Yellowknife’s golf club handed out rewards to drivers who left their vehicles at the club overnight following a tournament last weekend.
Adopting an initiative popularized by bars elsewhere in North America, the golf club placed notes on vehicles praising drivers for their responsibility – and offering discounts as a thank-you.
“Thank you for choosing not to drink and drive. We at the Yellowknife Golf Club very much appreciate you keeping yourself and our community safe,” the letter read.
Each letter entitled the vehicle owner to between 10 and 15 percent off purchases at the golf club over $100, depending on their membership status.
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The notes were found by drivers on Saturday following last Friday’s Century 21 charity golf tournament.
“I came in to work on Saturday morning and the parking lot was pretty littered with sleepovers, as we like to call them,” Cole Marshall, assistant professional at the club, told Cabin Radio.
“I thought it would be kind-of cool and a fun way to say thank-you for being responsible, so I just drafted something up and started throwing them on the vehicles at six o’clock in the morning.”
Marshall said he placed letters on 17 vehicles – a busier Saturday-morning ‘sleepover’ than usual, as the Century 21 tournament had been well-attended.
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By Tuesday, Marshall believed one of the letters had so far been redeemed for the promised discount.
It’s hard to be certain where the idea of rewarding drivers who leave their vehicles at bars originated. A report of an Edmonton-area pub doing so appeared in 2016, followed by bars in Illinois and Nebraska and a Quebec restaurant.
The club has yet to decide if this will become a regular feature.
“I’d like to say I came up with it myself but I saw it on social media. I can’t remember how long ago, exactly – it was over the winter at some point, a pub had done it somewhere down south,” said Marshall.
“I thought it was a cool initiative and a fun thing to do for people that are responsible.
“It shows the community that we care and hopefully other businesses will start doing it as well.”
