Fundraising Game – Longest Marshmallow Drive

Game description 

This is a much loved golf based game. Traditionally, it is a competition to see who can hit their golf ball the furthest and have the accuracy to land it in a target area (normally the fairway).

The Longest Marshmallow Drive is conducted in exactly the same way, except a marshmallow is used in place of a golf ball. This minimises the space required and adds an entertaining element to the game.

The pure genius behind the marshmallow drive is its silliness. Try not to laugh as you watch determined participants come up with strategies of how they can get more distance from their marshmallows.

This fundraising game is most suitable for outdoor fundraisers such as Golf Days or School Fetes. However, take it indoors with the use of a toy golf club and have an even bigger laugh. You’ll just need to ensure there is enough space and the ceiling height is adequate.

Instructions on how to play 

Purchase marshmallows to participate.

Participants take turns hitting their marshmallows from behind the tee off area, using the golf club and tee provided.

A turn is completed when the marshmallow is displaced from the tee during the a swing. Do not count air swings.

Participants must not tamper- with their marshmallow, as this could lead to an unfair advantage.

Marshmallows must settle in the marked target area to be a valid drive. They do not need to land in the target area on the full.

Measure the distance each marshmallow travels and mark it with a tent peg if it is the longest drive. Measure from the base of your target area.

Move the marker each time a marshmallow is hit further.

Participants can have as many drives as they wish by purchasing additional marshmallows.

The furthest marshmallow at the end of the game wins the prize.

Equipment required 

• Marshmallows – Don’t run out! Allow for at least two goes per guest
• Golf driver – Use an older driver as some participants may be novices
• Golf tees – Have spare tees of the same type, incase of breakages
• 7 Tent pegs – Used for marking the playing area and the furthest drive
• Hammer – For the tent pegs
• Rope / String – To mark out the target and tee off areas
• Tape measure – To measure the distance of each drive
• Prizes – One or more as required

How to set up

Create a tee off area that is 2 metres wide and mark it out with two pegs and some rope.

Use the tee off area to have a few practice drives. This will help determine how far away you should mark out the target area. The size and density of your marshmallows will influence how far they travel.

Using the average landing point of your practice drives, mark out the base of the target area with two pegs and rope. Make it a 20 metres wide and parallel to your tee off area.

Use additional pegs and rope to mark out the sides of your target area. Make these 20 metres long and at right angles to the base of the target area.

Want an easy way to increase your fundraising for your golf day?

Number of volunteers required.

Two Volunteers:

• One volunteer to sell marshmallows. Use your best seller for this role to persuade participants to have multiple goes. They should also ensure participants are driving from behind the tee off rope when it is safe to do so.
• Your second volunteer will adjudicate the target area and measure the length of valid drives. They will also mark the longest drive and collect all used marshmallows throughout the game

Variations on the game

• Instead of this being a strength game. You can change it to a game of skill where participants aim for a target. See our ‘Closest to the Bottle’ guide for instructions on how to conduct this type of game.

• Use different coloured marshmallows for men and women if you wish them to compete separately. Alternately, you may wish to do the same for adults and children.

How to make money 

The main way to make money is by selling marshmallows. Set a fixed price per marshmallow or consider discounting larger purchases. Example: 1 marshmallow for $2 or 3 for $5.

You will make more money from this game if you don’t have to purchase prizes. For help sourcing donated prizes, read this great article: Getting Prizes Donated is Easy When You Know How.

If you don’t have a prize for this game, consider organising a 50/50 prize. This means 50% of the funds raised for this game go to the winner and the other half are kept by the fundraising entity.

Additional Notes

Ensure the safety of your guests by discarding marshmallows as soon as they have been used. Do not let them be consumed.

It is a good idea to rope off the space around the tee off area to prevent injuries occurring.

Get the instructions for Longest Marshmallow Drive and many more fundraising games sent straight to your inbox.

In this pack you’ll receive the following PDF documents:

• Longest Marshmallow Drive
• Badminton Shot
• Closest Coin to the Bottle
• Paper Aeroplane Challenge
• Heads or Tails
• ‘Sit Down if You…..‘ game
• A comprehensive list of statements to run the ‘Sit Down if You…..‘ game