The Time of My Life!

Working at Riverwood National Golf Course last summer was definitely a great experience

Getting to work at a golf course as a beverage cart girl and server, I always had a fun time and many stories to tell

By Kathryn Stoffels


It was a humid summer morning and I arrived to work in Otsego, Minn. Riverwood National is located approximately five miles west of the Albertville Outlet Mall and 40 minutes north of Minneapolis. I felt good about today, being that there were more than 50 golfers in the clubhouse and even more on the driving range and on the freshly cut putting green. The participants for the tournament were everywhere. I loaded the beverage cart with soda, candy, and alcoholic beverages, and was so happy I worked the cart and not inside. The sun shined, not a cloud in the sky, and I felt that I would make a lot of tips. Today I worked as the beverage cart girl because there of a large scramble that was taking place at 9a.m.

Being a golfer myself and having practically grown up on the golf course, this was the perfect job for me. Not only did I get paid by the hour, but I also kept all of the tips that I earned. Since I understand the game, I can keep conversations with the golfers about their game, and they ask me about mine as well. While working as a beverage cart girl, I got to wear shorts and a tank top with wide straps or any top cute top, along with closed toed shoes. This helped me maintain my tan! Another positive about working at Riverwood National was the free golf; I could hit all of the buckets at the driving range I would like or play as many rounds I wanted in a day. I typically worked five hours a day and then would play a round of 18 holes with a few of my friends that work there. My golf professional that I have worked with for 11 years, Steve Fessler, is the person who got me this wonderful job.

Before going onto the course I made sure the cart was loaded and that I had the blue case of money that we all called “the bank”. It was 9:20 and time to head out there. I made myself an Arnold Palmer, which is half lemonade and half iced tea, in the kitchen and was on my way. The route we beverage cart girls took was to start on hole 18 and end at hole one; this was because then you could meet with the players as they were approaching the cart girl, and so we aren’t trying to catch up to every group. The first group that I met all wanted alcoholic beverages; this was because every golfer in the tournament got two tickets for free drinks of any kind. Three of the people got beer and one of the lady’s had a Mike’s Hard Lemonade. I could tell right from the start these golfers in the tourney were going to be drinkers, and I am not talking about soda or water.

Making my rounds, there was one foursome that was hilarious. This group had two men and two women. One of the men asked, “Hey beautiful, you have gorgeous eyes. What’s your name?” He was about 6’ 3” with flowing dark blonde hair, and his eyes were a sparkling green.

A little shocked this 30 something year old man told me this, I replied, “Well thank you! My name is Kathryn.” This was normal for me to get compliments and the men to flirt with me. To start some conversation with them I asked, “How are you guys doing so far?”

They all chuckled, and the other guy in the group said, “Hon, we’re going to have to see you more often.” He was a fat man with shorter blonde hair gelled up towards the front. I could tell that these two men and two women were definitely not serious golfers and just out there to have a good time.

Every time I met up with this group, the men were so flirtatious and kept asking for more drinks. Because everyone got two free drink tickets, they usually tipped me every time they got a drink. As the tournament came to an end, the bank was stocked full of cash. This tournament was one of the longest I’ve ever worked. It took close to six hours; where as a normal round of golf takes four hours. Earning tips is a big part of why I love this job and how I make most of my money. I was extremely happy that it was a gorgeous day and I made a lot of money doing what I love. I hope next summer is just as enjoyable as my last.