Away from the confines and crowds of Austin, Point Venture GC is a welcome retreat for seasoned and novice golfers.

Consistently ranked as one of the best 9-hole courses in Texas, the course also boasts a driving range, putting green, and a state-of-the-art instructional area.

Justin ‘The Golf Mechanic’ Orbin, Point Venture’s Director of Golf, gave us a look behind the scenes at his daily routine, favorite golf memories, and how he has embraced technology to provide the best player experience possible.

How would you describe your morning routine to kickstart your day?

Turn on SportsCenter and go through all my apps on my phone – email, texts, bank accounts, credit cards, weather, social media, etc.

Has golf always been your first love?

Yes, my grandfather was a butcher and a bartender and both my parents play. They put me in the sweater basket when I was two and I’ve been playing ever since.

Tell us about your role at Point Venture. Why is it important?

My role is Director of Golf. I have a great Clubhouse Manager named Tommy Low who leads a team that handles all the day-to-day operations, including our daily golf leagues and our nightly events in the Caddie Shack Sports Bar. I oversee the golf course maintenance staff, teach a ton of lessons, especially to junior golfers, and create and market all the golf events and the nightly events at the Caddie Shack. These include darts and cornhole on Mondays, Texas Hold ‘em poker on Tuesdays, Trivia and Karaoke on Wednesdays, Bingo on Thursdays, live bands on Fridays and Saturdays, and our open jam session on Sundays. I consider myself the cruise director, ensuring our Members, residents, and their guests are always entertained.

Why has your course decided to invest in Tagmarshal?

We invested in Tagmarshal to give our golfers a better experience on the golf course with the GPS yardages, and for the ability to set up geofences to keep the golfers away from the tees and greens. We are selling ads on the screens to local businesses to cover the cost of the units.

Since implementing Tagmarshal, how have your golfers responded to the on-course experience?

The golfers are happy with the new units mainly because they can see the layout of the hole and get the yardages. They were not thrilled with the geofencing at first, but now that they are used to it, they keep their carts away from the tees and greens.

Describe Tagmarshal in three words.

Great Technology Addition

What is your dream golf destination? Why?

Ireland – I want to go experience links golf in its truest form, and have heard there are so many great courses there.

Your best golf moment?

Winning The Links at Land’s End Invitational with two different partners against what would now be Korn Ferry Tour players.

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

Tiger Woods. I would not have to work much, get paid well, and get to see how the GOAT plays and thinks on a daily basis.

A head golf professional’s job, from the moment they arrive at the course in the early morning until they leave after closing the range and pro shop, is a demanding one, both from an operational and player perspective.

To consistently deliver exceptional on-course experiences, while often operating with stretched labor resources and revenue target pressures, courses are increasingly turning to technology for assistance.

Below, we will focus on the challenges head pros face in managing pace and the on-course player experience, and how optimization technology like Tagmarshal helps them achieve their goals.

The most fundamental part of every golf operation, which ultimately underpins whether it’s a success or failure, is ensuring an enjoyable player experience.

More than 75% of golfers strongly agree that pace of play is critical in contributing to one’s enjoyment of a round of golf. A head golf pro must always be available to address pace and flow of play issues as they arise throughout the day, but endlessly patrolling the course and looking for issues isn’t an option.

Using GPS technology that tracks exactly where each playing group is in real-time gives head golf pros oversight from the clubhouse, pro shop, or while on the move. Tagmarshal goes one step further, identifying which groups are delayers and holding up other groups and causing bottlenecks, and which groups are being delayed and out of position through no fault of their own.

The distinction is visible with just a glance at the Live Map screen – delayer groups are purple and delayed groups are orange – so head golf pros can stay on top of pace issues without having to monitor what’s happening on the course constantly.

Equipped with this information, head golf pros or player assistants can then go directly to the problem groups. Addressing the root cause of pace and flow issues, and doing so proactively, minimizes the impact on the rest of the field.

Head golf pros can also set up automated alerts that are sent directly to playing groups that fall a specified time behind pace, reducing the need for in-person check-ins or interactions. These alerts can be sent to staff as well, so that they are constantly kept up to date.

SEE OUR SYSTEM IN ACTION

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Few things ruin a round quicker than being called slow by marshals. USGA research shows that of the 1,000 touchpoints measured during the golfer experience, ‘corrective pace of play actions’ ranks as the touchpoint that most adversely impacts satisfaction, along with ‘speed of others playing on the course.’

Head golf pros and their teams are, therefore, walking a very fine line between effectively managing pace and raising the ire of golfers on the course. When staff have data to rely on, these on-course interactions are entirely reframed.

Instead of being potentially adversarial, they are neutral, fact-based discussions with players able to see why they are being addressed, as well as how the technology being used is there to add value to the on-course experience.

Tagmarshal’s data also allows head golf pros and their teams to identify pace trends. Is a group behind pace because they were very slow on one hole, which could have been due to a lost ball or something similar, or are they consistently trending slower than required across multiple holes? When you can show it’s the latter, it becomes harder for players to push back.

Finally, using the Track Map, head golf pros can engage in constructive post-round conversations with players or members. All interactions and geofence breaches are logged, as well as the round’s entire pace history against the course’s goal time. This is especially useful when responding to complaints that may happen days or even weeks after a round took place.

Pace of play is always a hot topic at any course, be it public or private. The head golf professional is ultimately accountable when things go awry, but getting a handle on pace starts with setting, implementing, communicating, and enforcing a fair and realistic pace of play policy.

Manually gathering a sample size large enough to confidently work out a course’s average round time is extremely labor-intensive, and there is still no guarantee that it will be accurate.

Head golf pros will also be aware that different times of the day play quicker than others, so expecting every group to finish in the same time is unreasonable. Morning rounds traditionally play quicker due to fewer players on the course, with pace slowing mid-morning through to midday. Having one goal time for the entire day fails to take this into account.

Tagmarshal records the exact time every group takes to play down to the second, but it also breaks these pace trends down by key metrics like time of the day and day of the week. This allows head golf pros to gain insight into these nuances and adjust expectations and communication accordingly, so that each playing group is given a realistic goal time.

To keep pace conversations front of mind, head golf pros can give regular, data-driven updates via email or social media, heightening visibility around policies in place and highlighting successes that may attract new golfers looking for a quality experience.

Dealing with board and committee members is also made easier when you have data to rely on that illustrates whether pace of play and other operational goals are being met.

With pace and flow of play so central to the player experience, staying on top of what is happening on the course at all times is a crucial part of a head golf pro’s job.

However, they are faced with two often competing demands. They must plan and execute the day-to-day running of on-course operations, while also being the most public-facing member of the operational team.

Relying on optimization technology for real-time oversight helps juggle both dimensions of the role so that head golf pros deliver results that keep players and management happy.

SEE TAGMARSHAL’S SYSTEM IN ACTION

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Golf industry’s leader in pace-of-play management and course-optimization software increases its footprint and influence on Europe and the UK

Atlanta, Ga. (June 18, 2025) … Tagmarshal—whose proprietary AI-enhanced data and technology already helps hundreds of courses around the globe manage on-course operations and keep golfers on pace—is rapidly expanding its presence and facilities in Europe and the UK.

“Tagmarshal has grown by 146% in Europe and the UK over the past 12 months—our biggest year yet,” reported Stephen Knoop, Managing Director, Tagmarshal International. “We’re proud to have signed partnership agreements with many bucket-list courses and look forward to adding value to these facilities, their on-course teams, and golfers by optimizing the player experience.” 

The company has added some of the world’s best-known courses—and major-championship venues—to its roster of partners, including:

• Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland
• Royal Portrush, Northern Ireland (site of the 2025 Open Championship)
• Portstewart, Northern Ireland
• Sotogrande, Spain
• Muirfield, Scotland
• The Grove, England
• Adare Manor, Ireland (host of the 2027 Ryder Cup)
• Trump Turnberry, Scotland
• Praia D’El Rey, Portugal
• West Cliffs Golf Course, Portugal
• Carnoustie, Scotland
• Real Club de Golf Alcanada, Spain
• Grafarholt Golf Course, Iceland
• Hogs Head, Ireland
• Dumbarnie Links, Scotland
• Crail Golfing Society, Scotland
• Golf Club Castelconturbia, Italy

These courses, and many others internationally, rely on Tagmarshal’s optimization and pace-of-play technology to manage on-course operations, resulting in more play and happier customers. 

Utilizing data gathered from more than 75 million tracked rounds of golf and best-in-class AI-powered analytics, Tagmarshal empowers operators to make fact-driven decisions, manage pace and flow, and raise productivity and efficiency while generating additional revenue.

As a sign of its commitment to the European market, Tagmarshal has expanded its base in Cork, Ireland, and opened a local office in Spain to assist with quick and seamless installation and operational support. Tagmarshal has also made its new user-friendly online training available in Spanish and French, with Italian to follow soon.

Tagmarshal also has established tournament partnerships in the UK and Europe. For the DP World Tour and HotelPlanner Tour, the company created a bespoke solution for tracking pace and flow of play. For the Royal and Ancient, Tagmarshal assisted in the management of pace and flow of play at the 2024 AIG Women’s Open, held on the Old Course at St. Andrews.

The multi-year agreement with Tagmarshal is “one of the smartest technological investments we have made during my tenure at the DP World Tour,” said its Chief Technology Officer, Michael Cole.

Read the full article here: The First Call

Great news – our webinar, “3 Ways The Concession Uses Tech to Deliver Sub-4hr Rounds and Better Member Experiences,” is now available to watch on-demand and in your own time!

The Concession GC is a great example of how tech-enabled course oversight powers proactive pace management, with average round times under 3h50m.

Expert guest Jeremy Decaminada, PGA, the Head Golf Professional at The Concession, also details how data helps the club with member reporting and communication.

Designed by Jack Nicklaus and named after his famous conceded putt at the 1969 Ryder Cup, the greens are fast and undulating, with plenty of obstacles before players even reach the pin.