Tips On Tipping at the Golf Course
We have some general guidelines on golf course tipping. We also received an email a few days ago on something not covered in the linked article: Tipping the golf professional. Is it expected? Should you do it? If so, how much?
The answer depends in part on what type of golf professional you're talking about - teaching pro or club pro. I checked with Michael Lamanna, director of instruction at The Phoenician resort in Scottsdale, Ariz. About.com Golf readers are familiar with Lamanna through his popular instructional articles and videos here.
"For golf lessons, there are two considerations," Lamanna said. "First, how much did the lesson cost? A 15- to 20-percent tip is standard for services in general so the greater the lesson fee, the more the tip. Second, tip according to how much the lesson impacted your game. If the lesson 'rocked your golf world,' then reward the pro. On the other hand, if the pro spent most of the lesson hitting shots for you and explaining his game, then do not tip at all. ... Tip what you feel the pro's advice and effort was worth."
But what about the clubs professionals? These hard-working men and women "typically work six days a week in the shop and they play relatively little golf themselves," Lamanna said. "They usually arrive at work at daybreak and go home when it is dark. This is all done so that others can play golf and have fun."
So Lamanna's advice is simple: Always remember the club pro at the end of the year. "My suggestion is to give a gift basket with a nice bottle of wine or better yet, give him $150 and let him buy his own. This should get you a tee time any time you want!"
The $150 figure Lamanna cites would work at a swanky private club or luxury resort; you might adjust the figure down for other levels of clubs and courses. (Or you might even adjust it up for a truly outstanding club pro who very much deserves a nice "thank you," regardless of what type of facility he or she is at.)
As with any other tips, so with golf: Consider the quality and complexity of the service rendered, consider the amount of money you're spending on the goods and services, and tip accordingly.
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Comments
Are you insane? Golf is killing itself. And you want us to help? Even a round at a public course these days is $50 plus cart fees. Kids can’t afford a game that costs a small fortune to minimally outfit and more hours than they spend on homework to get even semi-proficient at. I know I’ve cut my own rounds in half and people on fixed incomes, apart from CEO’s, barely play at all anymore. Yet we still have these playgrounds for millionaires being built and millionaire players expecting us to pay a weeks salary for the “pleasure” of watching them perform. Golf’s greed is choking the game, like Rome decaying from within. Have you noticed the drop in rounds played over recent years? That drop will look like a cliff this year. And you want us to tip them for an already over-priced service. If they need tip income to live, then let them get real jobs that pay living wages. They chose their field, as did the rest of us, and no one considers tipping me for doing my job, nor do I expect it. Either the club pays them a living wage or convert it back to a park. At least then children would gain some benefit from it. As it is now, they only see it through a chainlink fence. Get real. Think about what life is like for average Americans in this recession which is far from over. Then think about the silliness you just wrote. They ought thank God they have jobs, not whine about not being tipped enough. You’ve not seen enough of the real world, get off the course and take a stroll through downtown, ANY downtown, and then tell me who should be tipped. Give your alms to the poor, friend, they need it more than your golf pro…