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Club de Golf Alcanada enjoys rise in bookings

Club de Golf Alcanada enjoys rise in bookings

Club de Golf Alcanada, the multi-award winning Mallorcan course, has revealed another rise in bookings for 2018 with visitor numbers up by more than 10 per cent.

The prestigious 7,108-yard, Robert Trent Jones Jr-designed layout is the only one on the island next to the sea and its popularity continues to grow with people flocking from all over Europe.

Club de Golf Alcanada has won an array of awards since opening 14 years ago and the course again proved a hit with highly-respected German magazine Golf Journal readers after being voted favourite European course for a staggering SEVENTH time earlier this year.

Kristoff Both, director of golf at Alcanada, said: “We are in a very fortunate position geographically as the course enjoys spectacular views being beside the sea.

“But as a test of golf, Alcanada has always been hugely popular with visitors as it is a real test for good golfers, while also being enjoyed by those with higher handicaps. And that is again proving to be the case judging by the new growth in bookings.

“They are up more than 10 per for March, April and May 2018 compared to this time last year. Groups are finding it much better to book early on as golf in Mallorca is growing in popularity on the European market.

“And as well as the golf, the island offers so much more as away from the fairways we are lucky to have golden beaches, lively towns, small picturesque villages, a fantastic array of hotels and not to mention a fantastic climate all year round. It is the perfect place for a golf break as well as a holiday.”

Club de Golf Alcanada beat off competition from 1,250 participants, including the likes of Spain’s 1997 Ryder Cup host Valderrama, Ireland’s 2006 Ryder Cup venue The K Club and Turkey’s Montgomerie Maxx Royal to win the coveted Golf Journal Travel Awards.

Sitting in a breathtaking location overlooking the Bay of Alcudia, Alcanada takes its name from an island with a lighthouse, situated just offshore, which can be seen from most of the holes.

In addition, the club boasts a centuries-old Mallorca clubhouse which offers guests the opportunity to sample regional specialties in its first-class dining facilities on a sun-baked terrace, while its comprehensive, newly rebranded Lighthouse Golf Academy, including a spacious short-game area and covered driving range, is also available.

The course also welcomed a contemporary traditional Spanish-style stone halfway house called the Lighthouse Bar, that offers spectacular views of the Mediterranean, while they have also introduced the revolutionary TagMarshal, which is designed to speed up play.

Club de Golf Alcanada signed a three-year contract with TagMarshal, a course management system, which on average should speed up play by 14 minutes thanks to its tracking tag that clips to golf bags and provides real-time data, allowing up-to-the-second information on every group of players.

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ABOUT TAGMARSHAL

Tagmarshal, the market leader in on-course optimization technology, provides courses with full, real-time operational oversight and reporting, giving golf operators the tools to manage pace and flow of play effectively, resulting in enhanced player experiences, increased efficiency through automation, and additional revenue generation.

Tagmarshal’s technology has collected over 1 billion data points from more than 50 million rounds of golf and has relationships with in excess of 500 partners, including Hazeltine, Whistling Straits, Baltusrol, Fieldstone, Bandon Dunes, Serenoa and Erin Hills.

Tagmarshal partners with several golf management groups, private, daily fee, public and resort courses, including 35 of the Top 100 US courses, as well as many $30-$50 green fee courses, which are seeing excellent results using the system.

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Tagmarshal Pace-Of-Play System To Enhance Player Experiences At Advance Golf-Managed Courses

Tagmarshal Pace-Of-Play System To Enhance Player Experiences At Advance Golf-Managed Courses

Tagmarshal – the pace-of-play system used by golf courses, country clubs and resorts globally – is operational at several properties managed by Advance Golf, including 7 Lakes Golf Club (Pinehurst, N.C.), Bear Creek Golf Course (Hilton Head, S.C.), Bridlewood Golf Club (Dallas, Texas) and Sky Creek Ranch Golf Club (Fort Worth, Texas).

Courses planning to implement Tagmarshal technology include Back Creek Golf Club (Middletown, Del.), Legacy Golf Club (Bradenton, Fla.), Rolling Green Golf Club (Sarasota, Fla.) and Serenoa Golf Club (Sarasota, Fla.), among others.

Golf’s leading pace-of-play solution, Tagmarshal has prompted faster rounds at daily-fee, resort and private courses by up to 60% in only weeks after install. Average round times routinely decrease by 15 minutes or more, allowing for additional tee-time inventory.

“Advance Golf’s impressive courses will realize even greater pace efficiencies and player satisfaction, loyalty and revenue,” says Bodo Sieber, CEO of Tagmarshal. “Tagmarshal data will help to pre-emptively prevent bottlenecks and appropriate hole-by-hole speed.”

A recent USGA survey shows 74% of golfers believe pace of play is critical to the enjoyment of their rounds. This played into The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort (2021 PGA Championship), Whistling Straits (2020 Ryder Cup), Erin Hills (2017 U.S. Open), East Lake (Tour Championship), Carnoustie Golf Links (Open Championship), Ballybunion Golf Club (Irish Open) and many other premier golf destinations deploying Tagmarshal’s discreet data-transmitting tags affixed to golf carts and bags.

“Tagmarshal’s revolutionary system gives our properties a competitive edge to achieve financial and operational success,” says Larry Galloway, Founding Partner of Advance Golf. “Pace-of-play management is vital and directly tied to rounds and revenue trends.”

Partnering with Tagmarshal had caused courses to add prime tee times capable of generating $100,000-plus in incremental revenue annually. Superintendents also use Tagmarshal data to better manage pin placements, wear patterns, hole set-ups and operational efficiencies.

About Advance Golf
Advance Golf is a collection of individual owners and operators at various independent golf courses that provide customized solutions which transform the player experience. It matches course operators with investors to foster new capital opportunities and enact long-term improvements.

More information: advancegolfpartners.com.

ABOUT TAGMARSHAL

Tagmarshal, the market leader in on-course optimization technology, provides courses with full, real-time operational oversight and reporting, giving golf operators the tools to manage pace and flow of play effectively, resulting in enhanced player experiences, increased efficiency through automation, and additional revenue generation.

Tagmarshal’s technology has collected over 1 billion data points from more than 50 million rounds of golf and has relationships with in excess of 500 partners, including Hazeltine, Whistling Straits, Baltusrol, Fieldstone, Bandon Dunes, Serenoa and Erin Hills.

Tagmarshal partners with several golf management groups, private, daily fee, public and resort courses, including 35 of the Top 100 US courses, as well as many $30-$50 green fee courses, which are seeing excellent results using the system.

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5 questions with Kristoff Both – Alcanada

5 questions with Kristoff Both – Alcanada

Get to know Kristoff Both, Director of Golf at Club de Golf Alcanada, one of Spain’s finest, and Robert Trent Jones Jr. who designed the course located in the northern part of the Mediterranean island of Mallorca.

If you could be a caddie on Tour, whose caddie would you like to be and why?

No doubt, from the legendary golf professionals still alive it must be Tiger Woods. Having seen him live, he plays the atmosphere and the energy he transmits is incredible.

Has golf always been your first love and who was your hero growing up? What other sports / teams are you a fan of?

I started playing tennis as a little boy but have been playing golf since I was 10 years old, so yes, you could say golf is my first love in sports. I do like soccer but my team, Werder Bremen, has not been doing too well the last couple of years and therefore I’ve lost a little bit of interest.

I don’t recall who was my golf hero growing up but it must have been Bernhard Langer. Now for many years it has been Phil Mickelson – I am a left handed player as well and I do love short game. I even play with the Odyssey 82 ProType putter he uses or used for some time.

Where does Pace of Play rank as an industry priority and why has your course decided to invest in Pace of Play? 

It is one of the key factors that we haven´t been able to control a hundred percent until now even though we have a starter, a marshal and 12 minute tee time intervals. The course can be at its best but if you have a couple of slow groups on the course the experience for a lot of other players is ruined. We are, however, in a place with beautiful weather and so a lot of players seem to not mind too much if the round is a couple of minutes slower than expected as they are on holiday, enjoying the good weather and the good company at our place.

As laid out before, happy customers are more likely to return and pace of play is one of the key factors to the overall experience when playing golf.

What are the top benefits about having Tagmarshal technology to manage the field, efficiencies and the Pace of Play?

I think first of all the rangers/ marshals have it a lot easier as they can identify slow groups from the very beginning and can approach them basically before the problems start on the course and even the team at the pro-shop and myself know always what is going on, on the course. We know that a lot of players are under the impression that they are not playing slow because the group playing behind might not “push” them (especially in a case where you have groups on the course that know each other). So with the new Tagmarshal system it has become a lot easier to address slow play. We can also see as a result a financial benefit due to better control of slow play we are able to add one or two tee times a day instead of having to offer twilight fees for not being able to guarantee full 18 hole rounds.

How would your Marshals / Player Assistants answer this question?

The job of the course marshals can often be difficult as they have to tell people who spend a good amount of money what they have to do. We think that the overall experience of the players has become better due to the more precise control and the marshals/ rangers have a great tool now at their hands, not having to drive around the course all the time taking notes of times to identify potential slow groups – the marshals have arrived in the 21st century! The tablet on board the marshal buggy with the figures can be shown in worst case to a customer not understanding their position on the course and thus help to have less confrontations between staff and players.

ABOUT TAGMARSHAL

Tagmarshal, the market leader in on-course optimization technology, provides courses with full, real-time operational oversight and reporting, giving golf operators the tools to manage pace and flow of play effectively, resulting in enhanced player experiences, increased efficiency through automation, and additional revenue generation.

Tagmarshal’s technology has collected over 1 billion data points from more than 50 million rounds of golf and has relationships with in excess of 500 partners, including Hazeltine, Whistling Straits, Baltusrol, Fieldstone, Bandon Dunes, Serenoa and Erin Hills.

Tagmarshal partners with several golf management groups, private, daily fee, public and resort courses, including 35 of the Top 100 US courses, as well as many $30-$50 green fee courses, which are seeing excellent results using the system.

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5 questions with Mike O’Reilly – Whistling Straits

5 questions with Mike O’Reilly – Whistling Straits

Mike O’Reilly assumed his position as Head Golf Professional at Whistling Straits in 2007, leading the golf operations team and managing all aspects of  the golf operation. Since then, he has been part of a team that has successfully hosted the 2010 and 2015 PGA Championship. Mike is now an Executive Committee Member as Whistling Straits will play host to the 2020 Ryder Cup. Here are some questions to get to know more about him:

If you could be a caddie on Tour, whose caddie would you like to be and why?

Steve Stricker.

Steve has always been a true gentleman of the game. I love his story of almost losing his tour card then battling back to become one of the best players in the world.

Has golf always been your first love and who was your golf hero growing up? What other sports / team are you a fan of? 

Golf has always been a big part of my life. I started caddying at a local country club at the age of 12 and have been involved with golf ever since. At that time I played golf but I also played soccer, wrestled and was a gymnast. By the time I was in college I began to focus more on the game and business of golf then I turned professional after graduation.

Kevin Marion was my golf hero growing up. Kevin is now the General Manager at an exclusive private country club in the Chicagoland area. When I started caddying, Kevin was the Head Professional at a different private club in the suburbs of Chicago called Ruth Lake Country Club. I looked up to Kevin for many reasons and he is a big reason I chose to work in golf.

Today I still play a lot of competitive golf but also enjoy running and water sports. Nothing beats wakeboarding and wakesurfing!

What was your favourite Major to watch this year and why? Who’s the Slowest / Fastest player on tour?

The British Open. It’s always my favorite to watch because it’s brings the viewer back to the origins of the game. Also… I love waking up to watch live golf! 

Not 100% sure but I know Ben Crane and Kevin Na are slow. Jordan Spieth is no speed demon either. Fastest… I know Brandt Snedekar doesn’t mess around out there. He has to be one of the faster players out there.

Where does Pace of Play rank as an industry priority? 

It’s absolutely in the top 3. Coming up with ways to shorten the amount of time it takes to have a golf experience is critical to the future of the game.

Why has your course decided to invest in Pace of Play?

We decided to invest in a pace of play program because we understand how big of an impact pace of play has on the overall golf experience. We can have the best facilities, courses, staff, service, etc… the best of everything but if pace of play is a disaster on the course then all of our hard work can be for nothing. The golf experience might be ruined because we weren’t able to appropriately manage pace of play.

Bonus: What are the top benefits about having Tagmarshal technology to manage the field, efficiencies and the pace of play? How would your Marshals / Player Assistants answer this question?

The greatest benefit of the program is awareness. When we have issues the entire team is aware of what’s happening on the course and we can react more quickly to issues. This has helped tremendously.

The Player Assistants like having up to date information about the entire course at all times. They no longer need to manually keep track a group and they can see an issue as soon as it arises. Instead of waiting to see the problem they can see it online then go to see the problem group.

ABOUT TAGMARSHAL

Tagmarshal, the market leader in on-course optimization technology, provides courses with full, real-time operational oversight and reporting, giving golf operators the tools to manage pace and flow of play effectively, resulting in enhanced player experiences, increased efficiency through automation, and additional revenue generation.

Tagmarshal’s technology has collected over 1 billion data points from more than 50 million rounds of golf and has relationships with in excess of 500 partners, including Hazeltine, Whistling Straits, Baltusrol, Fieldstone, Bandon Dunes, Serenoa and Erin Hills.

Tagmarshal partners with several golf management groups, private, daily fee, public and resort courses, including 35 of the Top 100 US courses, as well as many $30-$50 green fee courses, which are seeing excellent results using the system.

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5 questions with Drew Dunn – East Lake GC

5 questions with Drew Dunn – East Lake GC

Has golf always been your first love? What other sports / team are you a fan of? 

I was a late comer to the game of golf and did not start playing until after high school.  Basketball and Baseball were my first loves growing up and I played them competitively through high school.  Being a very competitive person I was left with a void in my life.  I had spent 5 days a week my entire life playing some kind of sport and all of a sudden I had nothing to compete in until I found golf.  Golf quickly became my new passion because it filled that competitive void whether it was against another individual or just myself against the golf course.

Who was your golf hero growing up? 

Tiger Woods was so instrumental to bringing so many new players to the game and I am one of those people.  His rise to fame in the late 90’s was right around when I began playing and it was because he made golf cool.  I probably would not be in the position I am in now if it was not for Tiger.

Who’s the Slowest / Fastest player on tour? 

Ironically, I am going to have to say the same player for both, Kevin Na.  He is known for being a deliberate and slow player but at the 2016 Tour Championship in the final round he was paired by himself as we only had 29 players in the field.  Kevin and his caddie literally ran through their round and ended up finishing in just under two hours.  He also birdied the last few holes to shoot an even par 70 which makes the feat that much more impressive.

Where does Pace of Play rank as an industry priority? 

Pace of Play definitely ranks in the top 3 of industry priorities.  People’s time has never been more valuable to them than it is these days.  The amount of time it takes to play a round of golf is one of the main reasons people give for either not playing golf at all or playing more than they do.  Anytime we can give our members and their guests more of their time back we want to do so as it is beneficial to everyone.

Why has your course decided to invest in Pace of Play?

East Lake Golf Club is a walking only facility and every player is required to use the services of a caddie.  GPS technology has been available for many years in golf carts but there has never been a reliable product we could use because our players don’t use carts.  Now, with Tagmarshal, we have the same opportunity to efficiently increase our member and guest satisfaction as well as our bottom line that other facilities have had for years.

What are the top benefits about having technology to manage the field, efficiencies and the pace of play? 

We have found that all golfers understand pace of play is a priority and there is an expectation they should play in a certain amount of time.  Tagmarshal allows us to efficiently monitor groups from anywhere we have access to an internet connection, including our cell phones.  This alleviates the need for us to have an actual person physically on the golf course driving around and monitoring pace.  When we see a group has fallen behind we can ride out and inform them exactly how far behind pace they are and politely ask them to speed up their play.  Often golfers are unaware they were behind pace and are thankful we informed them because nobody wants to be the slow group on the golf course.

ABOUT TAGMARSHAL

Tagmarshal, the market leader in on-course optimization technology, provides courses with full, real-time operational oversight and reporting, giving golf operators the tools to manage pace and flow of play effectively, resulting in enhanced player experiences, increased efficiency through automation, and additional revenue generation.

Tagmarshal’s technology has collected over 1 billion data points from more than 50 million rounds of golf and has relationships with in excess of 500 partners, including Hazeltine, Whistling Straits, Baltusrol, Fieldstone, Bandon Dunes, Serenoa and Erin Hills.

Tagmarshal partners with several golf management groups, private, daily fee, public and resort courses, including 35 of the Top 100 US courses, as well as many $30-$50 green fee courses, which are seeing excellent results using the system.

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Technology Aiding Pace of Play to Stop Slow Play

Technology Aiding Pace of Play to Stop Slow Play

Slow Play is a subject that graces many an after round discussion usually in the clubhouse bar.  My club and society have all adopted the Ready Play guidelines and things have improved slightly from last season.

I was drawn back to an excellent article written by Josh Carr on Golfshake. He analysed the Golfshake survey in particular in relation to the issue of Slow Play.

A recent USGA survey replicated the results of Golfshake’s own and it is clear that a failure to police slow play has a detrimental effect on a golfer’s experience.  These factors include:

  • A Reduction in player enjoyment and satisfaction ratings.
  • Frustrated customers
  • Reduction in the time the golfer has to visit linked facilities such as the 19th hole etc.
  • Less likely to become repeat customers
  • More likely to leave membership if frustrated with course management.

There are some great point’s made by the author and other subscribers who added to the conversation.

For me the most important factor identified was the number of golfers who played less golf as a result of the time issue involved in playing golf.

He also flagged the inconsiderate or unknowing golfer who considers it a crime to allow a faster group through. Challenges and interventions by Marshalls of slower groups are difficult for both parties involved.

Innovative methods involving shorter versions of the game are interesting but as something of a traditionalist I prefer the full fat, full sugar, version of 18 holes of medal play to test my current golfing prowess.

On a recent review trip to Mallorca I was very pleased to see technological advances being introducedto deal with the problem at its source. Slow play is caused by slow golfers.

Golf Alcanada is a great facility with many innovative approaches to the customer experience but I was really impressed by the real time monitoring of slow play using a system called Tag Marshal.

Speaking to the Course Marshalls they loved the system as it allowed them to make informed and appropriate interventions to keep the pace of play up to the benefit of everyone on the course.

Technology Helping Pace of Play

The heat maps showed who was regularly slow as opposed to a group struggling on one particular hole. This meant that any intervention was supported by incontrovertible evidence and advice and education could be given to specific groups and individual golfers.

From a course operators perspective they are also able to get much better use of the facility by increasing the number of tee times without diminishing the customer experience by play being very slow. In my view this is  a win /win for all concerned.

I began my research and realised I had hit onto the early days of a very effective product that was being introduced at some very high profile venues across the world.

If it is good enough for Carnoustie, Erin Hills and Whistling Straights it has definitely got some merit. With this in mind I asked the company to provide an explanation of the system and its benefits.

Tagmarshal Optimizing Pace at Europe’s Most Prestigious Courses

Pace-of-play has long been a key factor determining player experience. According to a recent USGA survey, 74% of golfers believe pace is “critical” to their enjoyment of a round. Slow play can hinder rhythms, deter repeat customers and lead to golfer dissatisfaction. With an abundance of European links courses covered in fescue, this becomes even more vital.

Here to save the day is Tagmarshal – a pace-of-play and revenue-optimizing system used globally by golf courses, country clubs and resorts. Tagmarshal empowers courses to optimize their pace, routinely enhancing average round times by 14-17 minutes. This leads not only to an improved golf experience, but increased revenue, both by adding capacity on busy days, and by expediting those rounds, ensuring golfers have more time to visit the pro shop or 19th hole after a stellar round.

High-profile courses across Europe have adopted its technology, including Carnoustie (2018 Open Championship) and Ballybunion (Irish Open). Also proven in the U.S. at Whistling Straits (2020 Ryder Cup), Erin Hills (2017 U.S. Open), Valhalla (2014 PGA Championship) and Kiawah Island (2012 PGA Championship), the platform is trusted at many golf destinations around the world.

So how does the software work?

The system, which uses discreet data-transmitting tags clipped to golfers’ bags or installed into carts, measures all player movement and preemptively offers solutions to alleviate bottlenecks and other pace obstacles via its proprietary algorithms.

With a wealth of intuitive and dynamic information, courses provide positive, non-confrontational player assistance and improve their per-hole and overall goal times, while streamlining field management accuracies and processes.

At private facilities, data on individual golfers’ pace also allows courses to incentivize faster players or offer personalized support for those who can improve.

“As links courses, it is especially vital for us to accurately manage round times,” says Vari McGreevy, General Manager of Ballybunion. “Tagmarshal’s innovative technology enables informed decisions, ultimately accelerating field flow for even better on-course experiences.”

Paving the way for increased participation and growth of the game, the benefits are countless. Not only are clubs able to retain members, but they also expand through a strong pace-of-play reputation.

After deploying its platform, courses seize pace as an asset to their operation and golf experience.

Is this the answer to issues with slow play?

I am not sure that this is the overall solution to the problem of slow play but it is definitely a real move forward to ensuring that all players get the chance to enjoy the game at a pace that all enjoy.

Better education has its place and this equipment allows the course managers to identify those who need that education. That has got to be to the benefit of all players and the game as a whole.

Let me throw this challenge out to the golfing authorities.

Why not trial the use of this equipment at a high profile event during a professional tournament?

Professional golfers set the standard for golfing etiquette at all levels. The referees could use the heat maps to establish without doubt who was causing a hold up or delay and then they could take appropriate action in accordance with the existing rules.

I recently played in the European Tour Seniors Italian Open Pro am event presented by Villaverde Resort golf club, Udine, Italy. Did I play slower do to increased pressure?  Possibly.  I do know one thing though, my pace of play will always take into account my playing partners and other groups on the course as that is a crucial part of the game and its etiquette.

View original article here

ABOUT TAGMARSHAL

Tagmarshal, the market leader in on-course optimization technology, provides courses with full, real-time operational oversight and reporting, giving golf operators the tools to manage pace and flow of play effectively, resulting in enhanced player experiences, increased efficiency through automation, and additional revenue generation.

Tagmarshal’s technology has collected over 1 billion data points from more than 50 million rounds of golf and has relationships with in excess of 500 partners, including Hazeltine, Whistling Straits, Baltusrol, Fieldstone, Bandon Dunes, Serenoa and Erin Hills.

Tagmarshal partners with several golf management groups, private, daily fee, public and resort courses, including 35 of the Top 100 US courses, as well as many $30-$50 green fee courses, which are seeing excellent results using the system.

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