Appropriate Tip Amount for a ForeCaddie

[StuM]

My wife and I will be playing Arcadia Bluffs for the first time in a couple of weeks and will be using a Fore-Caddie for the two of us.

The course charges $100 + Gratuity.

my question is what is a reasonable tip?

They indicate @ 4 hours 45 minutes as pace of play so this is a big time commitment by the caddie.

The website says$10-$25 per player tip but to me that sounds cheap & insulting for nearly 5 hours of personal service.

Any thoughts on what would be appropriate?

 

[Vinsk]

Just me…ok. Just me, but the few times I played where a caddie was with me I threw a hundee cuz I thought their service was outstanding. Now I did play with some ass clowns who were low ballin the caddie and I wanted nothing to do with them so I hooked the caddie up myself. 

[StuM]

4 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

Just me…ok. Just me, but the few times I played where a caddie was with me I threw a hundee cuz I thought their service was outstanding. Now I did play with some ass clowns who were low ballin the caddie and I wanted nothing to do with them so I hooked the caddie up myself. 

Not with a Caddie but I've been to dinner with people that low-ball tips and know how you feel.

I'm going to be positive and expect a very good experience.  I was thinking in the $100-$150 range for the tip but not knowing I do not want to accidentally be "That Guy" that is low-ballin them.

 

[Ty_Webb]

Is the $100 + tip per bag or for the two of you? Caddie is probably getting most of that $100, so it's not like tipping $25 is paying only $5 per hour. Around me, most of the courses charge about $100-150 per bag, but that's caddying not fore-caddying. Then I'd say most will give around $40-50 on top of the baseline amount. So think about $140-200 per bag. Carry two bags and the caddie is making $300-400 per round. 

Fore-caddying is you drive your clubs around in a cart and some kid comes out and reads the greens, rakes the bunkers, holds the flag and watches your ball from up the fairway when you tee off? If he's already getting $200 (i.e., it's per bag and not per foursome/twosome whatever), that's pretty darn good money for what he's doing. If he owes $20 to the caddie master, it's still $30/hr plus whatever you tip him. If the website is saying $10-25 and you give him $50 for the two of you plus the $100 or $200, I'd think that was probably fine. I might think about upping it somewhat if it's not per bag, but per group. So maybe give him $200 in total if it's per group and $250 if it's per bag.

[StuM]

The cost is $100 for the Group, not "Per Player" and correct, he is not carrying our bags.  I would hope he gets $75 ($15 per hour) but have no idea what he actually gets out of that base charge.

I do think I need to double the "Standard Per Player" tip since I would not expect the other 2 in our group to tip him/her.

[billchao]

If the website gives you a recommended tip amount for the fore caddie, then I don’t see the harm in tipping that amount. You can always add extra for exceptional service. $50 for the two of you as a tip, up to $100 seems more than fair.

I (and my friend) did tip my fore caddie $100 each the last time we had one, but we were playing at a private club and I won the tee time for the foursome in a raffle. The kid was pretty cool and it was his only loop of the day. I don’t know what the other two gave him but I’m assuming about the same.

[StuM]

1 hour ago, billchao said:

If the website gives you a recommended tip amount for the fore caddie, then I don’t see the harm in tipping that amount. You can always add extra for exceptional service. $50 for the two of you as a tip, up to $100 seems more than fair.

I (and my friend) did tip my fore caddie $100 each the last time we had one, but we were playing at a private club and I won the tee time for the foursome in a raffle. The kid was pretty cool and it was his only loop of the day. I don’t know what the other two gave him but I’m assuming about the same.

This is not a private course but it is a higher cost course, $250 per round in season.

i

fo

see what you are saying about what is on the web site, it is just that $25 per player sounds real cheap to me.  I may just do $50 each since only 2 of us, $200 total, and add to that if really happy with him.

[billchao]

3 minutes ago, StuM said:

This is not a private course but it is a higher cost course, $250 per round in season.

i

fo

see what you are saying about what is on the web site, it is just that $25 per player sounds real cheap to me.  I may just do $50 each since only 2 of us, $200 total, and add to that if really happy with him.

At the end of the day, tip what you’re comfortable with. From my service industry experience, nobody ever complained about being tipped too much 😃

[iacas]

Rates | Arcadia Bluffs

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Arcadia Bluffs Golf Club is one of the premier golf destinations in The United States, offering two championship golf courses, exceptional lodging, and exquisite dining.

Yeah, it says $100 + gratuity, so if the two of you are taking a forecaddie, I think a $50 tip (50% of the base rate) is not too bad. That's $30/hour minus what the course might take (and the course might not take anything, as many places don't because then they're paying the caddies and thus the caddies are employees or something).

If you do find out that the course takes $20 or something, add that to the tip if you'd like.

[GolfLug]

We had two forecaddies for our foursome at Blackwood Run and Irish each. Similar pedigree courses to AB. Whistling was full caddies. 

We tipped $80/player. Seemed like they very happy with that. Said they did two or even three rounds on busy day. We found most people tipped closer to $50. Courses charged us $60 per forecaddie that went to them in its entirety, which I thought was nice. Three of the kids were college golf players and were in the summer program. One was a RV snowbird in his thirties enjoying life with no attachments. I know it is seasonal, but that's a decent haul for a day ($350-$450). I would do it in a different life.

Edited August 20 by GolfLug

[Carl3]

My understanding is that there are companies out there such as Caddiemaster that can run the caddie service for a club. So if your forecaddie is through such an organization, they may not be getting as much of that $100 as you think. 

[boogielicious]

Here’s my suggestion.

[saevel25]

40 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

Here’s my suggestion.

I hope you are being sarcastic. If not, do a bit of research on it. 

[iacas]

4 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

I hope you are being sarcastic. If not, do a bit of research on it. 

Do you genuinely think Scott is telling him not to tip anything?

[saevel25]

35 minutes ago, iacas said:

Do you genuinely think Scott is telling him not to tip anything?

There are people out there, and a good number by the recent trend to push towards getting rid of tipping in the USA. So, I wouldn't find is surprising if some people do just not tip anymore. So, I do not get why my question is that shocking. 

I rather not assume he is or isn't saying that. So, I asked. 

Edited August 20 by saevel25

[JetFan1983]

1 hour ago, boogielicious said:

Here’s my suggestion.

[iacas]

11 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

There are people out there, and a good number by the recent trend to push towards getting rid of tipping in the USA. So, I wouldn't find is surprising if some people do just not tip anymore. So, I do not get why my question is that shocking. 

I rather not assume he is or isn't saying that. So, I asked. 

It’s a safe assumption. You know Scott.

[boogielicious]

4 hours ago, saevel25 said:

I hope you are being sarcastic. If not, do a bit of research on it. 

I’m from Massachusetts. I minored in sarcasm in college. It’s a requirement.