Adopting pace of play management technology for a traditional game

Technology has become part of everything do in our lives on a daily basis. It is an unstoppable force that not even golf, with its rich history and a strong sense of tradition, could avoid. It has had a significant impact on the golf industry in the last decade or so, with most advances seen in clothing, clubs, balls, carts, tee sheet management and more.

Exhibitions such as the PGA Merchandise Show are a platform for companies to showcase their golf-related products to the who’s who of the industry, including Directors of Golf, PGA Professionals, pro-shop owners and more, and are the very drivers that lure various players in the industry to be a part of this journey of technological advancement.

Golf course operators are constantly searching for ways to improve every aspect of their facilities, particularly field management. Field management is a critical factor in member satisfaction and achieving a return on investment. 

Industry-leading technologies like Tagmarshal’s golf course intelligence platform encompasses a host of features to give golf operators informed decisions, optimize and proactively manage the field by preemptively addressing the most critical golfer experience challenges and by providing non-confrontational support.

Here are 5 reasons why adopting pace of play management technology can pay off:

1. Control the flow and pace to provide a better experience for members and guests

With Tagmarshal’s first-to-market, leading technological innovation, you can eliminate the guessing factor to optimize the field for an added on-course experience. The pace of play management system enables golf clubs to effectively implement its pace of play policy, assisting in reducing playtime, which can allow operators to add additional tee times for extra capacity.

The key lies with accessibility to accurate and actionable data that translates into informed decisions, ultimately accelerating field flow for an even better on-course experience. 

2. Real-time, intuitive data provides the information necessary to be proactive

Access to up-to-the-minute, real-time data and industry-leading algorithms to identify risk groups empowers on-course staff and management to provide accurate, objective support to alleviate any pace challenges before they emerge. 

This reduces average round times and materially improves the pace experience. Added features such as the geofence module give staff and golfers the knowledge and awareness of any breaches and ensure players stay on-course which is key to effectively maintaining a well-managed field flow.

3. Technology empowers on-course staff when providing support – turning marshal’s into experience managers

Every staff member plays a significant role in ensuring operations run smoothly when it comes to pace of play, field flow and, on-course interaction. It is, thus, crucially important to establish a well-trained team to handle issues that arise, such as poor pace of play and flow challenges, in an adaptive and positive manner. The system empowers managers and staff to set the pace and seamlessly manage expectations in a positive, non-confrontational manner, backed by intuitive data and analytics. 

In a situation where an on-course issue arises, the wealth of data allows the staff to handle them immediately, offering members assistance, and follow up upon the completion of the round, all of which ensures an exceptional experience.

4. Use accurate information on which groups to support, rather than spending unproductive time looking for problems 

Too often golf clubs are left having to make critical operational decisions based on assumptions and uninformed guesswork. Too frequently the connection between on-time tee-off, pace and flow management and, of course, on-course staff trying to push players, negatively affects a player’s experience, can take up a lot of time and often has a negative impact on the course’s overall reputation.

Tagmarshal gives golf operators access to real-time pace-of-play analytics and data-driven golf intelligence. At the click of a button, the on-course staff receives automated notifications and alerts, to manage the flow of the field effectively and to react quickly when they need to.

5. Whether you actively manage from the pro shop or empower on-course staff, positive on-course interactions with guests and members pay off and technology helps to do it better 

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a common key metric in many industries that measures the customer’s loyalty to a product or service as well as their willingness to return and refer. Essentially, it looks to answer the question of how likely is it that a customer would recommend your company/brand to a friend or colleague.

The USGA conducted a “player experience” research which demonstrated that there is a correlation between feeling welcome, the flow of play, having met and interacted with on-course staff and the likelihood(%) of visiting the restaurant and the resulting NPS of the overall experience.

The industry’s objective should then be to use flow and time of play and the general on-course experience as a game-changing, high NPS score strategy to enhance the player experience and create loyalty, repeat play and boost revenue opportunities.

In essence, golf’s willingness to evolve in this technological age will determine its future. While tradition is part of the undoubted character and charm of the game, golf has shown that it can adopt change successfully. The switch from wooden to metal clubs, the seemingly overnight switch from metal spikes to soft spikes, introductions like shot tracer in golf broadcasting are some examples. 

The players of the future are the key stakeholders who will shape the game. These players demand flexibility, fun, top tier customer service, accessibility, inclusivity and for the game to fit with their available spend budgets, and importantly pace and flow experience and time budgets.

Tagmarshal Named Presenting Sponsor of 2019 Writer Cup Hosted by Forsgate Country Club

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Tagmarshal, the industry-leading golf course intelligence and pace of play management solutions provider, has been named Presenting Sponsor of the 2019 Writer Cup by the event’s founder and host, Forsgate Country Club located in Monroe Township, NJ.

In making the joint announcement with Tagmarshal’s CEO, Bodo Sieber, Chris Schiavone, Forsgate’s Managing Partner said, “The Writer Cup, now entering its 12th year, is one of the most anticipated golf events of the year by the industry’s media. On Thursday, July 25, media representatives from publications, broadcast outlets and digital platforms located in the Philadelphia and southern New Jersey regions will compete against a team comprised of journalists from New York-based national golf outlets and Metropolitan New York regional media in a best-ball format. Hotly contested, but a day of camaraderie and informality.”

Sieber said, “We are honored to be selected by Forsgate to provide our golf course intelligence system for this celebrated event. Players will experience the features and benefits which many of the most renowned clubs, courses and resorts from around the globe have successfully implemented to ensure better on-course experiences for golfers.”

Schiavone noted, “This year we are delighted to welcome Tagmarshal and to have it provide its world-class pace of play management solution. Its easy-to-use system will save time for our professional staff headed by our Director of Golf, Carolyn McKenzie Andrews. Furthermore, it offers an efficient and objective way for our on-course personnel to manage the field’s flow, and keeps the golfers engaged throughout the 18 holes of spirited play.”

Following play, the teams will enjoy an evening of Forsgate’s traditional Writer Cup steak and lobster dinner and the awarding of this year’s Writer Cup to the winning team. At the dinner’s conclusion, Tagmarshal will present a charitable donation to the Forsgate Foundation to benefit a variety of community service organizations and area caddie scholarship foundations.

View original press release here.

Tagmarshal gains momentum at tournament level

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Slow play in the professional game is rife, with a number of Tour professionals, including the likes of Matt Every, Paul Casey and Edoardo Molinari giving their opinions on the issue. There seems to be a consensus that there is a need for a better pace of play management on the professional circuits around the world.

While it’s clear that the major Tours are not prepared to regularly penalize players for slow play, most professional golfers acknowledge that it is a problem, but believe that there is not yet a solution to the age-old problem. PGA Tour pro, Paul Casey,  earlier this year at the Wells Fargo Championship commented that: “It’s a combination of things and the problem is I don’t have a solution. Nobody has a solution and we’re kind of going around in circles. Part of it is set up and part of it is too many players.”

One of the solutions to improve pace of play management that is gaining traction in the US, Ireland, and the UK is Tagmarshal’s Tournament Track product. This platform gives golf tournament operators access to actionable insights into pace of play management, player and tournament performances and real-time tracking of results.

Tagmarshal recently had the opportunity to offer its services on a trial basis at The Womens Amateur Championship at Royal County Down and The Amateur Championship which took place at Portmarnock and The Island Golf Club. Tournament officials had full oversight of the entire field and they were able to effectively manage the flow and pace of play.

“We were delighted to be able to show the R&A tournament officials what our system could do,” said Duncan Cruickshank, who heads up marketing at Tagmarshal. “Feedback has been exceptionally positive and we are looking forward to supplying the tournament committees with the analytics from the data collected at both tournaments.”

Tournament Track helps optimize tournament efficiencies, provides in-depth analytics and puts field management at operators’ fingertips. Developed with input from professional golfers, Tournament Track is the leading tournament golf intelligence platform available today.

Golf tournament operators can achieve the following with Tournament Track: 

• Save costs and reduce staff and volunteer requirements: Operational inefficiencies and large staff requirements cause a waste of resources and lost revenue. Tagmarshal’s unrivaled features eliminate these challenges and give hidden insights into untapped cost benefits.
• Pace tracking: The only system in the world that can provide round timing analytics, discern between delayed and slow players and create pace of play profiles for each player.
• Gap time management: Plays an integral role in successfully run tournaments. Provides tournament operators real-time insight into field pace management and gap time management between groups.
• Reports and analytics: Enables tournament operators to gain an extensive understanding by streaming pace tracking and course optimization data into custom reports and personalized dashboards.
• Player profiles: Provides tournament operators the power to have historical data and an analytical oversight of a player’s pace management, during tournaments as well as at a course level.

To find out more about Tagmarshal’s Tournament Track and how it works, book a free online demo with one of Tagmarshal’s Product Specialists, who will take you through the platform and introduce the various features available. 

Golf’s Pace of Play Challenge: Cause or Effect?

View the original publication here 

It’s US Open week at last!

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All roads lead to the west coast of the US as this year’s third major, the US Open, takes place at the world-renowned Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Regarded as the favored home of the US Open, Pebble Beach is hosting the prestigious tournament for the 6th time in 50 years and is set to return again in 2027. Tagmarshal is a proud service provider to the 2019 hosts, assisting by providing an enhanced pace of play experience and optimized operational efficiencies at the number 1 public course in America.

The pace of play management solution is also partnered with nine other US Open host golf courses such as Erin Hills, Chambers Bay and Pinehurst to name but a few.

Facilities like Pebble Beach have been able to identify that to better manage pace of play and field flow time is one of the two most important factors crucial to golfers’ enjoyment, in line with USGA research. The use of pace of play management software and running smarter operations are key to creating are key to ensuring player enjoyment.

Tagmarshal co-founder and CEO, Bodo Sieber, emphasizes how golf operators are moving towards understanding what golfers really value and need as consumers from their operations which is critical to golf’s future. “Golf courses have identified a need to improve the player experience to better serve and retain the current player base and, importantly, to attract new and younger players; technology obviously has a big role to play in both, on-course as well as in the back office,” says Sieber.

The efficient, accurate, data-driven support that Tagmarshal provides allows operators to be better prepared to seamlessly manage members’ and guests’ expectations and further add to a superior experience. Furthermore, maintaining a consistently satisfying golfing experience by alleviating pace of play challenges means golfers will have more time to spend at the pro shop and on F&B, completing a memorable customer journey which can ultimately boost the bottomline for a golf facility in its entirety.

How 2019 US Open host Pebble Beach Use Technology to their and the players’ advantage:

“Pebble Beach Golf Links now utilizes a GPS-enabled hardware and software system to help us manage pace of play. Before your round, our starter will clip to one bag in your foursome a GPS unit that tracks your positioning in real time. Each unit on the golf course feeds data into a software program that our pace manager and player assistants can view from any connected device, allowing them to identify issues as they develop. As a result, our player assistants are now able to dedicate nearly all of their time to helping, rather than identifying, the groups in need.”

Here’s a link:

https://www.pebblebeach.com/pace-of-play-guidelines/