Augusta Abuzz as The Tiger Roar Returns

Augusta National was buzzing on Sunday after Tiger Woods, aged 43, secured his 5th Masters title and 15th Major victory in his rejuvenated career. Top Tour players congratulated him as he donned the green jacket for the 5th time.

The victory at Augusta places Tiger back on track to chase down Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 Major wins, a feat which Nicklaus achieved at the age of 46.

Woods’ resurgence has been deemed as one of the greatest comeback in sports history. From every corner of Augusta National, golf fans young and old descended on the 18th hole, chanting Tiger’s name, in a celebration of the return of the Tiger’s Roar.

Tiger’s win will surely be a source of inspiration to inspire a new generation of golfers. It would be no surprise to see an increase in participation by a young and diverse group of golfers, which means a great deal for the industry.

Players putting with the pin in

Many would have tuned in to The Masters as their first tournament of the year, wondering why players were leaving the flagstick in while putting. In an effort to speed up the game, the USGA has stated in Rule 13.2a(2) that, “There will no longer be a penalty if a ball played from the putting green hits a flagstick left in the hole.” Despite this amendment, players still have the option to remove the flagstick or have someone remove it after the ball has been struck.

Leaving the pin in has its advantages: it can provide accuracy with an additional object of focus improving the depth perception. Secondly, if the ball is going too fast, the flagstick can serve as an object to slow down the momentum increasing the likelihood of the ball going into the hole.

Tour pros such as Bryson DeChambeau and Adam Scott are huge fans of leaving the flagstick in. The general trend among most players on Tour is to leave the flagstick in from a distance, remove it when they are closer to the hole.

Bernhard Langer put on the clock on Day 2

Two-time Masters champion, Bernhard Langer, experienced some annoyance and dissatisfaction after being given a warning and put on the clock in the second round.

On the 3rd hole, he was approached by a rules official who warned him for slow play. This, however, did not affect his performance for the rest of the round, shooting 72 to earn his spot in the third round at age 61.

Langer later said to the media that he was somewhat annoyed at being put on the clock as he felt that the groups ahead were the main perpetrators for slow pace of play, saying:

“Yeah, we waited eight minutes on the tee shot on 2 and then we four minutes on the second shot on 2. That’s 12 minutes. So no wonder we’re 10 minutes behind, all right?”

Pace of play is a plague that has affected the Tour for years, and this year it’s certainly gained a lot of traction in the media and among Tour players, many of whom have been vocal about it.

Slow play can create bottlenecks and hold up play, aspects which can without a doubt kill a player’s momentum in a round of golf. A frustrated player is a sight no club manager wants to see, especially when 74% of players say that pace of play is critical to the enjoyment of their round, according to research conducted by the USGA.

Pace of play management then becomes a prominent solution for golf facilities. With golf management software such as Tagmarshal available in the market golf facilities can now control on-course operations, pace of play and field flow for increased player loyalty and revenue.

WISCONSIN CLUB

•  Course type: Country Club

•  Cart Rounds: 75% (60 carts in fleet)

•  Walking Rounds: 25%

•  Rounds per season: 25 000 (8 months season)

•  Play time improvement: 14 minutes

ROI: The positive pace achieved and the improved reputation has attracted 6-10 new members to Wisconsin Club each of them worth USD 11000 per the season

Competitive Advantage: The course is now in a position to promote a consistent sub 4 hour round time

Results: The course is at capacity at 350 members – and has a much reduced churn rate due to their positive and reliable on-course experience

COMPARATIVE CASE STUDY

While member days are managed with Tagmarshal (Busy days are Thursday / Saturday / Sunday) – Monday’s are only passively tracked, as the club rent out their course to a third party management company on Mondays.

Result 1: 26 minute difference on average 
Monday’s 3rd party days average 4:23:44
vs Busy Member days (Thursday / Saturday / Sunday) 3:57:52

Result 2: consistency of the managed busy days
These managed days are very steady – trend declining.
The non-Tagmarshal Monday variance is quite volatile with a 14 minute average time swing.

A QUICK 9 WITH MICHAEL MURPHY – WATERVILLE GOLF LINKS

Get to know Michael Murphy, golf course superintendent at Waterville Golf Links, one of Ireland’s top-ranked courses and a golf course truly representative of Ireland’s rich links golf scene.

1. What is your favorite Major to watch and why?

My favorite major is always the Open Championship – because it’s played on links courses, and the player who is the most creative with his shot-making generally comes out on top.

2. Who was your golf hero growing up?

Seve Ballesteros.

3. If you could be a Professional Caddie on the PGA Tour, who would you like to caddie for and why?

Francesco Molinari -– he never hits off the fairway. I would never have to look for balls!

4. Has golf always been your first love? What other sports are you passionate about and do you participate in any other sports besides golf?

Golf is my first love, followed by the Gaelic sports – football and hurling, soccer and rugby.

5. Who’s the Slowest / Fastest player on Tour?

JB Holmes must be the slowest player on Tour, and Angel Cabrera has to be the fastest.

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

Mainly to protect/ensure the optimum golf experience.

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

You can anticipate and then prevent a problem from happening.

8. How would you describe Tagmarshal in three words?

Efficient, proactive, accurate.

9. How responsive are Tagmarshal Customer Experience Agents to questions or concerns about our product?

Absolutely top drawer.

Is Increasing Tee Time Intervals the Answer to Better Pace of Play Management in Golf?

Pace of play management is a critical player enjoyment factor and there is a rising tide in players demanding consistent round times and quicker pace. Operators look to improve excellence in service delivery. What is the answer? More Marshals? Changing set ups? Stricter rules?

One option is to increase tee time intervals for instance from 8 to 9 minutes. Ideally even 10 minutes. Sounds easy, right?.

The problem with that is that you run the risk of significant revenue loss. The capacity reduces approximately 9% to 18%

Switching from 8 to 9 minutes can cost a course up to $124 000 in green fees in an 8 months season at $65 fee with a full field 3 days a week – because the tee off times decreased from 53 to 48 a day.

Suggested solution

Increase the green fees to balance loss in capacity and revenue. Will this work? Certainly not.

Instead, why not look at optimising efficiencies at the existing intervals using Tagmarshal’s FastLane Golf solution?

“With 74% of golfers believe PACE IS CRUCIAL to the enjoyment of a round, golfers are willing to pay up to 25% more for a faster, more consistent round of golf.” – USGA

FASTLANE GOLF powered by Tagmarshal

FastLane Golf gets set up on a course for two or more mornings a week. The system analyses optimal tee times, interval and goal times and provides a complete, turn-key package to be sold via tee sheets.

Not only does it improve service delivery and the player experience, it generates revenue but does not place a cost burden on operations.

With tee-time slots for instant player attraction, at premium rates, courses can create an opportunity to maximise the return on investment in such a way that your course can achieve the following:

• Smarter and efficient operations – The course commits to proactively manage the FastLane Golf tee times with the help of the system to provide an optimal outing for the players.
• Adding capacity – Utilising pace improvements and pace distribution patterns, operators routinely add capacity to their busy days.
• Pro shop and food/beverage spend – course managers confirm a faster and consistent pace increases the available time budget to be spent in the pro shop and restaurant/bar.

Benefits and ROI

• Golfers commit to playing more golf – in a shorter / dedicated time – ie. before or after work
• Operators give dedicated faster players an experience that matches their expectations
• Operators charge a premium for the dedicated FastLane rounds

“Our players love it! We have a lot of dedicated golfers who prefer faster rounds, FastLane Golf is the perfect fit. It is easy to manage and generate extra revenue,” says Cassie Viljoen, General Manager at Royal Cape Golf Club.

The outcome is you are effectively charging a premium green fee with a commitment from golfers to play at a dedicated time, achieving a much improved pace and experience.

Give players what they want and turn it into a revenue and profit centre.

About Tagmarshal

Tagmarshal is a golf course intelligence and pace-of-play management solution that turns pace into an asset. The system uses small “tags” clipped onto golf bags or installed on carts which transmit geolocation data. Industry-leading algorithms identify risk groups with accurate, objective support to alleviate pace challenges before they arise. Public, private and resort courses using Tagmarshal realize substantial returns on investments through improved on-course experiences achieved with less staff as well as increases in daily rounds. Impactful and easy-to-use data analytics, weather data integration and geo-fencing complete the offering.

Understand your Course’s Behavior with Golf Management Software Heatmap

Tagmarshal’s golf management software, utilization heatmap, tool is a graphical representation of the golf courses data, in real-time, to give courses an in-depth understanding of the golfers behavior on the course.

This feature assists courses in making better decisions on course set-up, wear patterns, maintenance and cart path policing.

Utilized by superintendents and management, the heatmap is a great way to monitor the activity on your course over a period of days, or just follow up on where your players spending time throughout the day.

Staff and management can see all collected geolocation data by carts and or walkers that the Tagmarshal’s golf management software has tracked.

The map allows for detail zooming in and out of areas for instance down to green or fairway level and visualizes usage hotspots.

This visualization helps course managers and superintendents get a better picture on course usage and allows them to check against assumptions on common paths and stop zones which informs decisions and planning around maintenance and wear patterns.

With the data collected trends can be identified where you can see players tend to move around the course, allowing greenkeepers to reduce irrigation, reduce fertilizer spend and manage maintenance in line with actual course usage, significantly saving costs.

Utilization heatmaps also works well together with Tagmarshal’s Geofencing module and assists in policing cart paths as well as improving and checking on signage requirements.

Essentially, this golf management software solution serves as a key component for golf courses in improving profitability, enhancing effectiveness and significantly reducing operational costs, all while providing a memorable playing experience.

A QUICK 9 WITH BENJAMIN HOFFHINE – WESTCHESTER COUNTRY CLUB

Benjamin Hoffhine is the Director of Golf at Westchester Country Club, a world-class New York facility rated among the top private clubs in the United States. Hoffhine shares his love for golf and why pace of play management is critical to the on-course experience.

1. What was your favorite Major to watch this year and why?

Normally the British Open is my favorite as I like the way the R&A sets the course up and then lets the quality of play or weather dictate the winning score. In 2018, the US Open was my favorite as Shinnecock Hills is one of my favorite courses in the world.

2. Who was your golf hero growing up?

Growing up in Ohio, it was hard not to be drawn to Jack Nicklaus.

3. If you could be a Professional Caddie on the PGA Tour, who would you like to caddie for and why?

Tiger, just to get a front row seat.

4. Has golf always been your first love? What other sports are you passionate about and do you participate in any other sports besides golf?

Growing up I was a basketball, baseball and football player. I didn’t start playing golf until I was 12.

5. Where does Pace of Play rank as an industry priority? Top 3?

Pace of play is a top 3 industry priority. As a father of three young children I understand better than most the value of time. Spending four to five hours on an activity away from family is a big commitment.

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

We do 45,000 rounds a year and one slow group can adversely affect 400 other players’ experience.

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

It’s twofold. Firstly, we can pinpoint groups and areas of the course that need attention and secondly, the data provided to us helps to inform decisions going forward.

8. How easy is it to manage/utilize Tagmarshal?

Extremely easy!

9. How responsive are Tagmarshal Customer Experience Agents have been to questions or concerns about our product?

Very!