So you play a round at a public course, and someone just starts wiping your clubs as you finish up on 18. How do you react?

[4x4GGG]

1 hour ago, oikos1 said:

Totally agree.  Giving an unexpected and generous tip for excellent service is quite satisfying.  Receiving an unexpected generous tip for providing excellent service is also quite satisfying.  No matter the expectations or economic status, a generous tip says "Thank you for taking care of me" and only promotes continued good service. 

This. 100% this. 

Spent 15 years earning $0 paychecks and living off of tips and this statement is facts. At the end of any day you remember 2 people... the person who didn't tip you and took the time to explain why they're against it, and the person who tipped you enough to make up for the first one. 

[Pepperturbo]

20 hours ago, david.c.w said:

 

Must have missed this.  We-ko-pa is up to $200/per round and a top 10 course in Arizona and likely a starting point for young people in the hospitality industry to learn.  Surely the golf service is impeccable from bag drop to driving out.  If your day consists of up to $250 in expenses, an extra $5 to the tip pot split between the staff should not impact you.

Not to be argumentative...  You're assuming because he paid "X" in green fee, he's well-off so $5 means nothing.  That, Sir is an error in judgment.   Five dollars might pay for a kids lunch.

 

I've encountered many people on the first tee that paid a good penny to be there; only to later learn he's a laborer of sorts, that supports a family and barely earns six-figures.  That days expense was not a common occurrence, just special.  That's rather common in CA and travel areas where I visit.  It's NOT a question of whether $5 impacts his lifestyle, it's whether the person wants to give away money for no reason, and has the person being gifted the money earned the tip. 

 

I have visited very expensive golf courses, hotels and restaurants where the service was NOT worth bupkis in tip.  Another common occurrence here in CA and Maui.  Lots of people are entitled and too many have piss poor attitudes, so IMO do not deserve bupkis.  Just sayin... You have a good day. 

 

[chippa13]

On 5/3/2021 at 9:10 AM, Abh159 said:

I never tip when they do this, and I honestly have never felt bad about it. If you want to wipe down my clubs without asking that's fine, but don't expect a tip for a service I didn't ask for and you didn't ask me if I wanted. 

 

Call me cheap I don't really care....

 

 

Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Underhill.

[ArtMBgolf]

If you clean you clubs after every shot and/or the cart has a club cleaner, 
getting your clubs cleaned will often leave them spotty.  
 
If you don't want clubs cleaned, but they sneak in on you and do it before 
you can stop them, you should tip them a curtesy $1.    I don't understand 
the $5 tips for a worthless job you don't want.   Save face with something 
for the effort, but it doesn't need to be a great tip. 
 
When riding a cart, you can often avoid the cleaning issue, by grabbing all
your stuff, card, etc. After leaving the 18th green.  Don't drive too close to 
a towel guy, jump off and grab your clubs.         

[BlackDiamondPar5]

I've never cared for the 18th green club cleaning, always feels like an ambush. Kind of like the guy that comes clean your windshield at a red light. 

 

Club cleaning in general doesn't bug me when it's part of a full service for which I tip.

[BHI 99]

Seeing a youngster trying to do “something extra” and engage in a conversation is tip worthy in this day and age.....

[Circaflex]

I kind of know the courses that do this around here; I rarely carry cash but try to when I go to these places. However, my go to move is just to zip up my club hood on 18 and take the bag right off the cart as we drop it off. 

[North Butte]

If someone at a golf course tries to clean my clubs or anything else along those lines (carry them to my car, etc.) I say no thanks and take the clubs from them. If someone goes ahead and does something like that before I get a chance to say no thanks, I would not tip them. Not interested in that sort of "service". If they want so much staff hanging around the clubhouse, pro shop and parking lot they ought to pay them a salary. 

[Hawkeye77]

Thought of this thread today ... had a nice kid ask me after the round if I wanted my clubs cleaned.  My irons were already clean as usual ... so what the heck, I gave him $3 not to clean them. I’m a soft touch for polite and enterprising vs. just assuming and starting in I guess. 

[Pfish]

I would think asking would be important after we have gone through more than a year of pandemic.  Some people might not want their stuff touched by a stranger.

[MaineMariner]

Not terribly germane to the topic at hand, but when I was a cart boy the best tip I ever got was from a group that got a flat tire out on the course. All of our carts were out on the course so I couldn't just swap my cart for theirs. I was operating like a NASCAR pit crew changing their tire with speed as the group cheered me on. As I recall, they only had to let one group play through.

 

Got a $20 bill out of that. I was appreciative but a tad suspicious that it was a guilt tip because they knew the flat was their own fault. Regardless, worked for me!

[buckrogers71]

One of the public tracks around here actually comes out to the 18th green (its far from the club house, close to the parking lot) and they will start to wipe down the clubs. Mine are usually clean as I wipe them down after every shot BUT I will kick them a couple bucks. These are usually young kids and try to do what I can for the kids hustling to make a buck. 

[Luke.Sutton]

So I’m supposed to tip the guy who washes my car at the club too? 🤬 

[MountainKing]

On 5/6/2021 at 1:16 PM, Pepperturbo said:

Not to be argumentative...  You're assuming because he paid "X" in green fee, he's well-off so $5 means nothing.  That, Sir is an error in judgment.   Five dollars might pay for a kids lunch.

 

I've encountered many people on the first tee that paid a good penny to be there; only to later learn he's a laborer of sorts, that supports a family and barely earns six-figures.  That days expense was not a common occurrence, just special.  That's rather common in CA and travel areas where I visit.  It's NOT a question of whether $5 impacts his lifestyle, it's whether the person wants to give away money for no reason, and has the person being gifted the money earned the tip. 

 

I have visited very expensive golf courses, hotels and restaurants where the service was NOT worth bupkis in tip.  Another common occurrence here in CA and Maui.  Lots of people are entitled and too many have piss poor attitudes, so IMO do not deserve bupkis.  Just sayin... You have a good day. 

 

 

If you're paying for a nice round of golf, and $5 is the difference in your kid eating lunch or not, perhaps you should not be playing that round of golf.  I get what you're saying, but if that's the situation you are in, then you're not prioritizing correctly.  If you did indeed save to do something "high end", you probably need to save a little extra to include some tipping in there, as that generally comes with the territory. 

[Carl Spackler3]

Throw a buck or two up you tightwads

[tatertot]

At the pub courses I play, if a stranger starts wiping my clubs, I assume he's getting ready to steal 'em.

[Kaysquare]

Our club is private, but very casual.  One summer evidently our Head Pro decided to have a couple young summer employees at the 18th green wanting to clean everyone's clubs.  A very few allowed it & tipped, but the vast majority said "no thanks".  The practice ended within a few weeks.  Most of us hated seeing them when we arrived at the 18th green. I tend to clean my clubs when I get home from the course, so they'll be ready to go next time out.  They stay on my golf cart all the time & it's easier to do at home.

[Soloman1]

I was at the bag drop last week and I couldn't get the guy to take my clubs out of the car. He was too busy counting his money.

 

 

 

Edited July 7, 2021 by Soloman1

[raindawg1]

On 5/10/2021 at 8:22 PM, ArtMBgolf said:

If you clean you clubs after every shot and/or the cart has a club cleaner, 
getting your clubs cleaned will often leave them spotty.  
 
If you don't want clubs cleaned, but they sneak in on you and do it before 
you can stop them, you should tip them a curtesy $1.    I don't understand 
the $5 tips for a worthless job you don't want.   Save face with something 
for the effort, but it doesn't need to be a great tip. 
 
When riding a cart, you can often avoid the cleaning issue, by grabbing all
your stuff, card, etc. After leaving the 18th green.  Don't drive too close to 
a towel guy, jump off and grab your clubs.         

My brother lives in Arizona and we went golfing once when I was down for a visit.  He warned me about this.  Told me when we are done we have to watch our clubs like a hawk, pull up, jump out, grab them say thanks before they swoop in.  

[charli]

Do you get upset at restaurants when they come and clean the table off. It’s the same thing   

[North Butte]

2 hours ago, charli said:

Do you get upset at restaurants when they come and clean the table off. It’s the same thing   

No.

 

It's the restaurant's table. It's my golf clubs.

[lefty1978]

I am a generous tipper with most things, but they are for services I want done. If a guy grabs my clubs and wipes them down without my consent, I'm not tipping. I am very meticulous about my clubs, I clean after every round and practice. I find it rude to just grab and and expect money. Thankfully in my many rounds over the years, this had not happened. In every situation I've been involved in, the person asked.

[North Butte]

In any case it's a moot question for me. Nobody but me handles my bag of clubs or my trolley. Can't really imagine what I'd do if somebody came to grab them while I was putting out on the final green but whatever I'd do it would not involve a gratuity. Good grief.

[Abh159]

On 7/6/2021 at 8:54 PM, charli said:

Do you get upset at restaurants when they come and clean the table off. It’s the same thing   

 

They're cleaning my clubs off so someone else can use them? Not really following your line of reasoning here...

[Fairway14]

I tell the guy or girl standing by the 18th green "this bag is good, no need for you to clean the clubs". so they don't touch my clubs. When I come off the green I give them $2.

[charli]

5 hours ago, Abh159 said:

 

They're cleaning my clubs off so someone else can use them? Not really following your line of reasoning here...

Public usually doesn’t 

[Mookieb10]

On 5/2/2021 at 1:31 PM, steenboatmd said:

Private club only.  I tip the staff once a year a large amount.  Get good service all year.  Public course.  No way I would tip unless they asked first and I accepted.  

this is really the way to do it. You tip an amount that people remember, but is less than the aggregate of doing so every round.  

[denkea]

19 hours ago, North Butte said:

In any case it's a moot question for me. Nobody but me handles my bag of clubs or my trolley. Can't really imagine what I'd do if somebody came to grab them while I was putting out on the final green but whatever I'd do it would not involve a gratuity. Good grief.

I believe that if I was on the 18th green about to putt and saw a kid messing around my bag I might get a bit peeved and loud.  As "Get the 'H' away from that bag".  After finished I'd go have an intense talk with the head pro as to their procedures.

 

That being said I always keep my clubs clean and when done tell the kids there's no need to clean em but I do tip them for all they do after with the cart cleaning maintenance, etc.  
 

[Jtgavigan]

On 5/2/2021 at 8:55 AM, analyticandrew said:

Would it be weird if someone came and oiled down your ball after you finished bowling? Or waited at the end of the disc golf course and wiped down your “clubs”? Maybe it would be weird if at the Y, after you got done with a game, someone came through and sprayed your sneakers with odor eaters spray?
 

That said, I have been asked before, and I usually say “I’m sorry I don’t have anything to tip you with, but I’m good anyways”. When I’ve NOT been asked, I generally say “hey thanks, but I’m good, I clean them as I go”. 
 

It’s a nice service, but not necessary IMO. 

 

Also, I carry only emergency $with me and nothing else, so no chance I could even have cash to tip a kid. 

 

When I worked at a golf course, and in general when I was growing up, I was taught not to touch other people’s things. 
 

"Oiled down your bowling ball?"

 

Not a bowler eh? Never heard of such a thing. Bowled for probably 10 years in multiple leagues. Most bowlers spend all evening wiping the oil off their ball so that it actually has some friction down lane. 

 

On the topic itself, it doesn't bother me. The kids usually ask before starting and I see it as a way for them to make a few extra dollars. 

[5 O'Clock Charlie]

On 5/3/2021 at 12:48 PM, jordan2240 said:

I assume it was an employee, but can't say for sure.  Again, the money wasn't an issue - just wondered how others respond to an unrequested 'service'.  

 

This is not an "un-requested" service. It was requested by the GM or Director of Golf and if the kids don't do this, they get a beat down behind the clubhouse.