Returning to college in the fall comes with the guarantee of repeatedly being asked “how did you spend your summer?” And while it is not the most exciting question to answer if you spent your summer working like I did, my job might be interesting to some, especially if you have TikTok. About a year and a half ago I came across @cassholland on TikTok, and was immediately impressed by how much money she made working as a cart girl on a golf course. Her job seemed easy and fun, not to mention the insanely large tips she would receive from golfers. So, this job position was always in the back of my mind as something I would like to try if the opportunity came around. Finally, after working at my local country club for over a year, I finally got promoted to be a beverage cart attendant this past summer.
The main myth I would like to address about being a bev cart girl is that you make hundreds of dollars every time you go out on the course. It does vary by location, but even at the wealthy country club I worked at, there were good days and bad days. It all depends on how many golfers are on the course, whether they are with friends or not, and which items they order. The holy grail of a bev cart girl is a group of at least four men who are playing for fun. Golfers who are playing competitively are less likely to order drinks — unless they are playing poorly and are looking for something to take the edge off.
Another experience I was surprised by was how it rarely matters how expensive their tab is when it comes to tipping. At a restaurant, you tip based on how much you spend — spend more, tip more. At a country club it is different. Because they are not required to tip, and by required I mean it would be socially unacceptable not to tip, I never knew what to expect after my orders. There were times I received a $20 tip for simply handing someone a singular Gatorade, and another time a pack of peanut butter crackers. To be fair, in one of these cases my customer was in fact the owner of an NFL team. However, there were other cases where I would pour several intricate drinks at a time as the customers added to their $80 tab, then not be tipped afterwards. So, while I made a substantial amount of money in tips, there is no consistency in how much a cart girl makes based on how much people spend.
Working as a bev cart girl was a rewarding experience, but I found that it was glorified on TikTok. My only regret is not filming day-in-the-life vlogs and potentially becoming famous (maybe next year). However, I can now say that I know how to drive a golf cart, I understand what a “birdie” is, and most importantly, I make a mean orange crush.
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