How the best golf charity outing I've ever attended could improve other similar events

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: June, 2023.

There are few better platforms on which to raise money for a great cause than golf. Golfers tend to be generous not just by demographic but by spirit. The roster of golf charity outings throughout the year - many at some of the best courses in America - is spectacular.

Foursomes for Fatherhood is one of those great events. Held the Monday of Father's Day Week at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut, it is part of the community efforts of The Village for Families & Children. Dating back to 1809, The Village is one of America's longest-running charitable organizations. In addition to facilitating foster care for children in need of different home situations, The Village provides resources and programs aimed at solidifying and keeping families together and strong.

The money raised via the Foursomes for Fatherhood golf outing - more $1 million in its 14-year run as of 2025 - supports The Village's Fatherhood Engagement Services, whose mission is to help strengthen the bonds between fathers and their children through education and mentoring for men across the greater Hartford area.

In addition to serving a noble cause, Foursomes for Fatherhood is the best-run and most enjoyable golf outing in which I have participated. There are several factors that go into it, which any similar event would do well to consider adopting.

I know many golfers enjoy them, but I am not a fan of scrambles. Luckily for me, neither are Foursomes for Fatherhood's organizers.

Instead of an awkward Captain's Choice format, teams play best-ball, with winners for both gross and net scores. That means everyone gets to play their own ball, but there is no pressure to finish out the hole if you're out of it. There's just enough strategy involved, especially with higher-handicappers buckling down on holes where their par could mean a net birdie for the squad. I had a blast teaming up with my father and two teachers from my high school in 2023. Everyone contributed and our team score of 5-under-par 65 was good enough for second place. With the winners shooting 61, we felt satisfied with the $75 in pro shop credit we each scored.

Foursomes for Fatherhood took on a new level of popularity when it moved to TPC River Highlands in 2019. Its date on the schedule coincides beautifully with the Travelers Championship, as participants get to play the course right before it closes to outside guests ahead of the tournament. That means the golf course is in absolute peak shape and the grandstands are nearly fully built out. Plus, Travelers opens the fun "Hole 15 1/2" to event participants, who try their hand at hitting an 85-yard shot to the red Travelers umbrella that floats in the lake between holes 15, 16 and 17.

Some golf outings go a little overboard with the extras that teams can purchase to juice their scores, including mulligans, lengths of string and throws. More often than not, all that stuff can pile up and distract from the fun of the game. The only extra that Foursomes for Fatherhood participants can buy are mulligans, with a modest maximum allowed per team. This generates extra fundraising for the event without letting the competitive element get too heavily manipulated.

Many charity outings do not do enough to educate participants about the causes they're playing for. Foursomes for Fatherhood is an exemplar in providing reminders of what players are supporting with their $550 entry fee. Banners bearing the faces and names of fathers whom The Village's programming has benefited are a constant reminder. One clever recent touchpoint has been an integration with TPC River Highlands' in-cart GPS screens. Before each hole, facts about the importance of fathers being present in their childrens' lives would populate on the screen. Being reminded that 85% of children with behavioral problems come from fatherless homes, or that fatherless children are twice as likely to drop out of school really puts your last three-putt in perspective.

Most of the outings I've played in have something of a hasty feel. Quite often, teams will show up just to play golf and then leave immediately afterward. Golfers who sign up for Foursomes for Fatherhood know they're committing the bulk of their day to the event. It starts with an early cookout lunch, then golf, then a buffet dinner, silent auction and raffle afterward. Because many participants know each other from the tournament and the greater Hartford business community (the tournament is fully subscribed), the atmosphere is convivial, especially after the open-bar cocktail hour that precedes the festivities. Arguably highlight of Foursomes for Fatherhool comes at dinner, when one of the men whom the program has helped speaks about his experiences. These emotional moments tie everything together

Norman from The Village on Vimeo.