Pace of play remains one of golf’s hottest topics, with amateurs and pros alike quick to gripe about a slow round, whether or not that was actually the case.

A study by the NGCO found that 84% of golf course owners and operators list pace of play as a crucial factor in shaping perceptions of the player experience. From a player perspective, a recent USGA study found that 74% of golfers listed it as a key enjoyment factor.

Rounds continue on an upward trajectory, making the effective management of pace of play increasingly important, and there’s been a steady increase in the number of courses looking to use technology to better manage this critical element.

In order to improve your course’s pace and flow of play, you need members or guests to buy into your methods and policies. Here are 5 ways you can ensure your players are on board.

1. EDUCATE PLAYERS ABOUT WHY YOU’RE USING GOLF CART GPS TECHNOLOGY

Your average golfer will have good and bad days on the course, which will obviously affect their enjoyment of their round, but another crucial part of that equation centers around being able to play at a reasonable pace without any bottlenecks and hold-ups on the course.

If players at your course can see that you’re using golf cart GPS technology like Tagmarshal because you value their time and experience and are serious about creating a fair, data-driven pace of play policy, getting their buy-in will be far easier.

Rather than aimlessly patrolling the course and reacting once a problem has arisen, Tagmarshal gives operators full, real-time line of sight of the course so that they can accurately identify exactly which playing groups are out of position.

This improves course flow and also means that any interventions are not a ‘gotcha’ moment, but rather neutral, fact-based discussions based on data, that will benefit the entire field.

PRO TIP: Reframe your marshals as player assistants who are there to offer help to get groups back into position, as well as make their time on the course more enjoyable, while stressing that doing so effectively requires the aid of players or members.

2. RAISE AWARENESS AROUND PACE OF PLAY POLICIES

Once a course has formulated a pace of play policy, it needs to communicate that to golfers.

This policy should be clearly visible on the course’s website home page and social media posts highlighting the measures the course is taking in this regard can then link to the policy.

A newsletter that focuses on the course’s policy is also a great way to make sure that golfers are kept abreast of any changes.

PRO TIP: Implementing ready golf is advisable, but doing so effectively calls for additional awareness and education. Signage outlining how to safely play ready golf should be placed around the clubhouse and pro shop, as well as inside the locker rooms.

3. KEEP PACE OF PLAY FRONT OF MIND

In order to ingrain your pace of policy in your players’ minds, as well as the expectations around round goal times, regular reminders are essential.

Highlighting the month’s average round time in comparison to the desired average round time, whether via social media or newsletters, makes steady, incremental improvements something everyone can buy into.

Ensure each group is informed on the tee of what is expected from them and how they can stay in position, and have goal times clearly indicated on scorecards handed out. Signage at strategic points around the course reminding players of pace expectations, as well as at the halfway house and the clubhouse, further reinforces the policy.

PRO TIP: Show Tagmarshal’s Live Map on screens in the clubhouse and other prominent areas, giving players visibility of which groups are on pace or out of position and helping to maintain their awareness of this.

4. CELEBRATE SUCCESS

Golfers who consistently play quicker than the course’s desired round goal time, or average round time, should be celebrated. Regularly highlighting these pacesetters with an initiative like the fastest round of the month can serve as inspiration for others to effectively monitor their own pace.

Communicate these success stories through your monthly newsletters and social media channels, relying on golf cart GPS systems data to illustrate how players are responding to the pace metrics in place.

PRO TIP: Rewarding pacesetting players with prizes, like a free lunch and a round of beers at the clubhouse or discounts at the pro shop, draws positive attention to your policies.

5. HAVE PROCESSES IN PLACE TO HELP GOLFERS STRUGGLING WITH PACE

If there are players who continually fail to meet your pace targets, develop and communicate a process to deal with them, which also forms part of your well-publicized policy.

This could involve a call to the player from the course president, head golf professional or general manager after repeated transgressions, or a formal letter outlining how they’re not meeting expectations, with data to back this up.

Should the situation not improve, harsher measures like restricted access to tee times, or off-peak rounds only, may be needed.

PRO TIP: Disciplinary measures could also include questions about how your course might be able to assist with improving the golfer’s pace of play. Your head golf professional may consider offering advice, a coaching lesson, or even some tips on playing holes that often prove tricky.

CONCLUSION

Turning pace of play into an asset is a great way to set your course apart from others. Cultivating an environment where players actively support the measures the course is taking and can see the tangible benefits of doing so plays a pivotal role in the success of any policies.

Technological innovations continue to evolve and are rapidly changing the way golf clubs are run, with forward-thinking operators often utilizing multiple systems.

As PGA Magazine’s Senior Editor Don Jozwiak recently pointed out, “technologies that were once experimental or aspirational are now proven performers” and there is more risk in shying away from technology than in embracing it.

Due to the increased use of technology across multiple facets of a golf operation, interoperability between systems is increasingly important. Tagmarshal seamlessly integrates with many other technology solutions to stand out as the preferred central hub, bringing exponential value to course partners by combining powerful data insights from multiple sources in ways that help unlock new opportunities.

Tagmarshal’s integration with Golf Genius, the worldwide leader in tournament management solutions, gives courses that utilize both Tagmarshal and Golf Genius direct access to Golf Genius live scoring and leaderboards via Tagmarshal’s intuitive 2Way cart screens, as well as via the course’s tee sheet.

Players will see their names pre-loaded into the ‘Live Scoring’ feature on their Tagmarshal 2Way screens. The system’s GPS location tracking prompts players to enter their scores after the completion of each hole, ensuring leaderboards are always up to date and bringing the excitement and fun of the majors to courses.

Tagmarshal has a long list of tee sheet integration partners, including the likes of ForeTees, Lightspeed, foreUP, Jonas Club Software and ClubProphet. Feeding this information into the Tagmarshal software platform means that clubs can build out extensive data sets for particular players and create profiles , which opens up a number of possibilities.

Knowing who is part of each playing group and where they are on the course gives staff the chance to offer “white glove” service opportunities for VIPs, members and guests , such as catering to their food and beverage preferences.

It also means that clubs can identify which players tend to play quicker and slower based on the data gathered. Pace profiles are accessible to course managers at tee time reservation and at check-in, and tee times can be allocated accordingly to avoid any potential issues. Players who consistently breach geofences can also be identified and spoken to in order to drive cart path compliance.

By partnering and integrating with CaddieNow, the industry leader in comprehensive caddie management, Tagmarshal gives clubs the tools needed to manage pace and flow of play effectively, using the caddie tracking service to monitor playing groups.

The integration means caddies can use the service on their personal mobile devices during rounds, reducing the need for clubs to purchase devices and utilizing GPS technology to identify flow issues as they arise on the course.

The benefits extend far beyond this, though, as course operators will be able to utilize the service to access Tagmarshal’s powerful data insights, helping courses to enhance the player experience, increase efficiency and generate additional revenue through capacity gains.

Tagmarshal remains committed to integrating with technology solutions that benefit clubs and players, using APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to automatically exchange data and perform actions with the relevant platforms.

Operating as a centralized hub through which clubs have access to and derive benefits from multiple systems, Tagmarshal ensures that the power of technology can be fully harnessed.

Watch our latest educational webinar, featuring Tierra Rejada Golf Course, on demand and in your own time!

Titled “How Tierra Rejada uses technology to ace the player experience, optimizing pace and revenue!” and featuring expert guest Kris Dennis, General Manager, Tierra Rejada, you’ll learn how the course is using tech to enhance the player experience through pace and flow of play management, while also generating additional revenue.

The webinar was hosted in partnership with the Southern California PGA Section.

ABOUT THE WEBINAR

Webinar Topic: How Tierra Rejada uses technology to ace the player experience, optimizing pace and revenue!

Expert Guest: Kris Dennis, General Manager, Tierra Rejada

It’s here that the increased use of technology really earns the plaudits. By combining GPS tracking with the power of extensive data and analysis, astute clubs can minimize the impact that slower-playing groups have on the rest of the field – making sure that rounds flow and are enjoyable.

Tagmarshal, an industry-trusted pace of play management and on-course optimization system, tracks playing groups using the most precise GPS technology available. Powered by advanced algorithms that have learned from more than 30 million rounds’ worth of data, its technology proactively identifies pace and flow issues before they arise, making it a powerful tool to optimize pace of play.

John Fields, the Director of Golf at Belmont Country Club, has long understood that pace of play must be an industry priority.

“We wanted to give our team accurate data to ensure rounds are played in the most efficient manner possible. For us, the biggest benefit of having Tagmarshal’s system in place,” says Fields, who has been in his current role for 25 years, “is that we are able to approach slower groups armed with objective information we need to help them get back into position, in a manner that is polite and respected by our membership.”

There’s nothing worse than repeated conversations with rangers asking you to speed up when those in front of you are really at fault, and these interactions remain one of the biggest negatives impacting post-round sentiment. If clubs can have objective, fact-based discussions with players who understand that technology is in place to help make their round more enjoyable, that completely changes the dynamic.

While a decrease in average round times shows that pace is front of mind, rounds during periods of the day that play quicker skew the overall statistics, balancing out rounds when you are stuck behind slow groups and finish 40 minutes later than you’d like. Courses using Tagmarshal have seen a significant improvement in the volume of rounds finishing on or below the goal time, indicating that course flow for the majority of players is being well-managed.

Established in 2014, Tagmarshal has grown to partner with more than 35 of the Top 100 US courses. Co-founder and CEO Bodo Sieber has been recognized as “One of the Most Innovative People in Golf” by Golf Inc, and he leads the company’s commitment and drive for continuous improvement.

“Implementing steps to improve a course’s pace and flow of play will show immediate results and players will thank you through their loyalty. By providing clubs like Belmont with the data they need to give their players the best experience possible, we’re doing our bit to help grow the game we love,” Sieber said.

New England clubs that continue to successfully utilize Tagmarshal’s technology, in addition to Belmont Country Club, include Renaissance Golf Club, New Haven Country Club, Wee Burn Country Club and Woodway Country Club, among others.

With players benefiting from an improved on-course experience, impressive advancements in technology bode well for golf’s continued growth across the New England region.

Source: New England Golf Weekly, August 2023