The Tournament Format
Taco Bell is staging its inaugural Live Más Open on November 2 at The Ranch at Laguna Beach, a nine-hole, 36-player tournament designed to upend the conventions of professional golf events. The field pairs one qualifying fan with a celebrity, a pro athlete, and a creator in each of nine foursomes—all competing under a format that includes original on-course challenges and a Taco Bell drive-thru serving golf-inspired, limited food and beverage offerings exclusive to the event. Comedian and avid golfer Kevin Hart hosts.
The grand prize carries a direct tie to Taco Bell's menu strategy: the winning foursome earns the right to select a discontinued menu item for a limited-time nationwide comeback at participating locations in 2027. Winners also receive a championship trophy and purple jackets—a riff on golf's most iconic prize ceremony. For QSR operators tracking how major chains turn brand loyalty into menu engagement, this activation is a notable case study in fan-driven LTO mechanics and restaurant loyalty program strategy.
The Qualifier Mechanics
Fan entry runs September 10 through September 27. Participants can play the Shot Shuffle game at participating Topgolf venues nationwide; players who score 200 points or more are entered into a sweepstakes. A free online entry option is also available at topgolf.com/livemas, ensuring no purchase is required. From all eligible entries, 100 candidates will be randomly selected to receive a one-month Topgolf Platinum Club Membership and an invitation to submit a player bio and video. Taco Bell will then evaluate those submissions to select nine finalists to travel to Laguna Beach. Entrants must be 21 or older.
To drive traffic into Topgolf venues during the qualifier window, Taco Bell is distributing more than one million exclusive offer codes through its Taco Bell Rewards loyalty program, giving members $25 off a Topgolf reservation valid Monday through Thursday through September 27, while supplies last. The move effectively cross-promotes both brands' loyalty ecosystems and demonstrates how QSR loyalty programs can be deployed as co-marketing tools with experiential partners.
Streaming and Industry Context
The Live Más Open will stream nationally in November—timing and platform details to be confirmed—giving Taco Bell a content asset beyond the one-day event. Luis Restrepo, Chief Marketing Officer at Taco Bell, framed the activation as an extension of the brand's long-standing identity as a category disruptor: "With the Live Más Open, we're playing a different game, bringing pros, celebrities, creators and fans together on the course in a way that hasn't been done before."
The partnership with Topgolf reflects a broader trend in the foodservice and hospitality sector toward experiential marketing that blends branded entertainment with genuine consumer participation. Topgolf CEO David McKillips highlighted the alignment, noting the venue network has "always been about making golf more accessible and social." With more than 100 Topgolf venues globally, the chain's tech-driven, entertainment-first model makes it a natural fit for the kind of national qualifier infrastructure this campaign requires. For industry observers tracking food and beverage brand partnerships, the Live Más Open illustrates how QSR brands are increasingly investing in live events and streaming content to deepen loyalty beyond the transaction.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
