5 questions with Matt Summers – Mountain Branch GC

Get to know Matt Summers, PGA Head Professional at Mountain Branch GC, in five quick questions.

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

Dustin Johnson – To watch him play in person, he seems like a pretty cool guy and he doesn’t get bad pairings.

Has golf always been your first love? Who was your golf hero growing up?

I have been swinging a golf club since I was 1 ½ years old, it was my first love but 3^rd best sport.  I am huge fan of The Ohio State Buckeyes

My golfing heroes were Jack Nicklaus being from Ohio and not far from Columbus but also Greg Norman and Tiger Woods.  They made me want to watch golf on TV.

What was your favorite Major to watch this year and why? Who is the Slowest / Fastest player on tour?

The Master’s is my favorite every year.  I remember watching it with my grandmother at an early age every year on the weekends that it was played!

I don’t know who is the slowest, they tend not to show how long it takes for guys to go through their entire shot routine but Brandt Snedeker seems to be the fastest when watching him play.

Where does Pace of Play rank as an industry priority?  

Pace is the top priority every day at our club.  Making sure our rounds get off to a good start pace of play wise pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the day.  Being a semi-private club, we are open to the public.  We don’t know what kind of golfer is going to walk through the door each day making it important to pay attention to right out of the gate.  We also have so many outings, leagues and tee times built around the daily play with timing being based off of what time folks will finish, get started and be able to play. Losing track of any pace, outing, league or regular play can really hurt us on the backend of the day.

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

Creating an environment where customers know they can come and play in a reasonable amount of time is very important to us.  This keeps members happy, customers happy and it helps create a reputation of a place that does care and wants everyone’s day more enjoyable.  Happy golfers make for happy people towards our staff and throughout our entire facility prompting repeat visits and or spending money in other areas of our facility.

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

Accuracy is one of the most important aspects.  We have data with facts that allow us to properly manage how everyone plays the course not just relying on the better players, faster players or early risers that can scoot around the course.  This also helps us with managing “perception” vs. “reality” meaning some customers play faster than others.   When they catch a group the first thing they want to do is call the golf shop or for a marshal to speed the group ahead of them up and in reality the groups ahead of them are inside of our pace parameters.  This isn’t fair to the customers who are playing on time to be spoken too and I think that happens all too often at other clubs that fall into the semi-private category because members and regulars play at once pace and the outside customer plays on time or right around our set pace.  As much as we want to keep pace up, talking to groups on pace can really backfire and it’s not necessary.

Tagmarshal Pace-of-Play System Earns Raves at Carnoustie Golf Links

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland: Tagmarshal – the golf course intelligence and pace-of-play system used by golf courses, country clubs and resorts globally – is achieving high-quality results at Carnoustie Golf Links’ Championship Course, host of the 2018 Open Championship and one of Golf Digest’s top-30 courses worldwide.

After only two months of management, clubhouse staff and player assistants deploying Tagmarshal technology, golfers’ rounds were reduced by an average of 17 minutes. 88% of play was on or within 10 minutes of appropriate pace, including a 183% improvement in the number of golfers on pace.

“I can’t imagine operating without Tagmarshal as it enables us to further enhance golfing experiences, improve service delivery and pace of play and generate additional revenue,” says Colin Sinclair, Head Golf Professional at Carnoustie. “Tagmarshal is invaluable and at the forefront of how we will manage our course operations in the future.”

A recent USGA survey shows 74% of golfers believe appropriate speed is critical to the enjoyment of their rounds. This is the impetus for Ballybunion Golf Club (Irish Open), The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort (2021 PGA Championship), Whistling Straits (2020 Ryder Cup), Erin Hills (2017 U.S. Open), East Lake (2017 TOUR Championship) and many others to adopt Tagmarshal.

“The actionable data insights gained by tracking Carnoustie members and guests are a testament to Tagmarshal’s effectiveness,” says Bodo Sieber, CEO of Tagmarshal. “As an ‘eye in the sky,’ our platform presents a unique opportunity to turn pace into an asset instead of an obstacle for golfers and course operators.”

Partnering with Tagmarshal has allowed courses to become pacesetters with improved operational efficiencies, saving costs and adding prime tee times that routinely realize more than $100,000 in annual incremental revenue. Superintendents also use Tagmarshal data to better manage pin placements, wear patterns, hole set-ups, and operational efficiencies.

Carnoustie Golf Links

Established in 1842, the Championship Course is one of the few UK courses to have hosted the men’s, women’s and senior Opens. It is also one of three courses – alongside Kingsbarns and the Old Course in St. Andrews – used for the annual Alfred Dunhill Links Championship that attracts numerous celebrities and professional golfers.

TAGMARSHAL SYSTEM HELPS IMPROVE PACE OF PLAY AT CARNOUSTIE

Tagmarshal, the pace-of-play management system used at marquee courses such as Erin Hills, Whistling Straits, Valhalla, Kiawah and Ballybunion, helped Carnoustie – host of the 2018 British Open – improve the number of its rounds that are on pace by 70%.

After implementing Tagmarshal, Carnoustie’s average round time improved by almost 16 minutes for the months of August and September.

The innovative Tagmarshal system uses small GPS tags pinned to bags and carts to track group movement and identify possible bottlenecks or other pressure points on the course before they surface. Erin Hills was Tagmarshal’s first customer and generated $115,000 in return on investment through an uptick in tee times.

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