Opinion & Analysis

Help wanted: Treat the cart boys with respect

Published

14 years ago

Sep 11, 2012

Travis Clement

By Travis Clement

GolfWRX Contributor

When I was young I worked at our local golf course as cart boy, range picker, greens cutter and lifeguard. You name it, I did it. I have always looked back on those days of doing that work very fondly. It taught me a lot about life, probably more than I needed to know at such a young, impressionable age.

I also loved golf more than anything and to be around it, whether is was picking the range or just helping someone find a sweater that fit them. I loved it all so my experiences were slanted because I was willing to put up with anything just to be around the golf course.

I am not young anymore and I have a family of my own, but as fate would have it my oldest just got his first real job and you guessed, it is at our local golf course as a cart boy, range picker and anything that they may need him to do. I was very happy when he got this job because I could see myself, 30-plus years ago, and I was excited to know that he would be exposed to golf a lot.

I knew it would be good for him but I harken back to when I was younger and some of the things that bothered me when I was a cart boy made me wonder how I could, selfishly, mind you, help the plight of the CART BOY. By the way, I could not be more proud of my son. He is doing a good job. I can see that he is growing as a man and he has a good work ethic which is all the things you like to see in your kids. I would suggest that if you have a youngster looking for a job that maybe you should suggest to them to apply at the local golf course.

So, that being said, and full disclosure being complete, I wanted to give all of you some tips for how to treat your cart boys.

No. 1: When you arrive at the course they are there to help you. They are not there just for tips. It is their job to be polite and help you get ready for your round of golf. That is not to say you shouldn’t tip them because I feel you should but do not think that if you do not tip them they are going to spit in your golf bag when you’re not looking. They will not.

No. 2: Even though it is hard to resist the awesome urge to try and hit the range picker while he is in his little caged cart, so you can prove to your golf buddies your prowess on the range, I would like to clue you on one little tidbit of information. Those things are not Sherman Tanks and it is a real possibility that one of your lucky 100 mph low line drives could get in there and do some harm to them. Let them alone. You need to work on your game, not your legend as a driving range conqueror.

No. 3: While yes, it is true that the cart boys are there to clean the golf carts and get them ready for the next day that does not mean they work for the local sanitation department. So when you get finished playing your round of golf, take one second to grab your trash and throw it in the garbage can by the cart drop off area.

No. 4: If you belong to a club and pay dues, do not scoff when you get the letter in the mail around Christmas time asking for a small donation to the staff for a little Christmas bonus or something. As you can guess this is not a career choice for most people. It is most likely a young kid trying to earn a few extra bucks while they are in college or high school or that they are retired and just trying to stay busy.

No. 5: Also understand this — these kids do not make course policy. They are just doing what they are told so when you are instructed by one of these kids about a rule and you disagree don’t take it out on them. Go find the head pro or manager to discuss your problem with them. They are just young folks doing what they are told.

No. 6: After your round, if you leave something in the cart of any value and you come back to retrieve it, don’t automatically assume the sleazy cart boys stole it if it is not there. First, look in the trunk of your car and then your bag because more than likely you put it there during round when you thought to yourself, “Hey, I better put this valuable thing away before I lose it.” For the most part, these kids like having a job and would not put it in jeopardy for a lost watch or MP3 player or expensive sunglasses.

No. 7: Have some respect of their time. They are not your servants that should just have to sit around while you practice golf in the dark so you can somehow sharpen your inner most Zen golf feelings, or sit in the parking lot until late with your buddies talking about how good you are or are going to be. Go ahead and get out of the golf cart and let them take it away and put it up because they usually can’t go home until all carts are accounted for.

All these tips have been found in my own experiences in the past and some unsolicited input from my son on some situations he has come across.

Hey, golf is fun for all. It makes us feel special in many different ways and most golf courses want your business. A polite staff is paramount, after course condition. So, next time you get out to the course and see the cart boy sweating terribly, while he has picked the side of the driving range retrieving all the shanks that have ended up there from people off the range, give them a nod of approval. Maybe even a pat on the back and a thank you for doing the thankless job. Trust me, it will make their day and give you a good feeling to carry you into your round of golf.

Click here for more discussion in the “General Golf Talk” forum.

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Travis Clement

Travis Clement has played golf his whole life. He grew up working at his local golf course and as adult has worked as a number of golf facilities. He lives in Athens, Ala., where he works in the defense industry. He is 45 years old, has been married for 20 years and has two teenage sons. Travis has a great love for the mystic of game and its traditions.

12 Comments

k

Jun 11, 2014 at 1:57 am

I work at a one of the top rated private courses in Canada at the moment. All these are true. But there are two things I want to add.

1. We clean hundreds of clubs a day, if not thousands. And in those we are bound to miss one club. So instead of getting in a fit about your 4-iron having a little dirt on it. Remember that all 13 other clubs are clean, and it was an odd occurrence.

2. Nothing is better when a member walks up and remembers your name without needing to look at your name tag. Staff need to know every member. It’s not hard for a member to remember 5 peoples names in the Back Shop.

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Eric

Oct 7, 2012 at 11:00 pm

I will never forget the day I was watching the pro shop on “ladies day”. I announced their scores at the end of the day and was given a 5 cent tip from a group of at least 12 older, wealthy women. I guess that’s why they are wealthy??? This was about 12 years ago but so pathetic.

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Matthew

Sep 22, 2012 at 2:03 pm

chris im sorry but you are wrong for hitting balls at the picker, it is extremely loud when you hit the metal or windshield. It can be downright earsplitting, I ran carts for years and am now an assistant. When we catch people intentionally hitting balls at the picker we warn them, if they continue there range session is over. Not to mention the reaction invoked from a golf ball flying at your face at 130 mph. show some respect please

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STEVIE BABY

Sep 19, 2012 at 11:19 am

Started out as a cart boy at my local track 9 years ago and it helped me find my passion. Fell in love with the game as well as the Industry… studied golf management post secondary and landed a job with Nike after graduation… Could not say enough good things about this job and the things it might lead to…. that being said I always scrub my own hooks now and I thoroughly enjoyed the article, Travis.

Thanks!

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Chris

Sep 18, 2012 at 10:18 am

The cart boy is there to be punished. Don’t like it, don’t take the job. There is nothing better than a nice 5 iron draw that leads the cart and smacks it at the 190 sign. I can do it all day!

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2Ball

Sep 13, 2012 at 7:28 pm

While I agree with most of this, don’t forget as a cart boy you a entering the “service” industry. If you don’t want to get your hands dirty by cleaning out a golf cart go work in the mall folding sweaters, or get a job doing real manual labor like digging sprinkler systems all summer.

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TB

Sep 11, 2012 at 11:50 pm

….that’s part of the job boys. be thankful your not sitting in a cubicle staring at 4 corners from 9 to 5. Have a few closing coldies, watch the sun set over 18, and enjoy the comradery..

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JR

Sep 11, 2012 at 9:53 pm

I have worked as a Cart Boy at my local course for the past 4 years through high school. I could not agree more with all of the points in this article. There is nothing worse than waiting an hour after dark for the last drunken foursome to bring me back a trashed golf cart.

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TB

Sep 11, 2012 at 9:47 pm

It’s good to hear all you other cartboys out there. I am a grizzled veteran, been a cartboy for quite some time now. You gotta embrace the life of a cartboy. My best friends are cartboys. Golf is the greatest game ever played and the greatest job ever is that of a cartboy. Rep SMCC and Sawgrass CC. We Rollin now boys..

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JC

Sep 11, 2012 at 9:26 pm

I, too am a cart boy. Great article. Nothings worse than someone trying to ring your cage throughout your whole pick. Dont leave the cigars and especially not the band aids. You can leave the Pro-Vs. And oh yeah, old lady, I didn’t take the $3 from your skins game.

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Butter

Sep 11, 2012 at 8:15 pm

As a fellow cart boy I can attest to all of the above comments. Its a great job and I couldn’t think of a better thing to do as a young golfer.

A few things to add to your list would be these…

Please, DON’T USE CARTS AS ASH TRAYS! The ash gets everywhere and drives us crazy when we have to clean it.

Also, please do not dispose of sunflower seeds, band aids, cigarette buts, old cigars etc. in the deep bellows of the cart compartments. The only way for us to get them out is our hands! Its gross!

Just my .02, trying to help out all my cart boys around the world.

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Skyler

Sep 11, 2012 at 6:48 pm

Love this article! I went the exact same route as you and would not trade any of my experiences for anything.

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