When I'm at the course, whom do I tip? Do I tip the bag drop guy? How much? Do I tip the pro? How much?

pbmorin wrote:

When I'm at the course, whom do I tip? Do I tip the bag drop guy? How much? Do I tip the pro? How much?

I don't know if I'm doing this right but I normally tip whoever cleans my clubs at the end of the round. I've played with forecaddies, caddies, and tipped them, once a guy cleaned my shoes at the end in the locker room and he got a tip. And of course whoever drives the beverage cart.

Amounts were generally 5-10 bucks for the clubs

20 bucks/player for the forecaddies.

Caddies get their bag fee and I'll tip them another 20 bucks

I gave the locker room attendant 10.00 for cleaning my shoes.

And the beverage cart/food service on the course around 20% of the tab.

Always, always, tip the beer girl. Tip depending on amount of....smile....shown. LoL

Quote:

I don't know if I'm doing this right but I normally tip whoever cleans my clubs at the end of the round. I've played with forecaddies, caddies, and tipped them, once a guy cleaned my shoes at the end in the locker room and he got a tip. And of course whoever drives the beverage cart. Amounts were generally 5-10 bucks for the clubs 20 bucks/player for the forecaddies. Caddies get their bag fee and I'll tip them another 20 bucks I gave the locker room attendant 10.00 for cleaning my shoes. And the beverage cart/food service on the course around 20% of the tab.

I think this is the reason some people get turned off by golf- because it appears to be a rich man's game and full of unnecessary procedures.

While I don't think your recommendations are far off- I do think they are ridiculous. $10 for the guy shining your shoes and cleaning your clubs?! Not a bad hourly rate when they can do about 24 bags an hour. Granted not everyone tips that well- but do the math- that's obscene for what they're doing.
_________________
Kickntrue-
Duffing since 1993

Quote:

I think this is the reason some people get turned off by golf- because it appears to be a rich man's game and full of unnecessary procedures. While I don't think your recommendations are far off- I do think they are ridiculous. $10 for the guy shining your shoes and cleaning your clubs?! Not a bad hourly rate when they can do about 24 bags an hour. Granted not everyone tips that well- but do the math- that's obscene for what they're doing.

I have 2 reasons for doing this, and none have to do with how rich I am, which BTW, I'm not.

1st. I'm not a member at any private club. I don't get to play private courses more than once or twice a year. But if the member was nice enough to invite me, I think its only right to show my appreciation by tipping the staff generously, after all, my friends who are members at private courses never charge me a dime to play with them, not even for meals or drinks, which are included in their minimums. If you are fortunate enough to be able to afford a private club membership, but too frugal to tip the staff then you're a jerk IMO

2nd. While private clubs may be making tons of money, this doesn't always trickle down to the staff. The clubs that I've played don't allow tipping to waiter staff or any other staff that the club hires directly..... not so for caddies, and many locker room attendants, or staff at resort courses. Most do not get a salary from the club at all. These services at many clubs are contracted out to third parties, and if you think they're making a ton of money, think again.

90 percent of the time, I play at public courses with modest to reasonable fees. I play often. But even so if I tally the amounts I spent on golf fees at muni's and equipment food and drinks, for an entire season, it easily runs into the thousands. This game IS an expensive hobby regardless. I don't think that tipping generously has anything to do with adding or taking anyting away from that perception.

The problem is that some of these staff even exist. I hate having to tip the dude who carries my bag the 10 feet from my car to the cart. Not because I don't want to tip and help the guy out, but because its completely unnecessary. If someone ones to golf on a bargain, they should be given that option. They can avoid the shoe shining and even the beer cart girl, but when a service is forced on you, that just sucks.

just for hell of it I asked a very friendly cart girl the other day what the girls out here get....
she said the 1st day she started she made 185.00 in tips and gets 10.00hr which was about 80.00 day, so it was about 11:00am and she said she was way over that combined total all ready. which makes here day near 400.00 a day to drive around and serve drinks and such.
I tip them as I would a bar tender but find it hard to just throw them a $5 cause we think they need it...
you can do the math, but if she works 5 days a week and can work most of the year, thats about 96,000.00 not bad for a beer cart girl ehhhh....

My girl drives a beer cart 3 days per week. Summer she makes about $50 per day plus $7 per hour. Winter it's about $125 per day and $7 per hour. Local course with older folks. Tips are between 12-15%. Snowbirds in the winter make it almost worth it. Free golf all the time DEFINITELY makes it worth it.

samwise7 wrote:

pbmorin wrote: When I'm at the course, whom do I tip? Do I tip the bag drop guy? How much? Do I tip the pro? How much? I don't know if I'm doing this right but I normally tip whoever cleans my clubs at the end of the round. I've played with forecaddies, caddies, and tipped them, once a guy cleaned my shoes at the end in the locker room and he got a tip. And of course whoever drives the beverage cart. Amounts were generally 5-10 bucks for the clubs 20 bucks/player for the forecaddies. Caddies get their bag fee and I'll tip them another 20 bucks I gave the locker room attendant 10.00 for cleaning my shoes. And the beverage cart/food service on the course around 20% of the tab.

Remind me to never EVER play on a private course...

Hell, even just the fact that there are people there to shine your clubs and clean your shoes blows my mind. Not to mention actually paying somebody to carry my clubs....

Beer cart, yeah, I'd tip just as if I was at the bar. But there is no beer cart where I play so its irrelevant.

The only person even at the course I play at who I could tip is the guy I pay my green fees to... and why would I tip him for taking my money? I can just see it.. "here sir, here's $10 on top of the $14 I spent on my round for the excellent job you did of swiping my credit card! bravo!"

ipv6freely wrote:

samwise7 wrote: pbmorin wrote: When I'm at the course, whom do I tip? Do I tip the bag drop guy? How much? Do I tip the pro? How much? I don't know if I'm doing this right but I normally tip whoever cleans my clubs at the end of the round. I've played with forecaddies, caddies, and tipped them, once a guy cleaned my shoes at the end in the locker room and he got a tip. And of course whoever drives the beverage cart. Amounts were generally 5-10 bucks for the clubs 20 bucks/player for the forecaddies. Caddies get their bag fee and I'll tip them another 20 bucks I gave the locker room attendant 10.00 for cleaning my shoes. And the beverage cart/food service on the course around 20% of the tab. Remind me to never EVER play on a private course... Hell, even just the fact that there are people there to shine your clubs and clean your shoes blows my mind. Not to mention actually paying somebody to carry my clubs.... Beer cart, yeah, I'd tip just as if I was at the bar. But there is no beer cart where I play so its irrelevant. The only person even at the course I play at who I could tip is the guy I pay my green fees to... and why would I tip him for taking my money? I can just see it.. "here sir, here's $10 on top of the $14 I spent on my round for the excellent job you did of swiping my credit card! bravo!"

lol...I have a municipal membership to all the local clubs...so all THAT guy has to do is look at my ID card. Yeah...that's worth $10.

I used to work at an upscale public course - about $80 a round. We would bring players their carts and load their bags onto them at the beginning of a round, and then unload them at the end of the round and take the cart back. We would also clean clubs sometimes (manager didn't want us to for some reason). I was amazed by the number of guys who drove BMWs and such who completley stiffed us! We'd get about $2-5 from 50% of the golfers and nothing from the other half!

A $2-5 tip for this kind of service is usually appropriate (and appreciated!) - even with poor tips, we'd make $50 a morning on top of hourly pay, so I'm not complaining.

This could also go into the whole debate about what tips are for...

For example, if you load up my bag onto the cart because that's what your job is... that isn't tipworthy. You were just doing what you're being paid to do. ESPECIALLY if the person acts like it's a chore!

Unfortunately these days you get called a douchebag if you don't tip. I don't believe tipping should be a -requirement- ANYWHERE. But it is, due largely because of the horrible minimum wage in this country. People DEPEND on getting tips - and there's something wrong with that. Not a whole lot anyone can do about -that- though.

However, I should mention that if you make my day, you'll get something nice. It really doesn't take much to get me to open my wallet, I just need to feel you deserve what I'm giving you. Even just being friendly is usually enough for me. Again, don't act like it's a chore.

I think the problem is best summed up by the fact that if you don't tip somebody, the first thought of the employee is "what a jerk" and not "I wonder what I did wrong to not deserve a tip".

On kind of a side note...

I had a friend who was a pizza guy while in high school, and I recall him bitching about getting no tip for a fairly large delivery, something like 6 pizzas. After some prodding, he mentioned that one of the pizzas was wrong, but that "its not MY fault it was wrong!". No, it wasn't. But the idea is that by not tipping you, you tell the pizza makers to get their crap together so you don't keep losing out on tips!

I should clarify, I tip just as I "should", because of my last point of them thinking I'm automatically a jerk if I don't, especially if I plan on going back. That doesn't mean I have to like it or think it's right, though!

Kickntrue wrote:

Quote: I don't know if I'm doing this right but I normally tip whoever cleans my clubs at the end of the round. I've played with forecaddies, caddies, and tipped them, once a guy cleaned my shoes at the end in the locker room and he got a tip. And of course whoever drives the beverage cart. Amounts were generally 5-10 bucks for the clubs 20 bucks/player for the forecaddies. Caddies get their bag fee and I'll tip them another 20 bucks I gave the locker room attendant 10.00 for cleaning my shoes. And the beverage cart/food service on the course around 20% of the tab. I think this is the reason some people get turned off by golf- because it appears to be a rich man's game and full of unnecessary procedures. While I don't think your recommendations are far off- I do think they are ridiculous. $10 for the guy shining your shoes and cleaning your clubs?! Not a bad hourly rate when they can do about 24 bags an hour. Granted not everyone tips that well- but do the math- that's obscene for what they're doing.

I second that. Actually, a lot of places i don't tip other than the beer cart girl and the wait staff. ESPECIALLY places that REQUIRE you use the bag drop or send people out to you. Why would i tip for something i didn't ask for or expect? more rich a$$hole pompusness. I drove up to a club and parked in the lot without using the bag drop and was putting on my shoes and a guy is standing there. I asked "can i help you" he said "i'm here to get your bag". i said "thanks but i'm not disabled" and proceeded to carry the bag to the cart and put it on. I refuse to tip these "bag boys" and i'll tip a looper on how good he was. Just carrying the bag is what they get paid for. Good course knowledge and shot advice is what gets you tips.

I've learned, over the years, to be a generous tipper at places where you plan to return to. For obvious reasons. Case in point, I forgot my passport one time on a Carribbean trip and was able to make it through Customs because they remembered me, The tip was extra good for them that time.