Preparation

Whether you're organising the event for fun, for charity or a serious bit of competitive minigolf you should establish a good rapport with the course owner and any of his/her representatives likely to be working there on the day.

Will the course be open or closed to the public while the event is going on?

Does the owner need to employ additional staff for the day?

Is the course insured for such an event?  As organiser you may be held responsible for any accidents or misdemeanours by the players.  Make sure it's clear that the competition is being held under the umbrella of the course owners insurance.  If they're not sure if they're covered - make sure they find out!

Can you get a reduced rate for a large group?

Is it possible to get a reduced rate for individuals who wish to practice prior to the event? Say a daily rate.

Is there electricity available for your portable PC?

Are there adequate services on site for food, drink etc.  Will you need to provide your own?  Find out where the nearest toilets are!

All these questions need to addressed prior to the event.  Don't just turn up at the course expecting them to be able to accommodate you.

Print out plenty of score sheets!  Have a handful of spare pens and pencils. 

Have you sorted out the all important prizes and trophies?

Prepare a press release.

Have you contacted this site to advertise your event for free?

Is it a closed or open event?  Are the prizes available only for members or to all-comers?  If it's an open event it's wise to have a trophy for the best local player.

Have you chosen a date and time that you're confident about the weather and availability of your audience market?  It's always best to avoid days that clash with big sporting occasions.

Will you be accepting entries on the day?  Organisationally it's much simpler to have a cut-off date for all entries at least one week prior to the event.

Rules

You should have a set of rules which everybody is willing to play by.  You should also have a number of people who are fully conversant with them.  And make sure you have somebody who will have the final say!  One important time-saving rule is to limit the number of shots on a hole to six, if the ball isn't in the hole after six shots the player automatically gets a seven.

BMGA rules (serious stuff)

Crazy Golf rules (sort of crazy)

Planet Hastings rules (sort of whacky)

Format

Do you play one, two or three rounds or more?  With a cut or without a cut?  Match play or Stroke play?  List of possible competition formats.

It's a good idea to seed certain players, perhaps on qualification score or past results, this way you can ensure that in the first round one of the group will have an idea of the rules.  Split up friends and family if at all possible.

Are you going to have any age limitations, children sometimes get a bit tearful and can't handle the pressure cooker atmosphere.

Group size is all important, particularly if you have time limitations.  Three is best, four works but slowly.  If you're having a 'normal' start (i.e. all start on 1st) make sure the smaller groups go out first.  

Consider a 'shot gun' start if time is at a premium.  Each group is assigned a hole to commence the first round (ensure this is marked on the scorecard!) an air horn blast or similar signals the start for all.  A problem may arise where someone turns up late, without the shotgun you could tag them on in one of the later groups, another advantage of a group of three.  Also if the course isn't closed to the public there could be problems!  If you have mixed group sizes make sure you allow a big enough buffer between groups of three and four.  Obviously the group size limits the number of players you can accommodate.  So for groups of three on an 18 hole course, the maximum would be 54 although you could have the odd group of four. So an absolute maximum for a shotgun start would be 72.  Well, not quite, you can extend this slightly by queuing a couple of extra groups at the first hole and possibly the 9th. This does take an organisational wizard!

Decide the playing order within the group.  Administratively it's simpler to always play in the same order.  Supposed worst first, best last.  However, it's fairer to let each start, go 2nd and go 3rd particularly if you're only having one round.  This can be achieved by rotating the order and with groups of two and three it works perfectly although it can get a little confusing.

Start

Check that all competitors have arrived! Players should 'sign in' at least half an hour before the official start time.

Having decided on the rules and format a potted version should be relayed to the competitors immediately prior to the event start.  Someone's bound not to have read all the info you sent them a month ago.  Explain clearly the scoring system.  Here's an XL spreadsheet scoresheet which may help.

Give all assembled a five minute warning of the start to allow them to rush to the toilets.

Ensure each group has a pen/pencil, clipboard and score sheet (where necessary with the starting hole clearly marked).

If the course is open to the public, ensure all players are aware of this and encourage them to let other public groups 'play-through'.

End of 1st round and subsequent rounds

Collect and check all the scorecards, making sure they've all been signed.

Enter the scores into your PC and work out the groups for the next round, again making groups of three or four.  The earlier groups out should be in threes and those that have the worst scores. If you intend to have another shot gun round then it's possible to keep the same groupings, this certainly saves on time.

If you have a cut for the final round then expect players who didn't qualify to drift away.  To ensure this doesn't happen it's a good idea to make the number of finalists at least twenty five percent of the starting field.  That way all those that didn't qualify have a certain interest, either being related, friends or having played with one of the finalists in the earlier rounds.  With small fields don't have a cut!

In the event of a tie on score, then it's play-off time.  Having chosen the play-off hole(s) prior to the event the participants should be ushered to the tee in preparation.  Your choice of play-off holes should be based on audience accessibility and skillfulness of hole.  Again here it's much easier if the course is closed to the public.

After

At the end of the event try and give out the prizes as quickly as possible.  Make sure you take plenty of photos.

Thank the course owners and organisers and tell everyone that the tournament will be bigger and better next year.

Prepare a press release.

Anyone wishing to organise a tournament in the UK should contact the BMGA for further advice. UK tournaments should be held under the BMGA banner, which will enable:

a) Details of the tournament to be sent to BMGA members
b) The tournament to be publicised on the BMGA's web-site*
c) Free advice on organisational aspects
d) The results of the tournament to count towards the official British rankings

* Certain qualifications apply for prize money tournaments.

The BMGA will be introducing a licensing system for future UK tournaments -- how this works will depend on the rules adopted by the WMF at the delegates conference in Bad Munder.

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