I'm a cart girl on a Las Vegas golf course. I've made $1,000 in tips in a day, but customers can be weird.
Courtesy of Cassie Holland
- Cassie Holland lost her job during the pandemic and became a cart girl at a Las Vegas golf course.
- A TikTok she made about an experience with a golfer went viral, and she now has a massive following.
- She works with brands and loves her job — especially because of the tips.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Cassie Holland, a 26-year-old cart girl at a golf course and TikTok creator in Las Vegas. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I grew up in Connecticut and have a waitressing background. When I moved to Las Vegas in 2018, I was waitressing at conventions and booth model gigs at trade exhibitions — really anything I could do so that I could stay out here.
But then the pandemic hit, and I was obviously out of a job with conventions shut down. I was pretty desperate, and someone told me about this bartending-on-a-golf-course gig. I didn't really know what that meant, but I needed a job, so I took it — and then it changed my life.
I fell in love with the job instantly because in Vegas there isn't much grass or wildlife. I got to the golf course and it had palm trees and little animals running around. It turned me into a super positive person.
About a year into working as a cart girl, I started putting videos on TikTok
Courtesy of Cassie Holland
My best friend was also out of a job and needed something to do, so I got her a job with me. She wanted me to make dance TikToks with her. At first I said, "We're at work, we can't do this." But she insisted because we look cute, so we started doing them on her account.
One day, I thought I should start posting on my account, too. I made one cart-girl video and it didn't really get that many views. Then one of the golfers made me mad, so I did a little "story time" post. I didn't even check my TikTok, but I went on Instagram, and I was wondering, "Why are my Instagram followers going up so much all of a sudden?"
I realized that my TikTok video was going viral. I freaked out when I saw it get to 100,000 views because nothing like that had happened to me before. When it got to one million views, I thought, Wow, this is crazy, I have to keep doing this. From there, I just continued to make videos about my job each day.
I've grown my TikTok to 1.8 million followers and 45 million likes, and now I get a lot of offers to work with brands
I don't do too many, because I want my videos to be more about me on the cart. The biggest brand I've worked with was Abercrombie, although at first I was kind of skeptical about it and I didn't believe it. Why would Abercrombie want to work with me? But they followed through and it was legit, and that was pretty cool.
A lot of smaller golf companies want to send me some of their clothes to promote, and I try to help them out from time to time.
The tips are pretty great: I usually make between $400 and $500 a day on top of my salary
You do get your $200 days, and I even had one $60 day in the winter when it was really cold and we all left early. My best tip I ever received was $1,000 from these four guys.
Usually, I work around four days per week. But if anyone needs me to fill in I tend to say yes, as I try to work as much as possible.
When I first started working at the course, I was paid minimum wage, which was around $9 an hour in Nevada. Once I started using TikTok, other courses reached out to me with opportunities. The owner of the golf course that I work at actually asked me if I wanted to be on a contract, so I signed on and now earn a salary.
There are guys that come to my course to see me or recognize me once they're out there, and they always want pictures
I get asked for a lot of selfies. Some days there'll be a younger crowd, and they're the ones who always want pictures.
If it's just my locals who I know and see every day, they don't usually ask for pictures. But the other day, I was getting this guy a drink he wanted and I noticed he was taking a picture of me. I said, "Why don't you ask for a picture? I could actually pose and it would be cute, not weird."
I still hear from people from across the country asking if I can come to their golf course to work there. I haven't taken up any yet because it's been so busy at this course, but maybe one day it would be cool to try different courses all over.
Because of my TikTok, this May I got the opportunity to work as a cart girl at Electric Daisy Carnival, an electronic dance music festival in Vegas. That was really crazy and definitely a great experience.
On a typical day, I usually wake up at 5:30 a.m. If we have early tournaments, I have to be up by 4:30 a.m.
I select a cute outfit and tailor it to the kind of guy who's going to be playing that day. For example, the Las Vegas Raiders fan club came, so I wore black and silver that day. I definitely invest in my outfits and do things like tie-dye them and add accessories so I look different each day.
Then I usually start the morning by chugging an energy drink. I get to the course around 7 a.m., and I have to get the whole cart ready. That's the part of the job that sucks the most because you have to fill it with ice. You're walking back and forth with a big tray of shots and other heavy things to put in the cart. But you can't really get mad if that's the hardest part about your job.
I'll brew coffee, put that on the cart, and start driving around. I do laps of the course depending on where people are, and I have to stop and restock the cart depending on what people have bought. Also, given it's so hot, I have to go back a lot for ice.
Sometimes when it's really hot, I'll sneak into the freezer to take a little break. Then I go back out, keep making the rounds, and repeat until about 2 p.m., or later if the golfers are still playing.
At the end of the day, I have to take all the snacks and shots out of the cart, wash it down, and put the money I made from sales into a money bag. I get to keep the profits after the drinks sales — that's the tips that I go home with.
I do try out different outfits to see what gets the most tips
Courtesy of Cassie Holland
Sometimes I'll do a tomboy thing to see how it affects my tip, and I've tried different looks like a more sporty girl or more girly girl. I try to wear outfits that I haven't worn before, which has gotten very hard.
The skirt and polo look is the winner, though. I think some golfers are a bit weird and see a school-girl thing, but most seem to like it because it's not what people would otherwise wear out and about. It's different, and it plays into the golfing character.
I love my job, but obviously, there are some downsides
One time a guy asked for a picture to impress the guys back home. We were standing sideways and he put his hands on my ass for the picture. I yelled at him and told him not to show them that one. To be honest, I get over stuff like that pretty quickly. It's annoying and weird, but nothing too crazy.
The heat can be really rough. Just yesterday it was 110 degrees, but at least it's dry out here. I don't know how I'd do this in humidity. The cart gives you a lot of coverage from the sun, but I also get pretty tanned out there.
I want to inspire other girls to get into this
It's a really good way to make good money, and you can start at a young age. It doesn't require much experience.
Working as a golf cart girl has totally changed my life. I wasn't in a great place when I took this job, and now everything is different. After a year and a half of working, I saved up my money and bought the best car I could.
For such a small job that most people don't know exists, now I'm driving around in a Tesla.
Do you work on a golf course and want to share your story? Email Lauryn Haas at lhaas@insider.com.
Contributer : Business Insider https://ift.tt/wV1jnIq
Reviewed by mimisabreena
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Sunday, November 13, 2022
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