Saturday’s The Match 7 wasn’t the most competitive night of golf this year, but it was entertaining, which is always the intended outcome with these events. 3 and 2 at Pelican Golf Club before spiking the football, doing the Griddy and then following that by performing the Waddle all over two of the best to ever do it. 

As far as exhibition golf goes, it was perfect.

There have been many iterations of this type of golf with more ideas coming to fruition along the way. In fact, seemingly every generation has its variation of The Match, and this one is no different. What has changed over the last 10, 20 and 30 years, however, is the technology available to deliver the golf to a captivated audience.

The Match has appropriated this technology and delivered good player-broadcaster interviews, put cameras all over the courses involved and delivered on having a microphone and camera on players at all times (including selfie-taking times while driving golf carts). It’s better now than it was 20 years ago because we’re closer to the action than we’ve ever been.

While I’m not positive how much the technology part of The Match should — or even could — expand, there are still a few ideas floating out there that would make this property even more valuable going into the future. This is about combining the currently-used technology with some alternative options for this style of televised golf. Following J.T. and Spieth downing Tiger and Rory, I compiled a few of those ideas for future matches and what they could feasibly look like.

1. More unique formats

The one-club challenge on Saturday only worked because all four of the competitors are professional (I don’t need Josh Allen and Aaron Rodgers playing a 450-yard hole exclusively with a 4-iron), but it was so incredibly compelling that you could make the entire event a one-club challenge; I would absolutely be more interested than if guys were playing with all 14 sticks.

There are myriad variations of this you could run — make the losing team of each hole take a club out, three-club challenge, driver only on one hole and so on — but the crux is the same regardless: Make pros show us how talented they are by playing holes with one club better than the rest of us could with all of them.

2. Title belt

This is not an original idea to me, and in fact it’s not even original to Shane Bacon (who tweeted about it on Monday). Rick Gehman brought this up on the First Cut Podcast last week, and I think it’s brilliant. Make The Match a title belt. The options this gives you are as limitless as they are obvious. If J.T. and Spieth are the current belt holders, a different twosome can be pitted against them to try and win the belt away from them.

Eschew those The Match bracelets the duo won on Saturday and go full 1860s Open Championship by handing out belts. You wouldn’t even need to pit two golfers against them as long as you implemented handicaps. This would provide a bit of an edge to something that, at times, perhaps lacks it.

Furthermore, as Joseph LaMagna pointed out, you could establish some rivalries that we rarely get at regular events. Obviously, they wouldn’t be played with the same intensity of a Players Championship or a Memorial, but it would still provide a fun wrinkle to this series of events.

3. Skills challenge

Speaking of LaMagna, he has (and others have) been big on this idea.

While this is not a variation of The Match, it is somewhat an extension of it. LaMagna has pointed this out, too, but something like an all-star challenge could be a better (and certainly more transparent) way to distribute the $100 million PIP fund than just … online mentions and television time throughout the season. You could field your all-star weekend through a fan vote, or a combination of superior play plus a fan vote, and basically arrive at the PIP — except you would be monetizing it, and it wouldn’t function as a top-secret endeavor.

4. More player commentary

One way to rev up the interaction on the broadcast is to have a current player who’s not a broadcaster as part of the team. This was done a few years ago with J.T. on the microphone, and he was fantastic. It’s too risky for a current broadcaster to really go at players, but if they’re getting it from peers, it could provide even better banter for the show.

5. Go to better courses

The way this exhibition is constituted lends itself to going to the Bandons and Sand Hills’ of the world. That’s a great thing, and something I hope the institution of The Match leans into. You don’t need 10,000 people there to make it exciting. Hell, you don’t need anybody at all. You don’t need massive infrastructure or anything like you would need at a normal PGA Tour event. This frees the event up to go to some golf courses we rarely (if ever) get to see on television — sort of like the U.S. Amateur or U.S. Women’s Amateur but with (presumably) four of the best players on the planet.

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Local golf tournaments and company golf days  – these events are a ton of fun and they’re even more enjoyable if a wide range of golf trophies are handed out.

Not sure what type of individual awards to hand out at your next golf tournament? You’ve come to the right place!

Here are 16 great golf trophy ideas to add a little more spice to your next golf tournament.

1. Tournament Winner

We’ll get the most obvious award out of the way right out of the gate. Depending on the type of tournament you are running, you may need a golf trophy for just one person or an entire foursome of golfers.

Just a simple trophy or plaque with some special engraving on it is a nice touch for the person or group with the lowest score. It’ll give them a memento that they can keep on their desks at work or on their mantles at home.

2. Water Hazard Award

Have a certain golfer that just keeps losing balls in the water?

Consider giving them a fishing pole or a ball finder as a funny award. You could also give them some goggles to help them find all of the balls they hit in the water.

Humor goes a long way to having an enjoyable round of golf.

3. Chipping Award

A lot of golf tournaments have a chipping contest either before or after the event.

Whoever gets closest to the pin from a long distance is declared the winner. A nice award idea for this person would be a new pitching wedge or sand wedge.

4. Bunker Award

Have someone that spends way too much time in the bunkers?

If so, consider giving them a little plastic shovel and a bucket to help them deal with all of their time in the sand. Maybe they can build a sand castle or two while they’re at it.

5. Longest Drive Award

This is a common award but you can decide how to handle it.

A funny award idea would be a Superman t-shirt for the person with the longest drive of the day. If you’re wanting something more formal, trophy cups, plaques, or medallions are always nice.

6. Shortest Drive Award

If you’re giving out an award for the longest drive, you might as well give one out for the shortest drive off the tee.

As a funny gesture, you could give this person a container of protein powder to help them bulk up before the next tournament. Hopefully, they’ll take the fun humor in stride and everyone will get a good laugh out of it.

7. Worst Putter Award

Have someone in your tournament that couldn’t sink even a three-foot putt if their life depended on it?

Think about giving them a gift certificate to play miniature golf. This will not only be a funny gag gift but a way for them to work on their putting.

8. Putting Contest Winner

Just as with the chipping contest, a lot of tournaments also offer a putting contest for all players to enter. The winner could receive a new putter or a free case of new golf balls.

9. Tarzan Award

This is for the golfer that seems to always hit his tee shot into the trees.

You could try to find them a Tarzan t-shirt or even give them a small tree as a memento of their hilarious performance on the golf course. They shouldn’t be left out of the awards ceremony just because they can’t stay in the fairway!

10. Dirtiest Clubs Award

Here’s a fun award that may take a bit of investigating to figure out. Try to find the golfer with the dirtiest golf clubs and golf bag. Get them a golf towel and a bottle of Windex as a hint for them to scrub up their clubs.

11. Closest to the Pin Award

In most golf tournaments, the sponsor will select a certain Par 3 hole on the golf course to hold a closest to the pin contest.

As the name implies, the golfer who hits the ball closest to the hole wins. A good gift could be a small engraved trophy or maybe a couple of new golf gloves.

12. Prize for Last Place Team

Who says that the first place team should get all the love?

How about a funny gift for the team that comes in last place? You could give away tennis rackets to all of the golfers on the last place team as a hint that they should maybe try a new sport.

If you want to go with a more serious gift, maybe give them each a free half-hour golf lesson with the club pro. That would help them perform better at next year’s tournament. Just don’t be shocked if they get some sweet revenge and beat everybody.

13. Best Dressed Award

Here’s an award that isn’t typically given out at golf tournaments but it’s still a neat idea.

Is there a golfer in your tournament that is dressed really sharp? Reward them with a brand new golf shirt.

14. Ugliest Swing Award

Here’s another gag award that may be worth handing out. Look for the person with the most atrocious golf swing and give them a small trophy or medallion for adding some much-needed humor to the golf tournament.

15. Best Beer Drinker Award

Have someone who averages one beer per hole? Give them a handy golf bag cooler and declare them the best beer drinker of the tournament. They’ll definitely appreciate this gift!

16. Raffle Award Winner

At most company golf scrambles, they will give out raffle tickets to each player in the tournament. Gather three to five nice prizes and hand them out to the winners. Here are some good ideas for raffle winners:

• Golf Umbrella: Any serious golfer will appreciate this prize! It’ll come in handy when those nasty popup showers strike during a round on the golf course. You can usually get a good golf umbrella for somewhere in the $20 to $30 range.
• Yeti 20 oz Tumbler: Anyone can use a good tumbler and Yeti is the best brand in the business. Golfers will love that they can keep their favorite beverage ice cold no matter how hot it gets on the course. They’ll also be able to keep their coffee warm for those early morning rounds of golf.
• Golf Shoe Bag: Here’s another practical raffle prize that most golfers will love. Golf shoe bags are fairly inexpensive and will not only hold shoes but accessories like golf balls and tees as well.
• Golf Hat: Since most golfers wear a hat or a visor, this would make a good raffle prize as well. Consider raffling off one for a man and one for a woman.

Mike Noblin

Mike has been involved with sports for over 30 years. He’s been an avid golfer for more than 10 years and is obsessed with watching the Golf Channel and taking notes on a daily basis. He also holds a degree in Sports Psychology.

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