When Thank You Isn't Enough

It’s a great day when thank you just doesn’t feel like enough. But it sure is weird for the person you’re thanking.

Top 100 Stupidity

There are dozens of courses that we could be invited to without a single ounce of nerves. We’ll throw our shoes on in the parking lot, grab a hotdog and go straight to the first tee.

But then there’s that course you’ve never played that happens to be on a certain list, where you’ve watched the pros play, that has ProVs on the range, real caddies and whatnot.

For some reason, when we get a chance to play here, we throw ourselves so far out of our normal hotdog routine that we are unrecognizable. We show up an hour early to warm up and get a feel for the greens. We gawk at the pictures in the clubhouse. We browse $100 shirts and maybe a yardage book cover, bottle opener, and something for the kids.

Score Blindness

During the round, we tend to forget about doubles a little quicker than we normally would, and 3 putts are acceptable because the greens are “way faster” than we normally play.

We don’t care that we lost the match or shot a million. For some reason, every time we walk up 18 at a place like this, it feels like a good day.

This is just Tuesday

The sad part is that our host does not share our excitement. It’s just a Tuesday for them. Too often, when we go to show our appreciation, we tend to come on a little strong. We insist on paying for something, we say thank you a million times, and we go on and on about how cool it is, assuming they feel the same things we do.

In Good Taste

I’ve seen some guys navigate this well and this is what they do. They first recognize that they are going to be feeling some type of way walking up 18 so they don’t wait until then to say thank you. First time they see their host they say it.

They offer to pay but only once. Maybe once for the round, once for drinks at the turn and once at the end for caddies. But just once per thing, and never insist.

Then, they say a sincere thank you during the handshake at the end. And go on their way.

When it’s still not enough

I think most of the time, doing all of that will cover it. But if it still doesn’t feel good enough, a handwritten note will go way further than six more thank yous the day of.