Hi all,

my buddy may be embarking on a first time using the reciprocity benefit of his private club as we travel out of town. His head pro is a nice guy as I have met him a few times and is trying to hook my buddy (and me) up on a course on our vacation. I want to make sure we do this right so our questions are:

1) is there normal etiquette that we (he) should do (ie - gift to bring, money to give) for the pro where we am going to play out of town? aside from "don't act like a Jack-a__"

2) what is the normal etiquette for his head pro. We want to do something, but we are not sure if there is a protocol of something we should buy him, or do for him; dinner gift certificate out, nice bottle of wine.....etc, or if nothing is expected.

any help would be appreciated by those who have done this before...
thanks guys

No gift necessary for the pro you are visiting. Just make sure you thank him in person during the visit and also a follow up thank you note would be nice. As far as a gift from your pro nothing is expected because its part of his job and a thank you would be nice. Wine or a gift card or something would be great gesture.

Adidas_23,

Very cool that you are thinking about both professionals who will be helping you. This type of thing is our job, we do not expect anything. My suggestion for continued great service...

You and your buddy should buy your golf balls and glove that will be used that day from the professional at the course you will be playing. Doing that plus a hand shake as a thank you and show of respect would be remembered and appreciated.

For your professional when you return, a bottle of his favorite liquor is always appreciated along with a short thank you card telling how much fun you had thanks to his help. This act of kindness is also much appreciated and won't break your bank.

Just an idea from the other side of the counter...

Kevin

I spent too much time thinking and typing. I feel really good that we came up with basically the same answer.



Kevin

Another former pro chiming in and agreeing with the Kev and Nick. Neither of the pros will be expecting anything, but it is a great thing to hear that you are thinking of the guys behind the counter. Anything you do would be above and beyond and I am certain would be greatly appreciated.

Whenever I would get my buddies hooked up at a golf course I would make sure that they took care of the starter/bag guys. Nothing outrageous, just a little something for the effort. But bear in mind I usually got my buddies/family out for gratis at other courses. I am not sure if you guys are playing for free or paying a cart fee/guest fee type thing. If you are playing for cart fee only or a massively reduced rate, maybe a nice bottle of wine/liquor would be a nice gesture on both ends.

If I ever played early in the morning at another course I would bring the shop guys/cart guys some breakfast. Either a dozen donuts or several egg mcmuffins (depending on the size of the staff). They were a huge hit, and I was always welcomed back as well.

thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback. I am not sure of the details as of yet, if we are paying the guest fee or if we are getting on for free, but I think what you are saying is in line with what we were thinking. while I may never play this course again, I think the right thing to do is to bring something to the pro down there and then give a little something to the pro up here.....if you guys can think of anything else, let me know.

cheers