The Challenge

Each year, a Southern California company partnered with a large nonprofit to host a spring golf tournament fundraiser. While event logistics could be loosely managed in Excel, two major pain points consistently surfaced:

• Day-of Check-In Chaos: Corporate tournaments are notorious for last-minute changes—golfers swapping places, no-shows, and team reshuffling. Sales reps often hovered around the check-in table trying to coordinate updated foursomes, leading to confusion and delays.
• Silent Auction Bottlenecks: Auctions were run manually with paper sheets and spreadsheets. At the end of the night, participants crowded around the auction table to find out if they had won, making checkout slow, stressful, and error-prone.

The Solution

We built a custom Golf Tournament Management Application—complete with a Silent Auction Management Tool—designed to streamline the entire event from registration through checkout.

Key Features:

• Foursome Registration:
  • A “New Foursome” form allowed companies to register, select sponsorship packages, and enter golfer names.
  • Foursomes could be assigned starting hole numbers.
  • A simple boolean toggle indicated whether payment had been received. (Payment integration was out of scope but easily extendable.)
• Real-Time Check-In System:
  • Searchable registrant list with live updates.
  • Coordinators could view check-in progress in real time.
  • A manager with an iPad handled last-minute golfer swaps to avoid check-in delays.
• Silent Auction Tool:
  • Items were entered with a title, description, value, and unique ID.
  • Last-minute items could be registered on-site.
  • A live webpage displayed winners in a continuously looping slideshow, accessible via a projector or TV.
• Deployment Model:
  • The system was lightweight and CLI-driven, deployable just for the event and shut down afterward to save on hosting costs.
  • User management was handled via CLI.
• Optional SMS Collection:
  • Golfers could opt to provide a phone number for live updates during the event.

Results & Growth

• Rapid Development: The initial build took just 2–3 weeks.
• Operational Simplicity: Check-in staff were trained on the spot using spare laptops and iPads.
• Live Coordination: No more shuffling through outdated printouts—coordinators had real-time visibility into attendee status.
• Faster Auction Checkout: With public displays showing auction results, crowds no longer formed at checkout tables.
• 7 Years of Use: The tool was reliably used from 2015 to 2022.

This project brought clarity and control to what had previously been a chaotic event, reducing stress for staff, improving the attendee experience, and modernizing how golf tournaments are run.