer golf cakes and cupcake toppers.

All of your food doesn’t have to be dyed green (you’ll be encroaching on St. Patty’s Day territory there) or be made to look like grass, that might be hard when you get to the main course stuff and appetizers anyway. Instead of turning everything into golf balls and grass, you can go the interpretive route with food and appetizers and give them clever golf-theme names, both of which you can find examples of here.

It’s not just the food that you want to keep with the theme, don’t forget about jazzing up the food tables as well. You can go with things like golf theme-centerpieces that include number flags, golf balls, and fresh flowers. We’ve seen so many clever ideas we think you’ll wish you hosted more tournaments just so you can try them all out.

All that driving—clubs and carts—really works up an appetite and it’s nice to give everyone a little something to keep them going. Plan to give the players some easy to eat on-course snacks (golf-themed, naturally) that can give them quick energy and keep them playing through the 18th hole.

You didn’t really think we were leaving this section without discussing the best part, golf themed cocktails, did you? We’d never miss an opportunity to leave you with ideas

for creative cocktail-ing. Or you can take classic drinks and give them golf-inspired names like Tee Off and The Eagle.

Whether you want to have alcohol or do mocktails (preferably both to accommodate everyone), if you don’t have Arnold Palmers available (half iced tea/half lemonade, spiked or without), are you really hosting a golf tournament?

2. Hold games within the game.

This is a change to ramp up the competition and challenge factors for players. If golf isn’t hard enough for some of the old pros on the links, adding some extra games within the game can keep the excitement alive. Have a hole-in-one competition (who gets the most) or have a contest to see who can get the biggest flock of “birds” (birdie, eagle, albatross). Think outside the box with some golf pong where players have to try to chip balls into larger buckets or barrels, or do some classic games like scramble and best ball.

What about incentives to play and win? We mean glory and links cred is great and all, but bragging rights just aren’t enough–players want you to show them the prizes. Depending on your budget, you can hand out trophies, golf equipment like customized balls, tees, or towels, gift certificates for things like free games or drink vouchers.


Brass Band Brassanimals Golf Tournament Entertainment3

3. Have fun stuff for the non-golfers.

Not everyone plays golf or wants to play golf, but everyone wants to get out of the office for the day. But let’s be honest, not everyone is into watching others play golf, especially at binocular-needing distance. So how are you going to keep them entertained (besides the banquet and bar)?

Golf can be an intimidating sport and not something one just “picks up” in a day. Try to get everyone involved with a putting contest, even adding in some obstacles for more of a challenge (think small mini-golf course.

Seek out courses that offer help to ease beginners into the game such as clinics hosted by a club professional or getting to know the basics and etiquette of the game like they have available at California’s PGA-hosting Cordevalle.

Be sure to have fun awards for those who make an effort like “Most Improved” and “Biggest Potential”. You never know how many converts you’ll earn for next year’s tournament when you help make the sport fun and non-intimidating for the newbies.


Brass Band Brassanimals Golf Tournament Entertainment4

4. Bring in the entertainment.

Like other corporate events, likely your golf tournament is an all-day affair. Mix things up with some non-golf entertainment (the non-golfers will thank you). Try booking some celebrity impersonators to mingle with guests anywhere from Tiger Woods to Happy Gilmore to non-golf celebs like Elvis.

Bring in guest speakers like athletes (local, regional, or national if you have the resources) or other local celebrities that have inspiring stories to tell. You can also lighten things up with a stand-up comedian or preplan a roast master event with one or two special “guests of honor”.


Brass Band Brassanimals Golf Tournament Entertainment5

5. Have the band play on.

While special guests can entertain for shorter segments, a band can entertain for just about the entire day. Find a live brass band with a wide range of musical genres in their portfolio, allowing them to give everyone a little something they like. Golfers and non-golfers alike can tap toes, shimmy, and sing along to favorites whether eating lunch, taking a cocktail break, or just hanging out in the shade.

Another idea is to consider having the band near the 18th hole. They can play songs of victory to celebrate the success of the winners (or at least those who had a good game) or perhaps use music to help forget about a crushing defeat (scored a 130? Ouch!). Either way, upbeat music = happy times.


Brass Band Brassanimals Golf Tournament Entertainment6

6. Golf cart drive-in theater.

If you want to think even further outside of the box, we think this is one of the most inspired ideas we’ve come across. At the end of the day, players and non-players alike can drive up and park their golf carts in front of a large projection screen and watch golf movies like Caddyshack, Happy Gilmore, of the Legend of Bagger Vance. If you think everyone might be golfed-out, pick a popular movie appropriate for a wide audience. Just don’t forget to have plenty of popcorn and soda available.

Many people love golf and it’s a great way to relax and socialize with colleagues and business connections. With some imagination, you can make it a memorable event for everyone—whether they love the game or love hanging out at the buffet. Happy golfing (or not golfing) to all!

We got to perform during Monday Night Football (and it was awesome)!

It was around 8:45 in the morning in the middle of July, when I noticed in my band email that someone had filled out our contact us form to perform at a NFL Sports Event. The title of the email was “Preseason Home Games”. I’m a HUUGE sports fan, so I was definitely interested to see who was reaching out to us. It turned out to be from one of the Entertainment Coordinators at the now Las Vegas Raiders. Yeah, that’s right. An NFL team.

My heart started racing as I wondered whether this would be our opportunity to play at a sports event. I immediately dialed the phone number on my phone and was successful in getting the Entertainment Coordinator to pick up. She was impressed that we were calling her within minutes of her submitting her information.

In short, the team was looking for a band to perform the team song “Autumn Wind” during their home football games. After every time the team scored, the band would play a portion of Autumn Wind to all of the Raider fans in the Oakland Coliseum. I told her that that was definitely something we could do and that we would happily submit a recording of our band playing Autumn Wind.

The only catch, the Entertainment Coordinator told me, was that they didn’t access to the sheet music of the song. So we were going to have to arrange it to sound as close to the original as possible. Not a big deal for us, except that the song has a ton of string instruments in it and we’re a brass band!

We quickly arranged Autumn Wind for a 7-piece brass band and submitted our recording. After a few days we were told that we were definitely on the right track and they requested that we make a few small changes to our arrangement.

After 1 more submission, we invited the Entertainment Coordinator and her boss to see us perform the song at Lennon Rehearsal Studios. The crew at Lennon Studios, knowing that we had a lot on the line for this “private audition” was super nice to us and gave us the biggest room they had.

And thank goodness they did, because after our “private audition” we were told that we would be doing our final audition in Oakland Coliseum during their first pre-game of the year. We were so excited!

Brass Band playing music at a sports event for the Las Vegas Raiders

For the next couple of weeks, the band rehearsed Autumn Wind extensively, so that we’d be as prepared as we could be for our final audition. When we arrived at the stadium, it was about 3.5 hours before game time. We were greeted by another member of the Entertainment team and escorted through security and up to the Club Level, where we were to perform.

We had a killer view of the field and could see players stretching and warming up. We were told that the people evaluating us were stationed all over the stadium because they wanted to hear what it would sound like as a fan. So we got set up quickly and waiting for the cue.

And then we blasted Autumn Wind throughout the entire Oakland Coliseum. It was a thrilling 2 minutes and I thought we sounded great. Apparently everyone that was watching us thought so too but the real evaluators, who were all over the stadium, communicated to our point person to perform it again. So we did. Another thrilling 2 minutes. Another solid job.

If you haven’t performed at a big stadium before, it’s actually really hard. Not only are there tens of thousands of people there, but the acoustics usually aren’t that great. The sound bounces all over the stadium, and it is really hard as a musician to focus on what you’re playing when you’re hearing an echo at the same time.

Fortunately, because our sound was so powerful and strong, the echo, while noticeable, was manageable for everyone to still play a polished version of the tune. Once we finished our second rendition of Autumn Wind, we were told that we could pack up and stay in our area to watch the preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams.

We ended up waiting 2 weeks before got the call that we would be asked to play the first home game of the regular season against the New York Jets. YES!!!!!!

Not only were we going to get to perform, but we were also going to be featured on the big screen, while we performed.

That game was a blast.

The team ended up scoring SEVEN TIMES to beat the Jets 45-20. Scoring seven times meant playing Autumn Wind seven times. So we belted out Autumn Wind to the over 60,000 fans after each touchdown and field goal that Sunday afternoon. Here’s a clip of us performing after one of the field goals.


After the game we were invited to be in-game entertainment for the next 3 home games.

During the second home game of the season, against the Baltimore Ravens, the team allowed us to perform Autumn wind in Raiderville, the official Raiders Tailgate Party. This was a lot of fun because we were able to interact with fans in the parking lot before the game. Raiders fans throw some of the best tailgate parties that I’ve ever seen. The number of smokers and grills that were out in the parking lot was something to witness. And to perform for everyone pre-game was really fun. Because it got everyone’s energy up for the actual game.

Even though we’ll always remember the first three home games, the last home game that we performed at was our favorite, because it was televised primetime on Monday Night Football against the Kansas City Chiefs. Not only did we get to perform Autumn Wind during MNF, but we also got to meet Bruce Maxwell, Catcher for the Oakland Athletics. He was hanging out in our area during the national anthem (yes he kneeled).

Brass Bands For Hire at Sports Events
Best Brass Band for sports event

We also spent some time with the halftime performer, Casey Cooper, the creator of the popular YouTube drumming channel COOP3RDRUMM3R.

Bass Bands For Sports Event
Brass Animals enjoyed playing for the Las Vegas Raiders Football Team

Everyone in the band had a blast and the Oakland Raiders staff couldn’t have been nicer. We are so appreciative of the Raiders entertainment team for having us and we hope we get to do it again soon.

Our experience has definitely motivated us to find gigs with other professional sports teams or play at other sports event. So, if you work for a professional sports team and are looking for some live entertainment, please contact us!