Tipping at the Bag Drop?

[Phireside]

Wondering what your practice is here? The courses I generally play at home don't have a staffed bag drop, so not an issue, but when I travel, many of the courses have a staffed bag drop.

I'm of the general belief that at my age and current physical ability, I can handle my own clubs from the trunk to the course/cart so I just park, get my shoes on and carry my clubs. I may drop them off with the folks at that point so they can load them on a cart. I'd do this myself if they'd let me.

At the end of the round, I'm two seconds to get my bag unstrapped and start walking to the car. They will offer to clean my clubs but I always decline as I'm meticulous about wiping my clubs after each shot. There is nothing left to clean.

In our North American "hand always out" tipping culture, am I being stingy by not tipping these folks? There are some courses I may never return to and others I may play once per year.

Maybe I'm old school. I tip well at restaurants for good service, and less for poor service. I tip the lady that cuts my hair (even though this one irks me but she has control of what my hair will look like), I tip delivery drivers, I do not tip the coffee shop employee that I had to stand in line for to collect a black coffee from.

 

If I was a regular, I'd almost certainly tip them and use their service a bit more. But in my case would you/do you tip and what is an appropriate amount?

[Ferguson]

no tip.

[MooJersey]

Let's face it ... the game of golf is expensive and marketed to a higher income person. I've only been to a few courses in NC that have the bag drop staffed. (When I was on vacation in the Outer Banks area) They usually drove a cart to us as soon as we pulled up. Loaded our bags and gave us a little rundown about the course. After the round, they came out to our vehicle to take the carts back to the barn, so that we didn't have to. We usually threw the young guy or girl $4 to $8 from our foursome as we left. Didn't tip when we arrived. Came out to a buck or two per guy, whoever had singles on them.

[falken19150]

Half of golfwrx is dedicated to not spending money...…..its hilarious. Of course you should tip these guys/gals. People working at the clubs aren't making much money at all, anytime I can throw a couple bucks at people to help out, why not? Cmon now....

[Phireside]

I guess the other issue is that I rarely carry cash

[JJ2210]

I used to work at a very nice club in New England, driving out to your car and loading your clubs just like you mentioned. We’d also load members’ clubs on carts and park them outside the locker room an hour before their tee time so they could show up, toss the valet their keys, change, and head straight to the range. In addition to this, they’d also leave their carts right outside the locker room at the end of the round for us to come get and drive back to the cart barn where we cleaned the cart and their clubs. We probably got tipped half the time we unloaded bags from cars, and most of the time when we picked up the carts from members. Nothing crazy, a buck or two per bag.

 

To answer your question, don’t feel obligated to tip if no one does anything for you. I usually slip a buck under the scorecard holder at the end of a round because I know those guys have to wash the cart off and clean/restock it after I’m done, but I throw away my own trash and clean my clubs at home.

 

However, if you’re looking to frequent a club or are trying to get on the inside, start tipping. A month of tipping well will go very far towards building some clout. We knew your car, we knew your clubs, we knew where you liked to park and we knew when you liked to play. Compensate them and they’ll go above and beyond.

[LyinEye]

A good tip goes a long way.

[GolfNuts4]

True story: I live and play in a golf course community and most of us own our own golf carts. We (except for two individuals) always pull in after the round to the cart barn and joke around the with cart barn guys and give them $5/bag before going in for a beer. It's funny, because in south Florida it pours rain in the summer. Everytime it looks like rain, the cart barn guys come and grab our carts and safely store them in the barn to stay dry. Except for my two cheap buddies, their carts sit out in the rain every time. We laugh so hard, these guys live on those tips, don't be a hose bag.

[socied]

> @"Ping's Duck" said:

> A good tip goes a long way.

 

This!!! I've worked at a course all through middle/high school and throughout college. Most of these peoples income comes from tips. A lot plays into the answer of this question. Was the round comped? What did the bag guy do for you? Were you the last cart in? Is this at a private course? Are you tipping for the full foursome?

 

Lets just say it is a normal day and I am paying full price for the round or it is at my course, rarely will I never tip less than $5 on the way in and $5 on the way out and most of my buddies who I play with do roughly the same thing.

[Orlandogolfguru]

if they clean the clubs, i usually give $5. like someone said, they don't make much at all.

[caniac6]

A couple bucks for the guys that load your clubs on the cart, and a couple bucks for the guy that wipes them, and unloads them.

[Soloman1]

I don’t mind tipping if I have the cash, but I don’t carry cash all the time.

 

Having lived in a place for so long with no tipping, it’s hard to come back to the US where everyone has their hand out. Here’s my rule, basically... if they mumble, “So, how was it out there?” and do a crappy, half-way job of barely trying to clean my clubs, you get a one sentence lecture that if you don’t give a crap about doing your job, I don’t give a crap about giving you a tip.

 

Signed,

Grumpy

[BB28403]

Just carry your own clubs. The place I get lessons has a crew that brings you a cart to your car. But since I’m not playing there and I’m only walking 100 feet, I really see no need.

I usually say this verbatim “hey what’s up man! I’m just here for lessons and so I’m good on the cart”

Similar exchanges will work for you too! :)

[RainShadow]

Not at the bag drop, but at the end of the round I toss a few bucks their way. They gotta make a few extra $$ somewhere. Plus, here in AZ it gets hot out there.

Honestly, most of the clubs I've gone to are resort or muni type courses, so the cart guys aren't doing any special service, in fact a couple of the places I frequent rarely have the sand bottles filled......

I keep my own clubs clean as I play.

 

[Greenie]

I always take care of my bag myself. I'll carry it to the door and keep it in sight while I check in. I load it on the cart myself. I always refuse to let anyone put my bag on a cart or take my bag to the cart.

Years ago I use to let the bag people take care of my bag and I would tip them. I went to this one course and it was the first time out for my new bag. The bag guy never secured my bag with the strap so when we took off my new bag was dragged accross the blacktop. My new bag got scuffed up and a few of my irons got scuffed. I went in to the pro shop, told them what happened and since it was a brand new bag I expected them to replace it. All they said was sorry and that I should have checked it before we pulled away. I said your employee took care of it and should be responsible. I got they are a bunch of kids working for very little money and tips.

Since that incident no one touches my stuff.

 

[MtlJeff]

At private clubs here typically tipping is not allowed.

 

At high end resort courses yes I typically tip as it's expected. Whether or not I agree with that isn't really relevant, but I do it

[MadGolfer76]

Uh...yeah?

[jmkenn0]

At our club they split tips (supposedly) so I just tip at the end. Its a PITA to have to get cash, have correct change, etc.

[LeoLeo99]

> @RainShadow said:

> Not at the bag drop, but at the end of the round I toss a few bucks their way. They gotta make a few extra $$ somewhere. Plus, here in AZ it gets hot out there.

> Honestly, most of the clubs I've gone to are resort or muni type courses, so the cart guys aren't doing any special service, in fact a couple of the places I frequent rarely have the sand bottles filled......

> I keep my own clubs clean as I play.

>

 

I only tip at the end. My clubs can always use another cleaning.

[Matt J]

Every tipping discussion can be answered with a couple of logical and factual statements.

 

If it were mandatory it would be called a "fee" not a "tip." By definition a gratuity is by choice and for service. If it's a service you appreciate then by all means tip. If you feel your bag would be secure and don't mind picking it up and carrying it to the cart then by all means insist on that or simply thank them for their service. Seems a 5 spot has become the standard per bag tip in urban markets, but there is no shame in a simple smile and "thank you." And every dollar and / or coin is much appreciated by 90% of service industry workers. That coming from a guy that has been a waiter, bartender, bell hop, etc.

[PoolPond]

I, like you, also keep my clubs clean during the round and am meticulous about wiping my clubs after each shot. Yet when I pull in the kid offers to clean, or really doesn't even offer, as they just do as part of their job description. Do I tip them? Yes I do because it's $2-3. It's no big deal. I also tip generally 20-25% on my food bill. No I don't subtract out the cost of wine, I just tip off the whole bill. I really don't even go less that 20% even if the service was bad. I don't generally tip the coffee people. I give all haircut people $5 no matter if it's good or bad. I tip all valet $5 unless it's a super fancy event then I'll do $10. I'm not rich by any means. I value a $5 bill. Not sure where you're playing but everything you describe is exaclty how someone acts who wants to avoid tipping. I caddied at Bob-O-Link GC in Highland Park, IL back in the 90's. There was one guy who always changed his shoes at his car, always grabbed his clubs and beelined somewhere and always quickly dipped out back to his car after the round without tipping, the bag drop guy, the shoe shine guy, the caddy master, the caddies or anyone else. Who you might ask, Michael Jordan. In the 6 years I was there he never once tipped. Mike Ditka on the other hand. Played 1-2 rounds a day, 6 days a week, always rode so all the caddy had to do was forecaddy, played through as many groups as he could so it made the round about 3-3.5 hours and paid $200 for his bag every time. Typically his 3 playing partners would throw you $50-$100 each and you rolled out with $350-500. With those bag boys, a dollar or three can go a long way in the long run.

[MaineMariner]

I used to be a cart boy at a resort in New England. It wasn't a high end resort, but it was kinda historic. I always felt like it was a little goofy when someone tipped me at the bag drop, simply because that was just about the least arduous part of my job. So if they tipped me, it felt more like a formality at best, or charity at worst. Then again, on occasion I would be tipped at the end of the round when they dropped off the cart. I appreciated this WAY more, because cleaning and hosing down their trash-filled cart was always way worse than carrying a bag for a few steps. And it often made my socks wet.

 

At some point it occurred to me that the tip at the bag drop may have just been an all-encompassing tip to show their appreciation for everything I did for their round, and not just the bag carrying. That makes more sense.

 

On another note, please don't tip your starter and NOT the cart boy/girl.

 

Also, we did not offer to clean clubs, and I've always found the concept to be weird.

[@_the_crook]

our course is muni owned. staff is always courteous and knows most regulars by name.

I drop a five every week to someone there.

today it was at the clubhouse desk to the gent that took my reservation for next week's tee time.

staff says they have a no tipping policy. my response is 'my pleasure to thank you for your great service.'

life is short - be nice whenever possible.

 

[Law dog]

You should never tip, this is something your butler should do on your behalf!

[BlackDiamondPar5]

I've haven't seen tipping at the bag drop. Tip at the end and the guys usually pool their tips because the work both.

[Carl Spackler3]

Ask yourself does $2 mean more to you or the guy working for tips?

[Carl Spackler3]

And you all know the story of when the Dali Lama stiffed me

[Lodestone]

> @GolfNuts4 said:

> True story: I live and play in a golf course community and most of us own our own golf carts. We (except for two individuals) always pull in after the round to the cart barn and joke around the with cart barn guys and give them $5/bag before going in for a beer. It's funny, because in south Florida it pours rain in the summer. Everytime it looks like rain, the cart barn guys come and grab our carts and safely store them in the barn to stay dry. Except for my two cheap buddies, their carts sit out in the rain every time. We laugh so hard, these guys live on those tips, don't be a hose bag.

 

Hose bag...you have made this thread worth reading.

[weavej1]

The best time to tip your bartender is in the beginnIng. The attention you get is well worth it.

[ratdg1]

Do you mean bag drop as in curbside drop off , or bag drop as in dropping your clubs at the bag room to be stored at the end of the round? If it's curbside bag drop, I've never heard of tipping. If it's the bag room, I usually tip the kid a couple bucks. It's amazing how much quicker the service is and how much cleaner the grooves are when the bag attendants know you.