Bringing Golf Into Your Corporate Retreat on Florida’s Paradise Coast

Once you've chosen Florida’s Paradise Coast for your next corporate retreat, the next question is often: How can I incorporate golf into the agenda to support my overarching goals for the event? After all, a well-run golf outing can support networking, team building, and leadership development—but achieving those results depends heavily on your planning efforts. For example, format selection, player pairings, group size, and post-round programming all influence whether the day feels like a success for both golfers and non-golfers alike.

Conveniently, in Naples, Marco Island and the Everglades, planners have access to courses that regularly host annual professional golf tournaments alongside resorts experienced in coordinating golf events of every size. The key is knowing how to structure the day.

Start With the Right Format

The format you choose will have a bigger impact on the success of your outing than the course itself. When working with one of our resort golf teams, these are some of the most common formats used for corporate events:

Scramble

Your attendees will likely have a wide range in their golf skills. With this in mind, many planners end up choosing a scramble. Teams play from the group's best shot throughout the round, which keeps beginners involved and gives stronger players opportunities to help their foursome. Expect a faster pace of play, better networking, and higher participation rates.

Shamble

A strong middle ground for groups that include both experienced and occasional golfers. Teams select the best drive, then each player plays their own ball into the hole. Weaker players benefit from a strong tee shot while stronger players still have an opportunity to showcase their individual games.

Best Ball

Unlike the scramble and shamble formats, the best ball format gives each individual golfer more of a chance to shine. Each player completes every hole with their own ball, while the team's lowest score counts toward the competition. It works best when you have more experienced golfers in your group who are hoping to play a true round of golf.

Skins

Skins are usually best reserved for groups that already enjoy a little friendly competition. Rather than focusing on the final score, players can win individual holes outright. Even if someone has a rough stretch in the middle of the round, a single birdie can still put them back in the conversation.

Closest-to-the-Pin and Longest-Drive Contests

Sometimes the simplest contests generate the biggest reactions. Closest-to-the-pin and longest-drive contests are familiar to golfers of nearly every skill level and give participants a reason to compare notes throughout the day. They're easy to incorporate into nearly any outing and don't require golfers to understand a complicated scoring system.

Plan for Mixed Ability Levels

One of the biggest challenges corporate golf events face is bringing together a group with vastly different skill levels. As we mentioned above, format selection can help mitigate this gap in skill level, but so can tee selection. Additionally, any chance to pair experienced players with newer golfers can also help sustain flow and keep groups engaged. Consider mixing departments, pairing senior leaders with emerging talent, or placing clients alongside key relationship managers.

You’ll also want to keep in mind that some attendees in your group may not play golf at all. Fortunately, all our resorts offer a wide range of alternative programming, including spa appointments, wellness classes, dining experiences, and water sports.

Build the Day Around the Round

The most successful golf events don’t end at the 18th green. Start with breakfast or coffee before play, give attendees time to warm up on the practice range, review pairings, and connect before heading to the course. After the round, carry on the conversation with cocktails at sunset, dinner, and a fun awards ceremony.

Many resorts on Florida's Paradise Coast are well equipped to handle the logistics surrounding a corporate golf tournament. For example, at The Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburón, groups can schedule a morning meeting, head directly to one of two championship courses in the afternoon, and reconvene afterward for cocktails or dinner. At JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort & Spa, access to both Hammock Bay and The Rookery at Marco provides additional flexibility for larger groups, while the resort's extensive meeting and event space can accommodate everything from general sessions to awards banquets.

And for smaller executive retreats, LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort pairs a private club golf experience with beachfront accommodations and gathering spaces suited to VIP groups and leadership teams.

Work With the Resort Team

If you know that your group will be on the larger end, we highly recommend looking into logistics as early as possible. Get in touch with the specific properties to inquire about shotgun-start availability (teams start on different holes to speed up the pace of play), course capacity, and scoring services. Properties like The Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburón, and the JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort have a history of working with groups around large-scale golf programming and will be happy to help you each step of the way.

When golf is planned thoughtfully, it becomes a valuable business tool. Hear the sound of a well-struck tee shot, feel warm sunshine during a morning round, taste Gulf seafood at the awards dinner, and watch the sky turn gold after the day's final gathering. On Florida's Paradise Coast, you can strengthen professional relationships while creating a golf experience attendees will genuinely look forward to. Learn more at https://www.paradisecoast.com/Meetings.