Your Answers To Some of Your Questions About Tagmarshal’s GPS Tracking System

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Many golf course operators have GPS tracking on their wishlist, and we have received many questions about how Tagmarshal’s golf cart GPS tracking system can help operators manage staff and the golf course more efficiently.

We have put together answers to five of the most frequently asked questions from our followers:

What is the set-up process?

Upon the receipt or installation of your Tracking Tags, Tagmarshal facilitates a calibration & training period of 3 weeks. The course is mapped and positional data collected affording the system’s algorithm the opportunity of ‘learning’ its’ unique ebb & flow. During this time management are given the full benefit of the live stylized map for tracking purposes.

Thereafter the full system and the rest of its powerful features (including pace of play alerts, round & hole stats and the building of player pace of play profiles) go live.

Can I track walking groups?

Yes, one person or caddy per playing group receives a tracking tag, which is then clipped onto a golf bag. Carts can have the tags installed. The data from the tags get submitted to Tagmarshal’s cloud servers to which marshals and management have access to use better manage the course.

Can I build up player profiles?

In order to build player, caddie or league profiles, as well as manage your starter accuracy, it is essential that you begin to assign groups to your tee times. Once a group is assigned to a tee time, their details are automatically saved onto the system. Therefore, every time a player visits your course you already have their profile registered.

Can I track where my maintenance vehicles are and where they have been?

Yes, the system includes a marshal tracking module allowing management to view their course staff in real time. It also shows where they have been throughout the day. Are they being proactive around the issue of pace of play?

What stats does the system provide?

All round data is stored in Tagmarshal’s cloud-hosted database and each course is given access to their statistics and maps via an easy to use dashboard.

This enables course management to evaluate items such as:

• round times per group – evaluate slow rounds, see who the players/caddies where in the group.
• average round times for a day or month – evaluate how the pace of play trended throughout the day or month.
• average hole times – evaluate which holes are playing slower / faster on average versus their goal allotments.
• round track maps – see all rounds tracked including each’s progressive time-stamps and alerts generated.

If you would like to find out more about Tagmarshal’s GPS tracking system and its capabilities get in touch with us at contact@tagmarshal.com and we will get you connected with one of our incredible product specialists.

The Pace of Play Conundrum: Does Golf REALLY Want To Fix It?

Reading Time: 8 minutes

“It’s so crowded; nobody goes there anymore.” – Yogi Berra, on a popular New York City nightspot

Narratives often take on a life of their own, even when they conflict with one another. For example:

Narrative No. 1: Golf has a serious pace of play problem.

Narrative No. 2: Golf is dying, rounds are dwindling, and participation is falling.

Narrative 1 is supposedly a major contributor to Narrative 2.

See a conflict?

It’s so crowded; nobody goes there anymore…

These narratives get repeated so often people accept both as undisputed fact. What no one seems to consider is that fact that these two points appear to be mutually exclusive.

For both to be true we need a third narrative: Golf courses are closing faster than participation is falling, leading to jammed tee sheets and overcrowded courses. If our third narrative is true – and a USGA study suggests it might not be – then is slow play a problem anyone truly wants to solve?

The real issue, however, isn’t whether anyone truly wants to solve the issue of slow play. It’s much simpler.

It’s that no one truly knows how to solve the problem.

FIVE HOURS FROM HELL

Is there anything worse than a 5-hour round? I mean, besides a 6-hour round?

Ask any golfer and he’ll recite chapter and verse who’s to blame for slow play: drunk idiots with no golf etiquette, and morons with ball retrievers; nitwits lining up putts like it’s the 72nd hole at Augusta, and J.B. Holmes-clones deliberating each shot like it’s a cure for cancer; clowns playing from the wrong tees, and hackers who spend too much time in the woods; dipshit walkers, dipshit cart riders, greedy course owners with 8-minute tee times, and I’m sure you could add a dozen or so more without breaking a sweat.

But what no one can agree on is a solution. Why?

Because there isn’t one. Well, not one solution, anyway.

Don’t get us wrong; there are solutions – some technology-based, some course setup/logistics-based, and some golfer awareness-based. But all the technology, setup/logistics, and golfer awareness in the world will help neither a jot nor a tittle unless everyone involved in playing the game takes a good, hard look in the mirror.

A SURPRISING SURVEY

Several weeks ago, MyGolfSpy ran a survey in our Community Forum (you can check it out here). We received nearly 650 responses – certainly not definitive by any stretch, but it does give some insight into the opinions of avid golfers who frequent golf forums.

Some of the highlights:

• 49% of the respondents say slow play keeps them from playing certain courses, but only on certain days; only 2% said it keeps them from playing at all.
• 82% say slow play negatively impacts their enjoyment of the game.
• 52% say the biggest cause of slow play is idiots with no golf etiquette, while only 8% cite course setup issues and only 14% cite not enough space between tee times.
• 27% say they’d pay a premium for a guaranteed 4-hour or less round.
• And most intriguing, 67% say golf courses themselves do not see slow play as a problem that really needs to be solved.

That last one may or may not come as a shock, but when two-thirds of your paying customers think you don’t want to solve what they perceive to be a problem, you have a problem.

“This is something the industry needs to tackle,” says Bodo Seiber, CEO of TagMarshal, a company with a technology-based approach to improving pace of play. “There’s no consistency. If I’m playing in 4:20 this Saturday and 5:50 next Saturday, how am I going to sell this to my wife and kids who expect me home for lunch? Consistency is the key.”

THE TECH SOLUTION

MyGolfSpy first experienced TagMarshal at a Media Day event during the PGA Show in January. Each cart was equipped with an iPhone-looking contraption that served as a GPS, but also let each cart – and a central monitor in the clubhouse – know where each group stood in relation both to the field and to the expected pace of play.

“The truth is a lot of pace of play issues happen because players are not aware or because courses do not manage the variables they can control,” Seiber tells MGS. “We give the course tools to inform players that they’re okay and on track, or that they’re falling slightly behind. Players can now self-manage, and the course can send a message to players if there’s an issue.”

Our experience bore that out. At one point we noticed we were 5 minutes behind and, without saying a word to one another, we picked up the pace. Soon we were five minutes ahead of pace and were playing up the backside of the group in front of us – who were not playing slow – so we adjusted our pace accordingly. At no time did we feel as though we were rushing – it was simply a matter of conscious awareness.

“Often players are just not aware,” says Seiber. “What happens is when a group loses a ball on a couple of holes it now impacts the players behind them. They just have to be mindful and say, ‘we’re 6 minutes behind and actively delaying the group behind us.’ When players have awareness, they can self-manage better.”

MARSHAL VS. PLAYER’S ASSISTANT

TagMarshal has several options for courses, from the GPS-based system to a classic tag with no screen attached to either a cart for riders or a bag for walkers. If there’s a problem, a player’s assistant (TagMarshal’s preferred term for Marshal or Ranger) can help them along. It’s non-confrontational because it’s just data and the group really can’t argue it’s the fault of the group in front of them.

“No one wins in that situation,” says Seiber. “The marshal gets frustrated and ends up not adding any value. If the player’s assistants have information, they can support players better, and they don’t have to go around looking for problems.”

One of the keys to making it all work, says Seiber, is making sure players are properly prepped by the starter before teeing off.

“Our really good operators brief players ahead of time,” he says. “What’s your handicap? How often do you play? Let’s figure out how big of a challenge our course is going to be for you today and suggest appropriate tees.”

Seiber says if golfers insist on playing from the back tees, the course lets the golfers give it a try, adding they’ll be keeping tabs and if the group finds itself falling behind, they might want to move up. “If players know they’re being monitored, it’s like the call that’s being recorded for your benefit,” he says. “It’s about making sure flow moves. It’s not about you; it’s about the groups in front of you.”

“Players are more self-aware, and no one wants to be that group.”

To date, TagMarshal has tracked over seven million rounds in the US, Canada, and Europe, and courses have seen, on average, a 15-minute pace of play improvement. While that doesn’t sound like much, Seiber says the biggest benefit to courses has been creating a consistent and predictable pace of play by eliminating the really bad days, specifically the Saturday-Sunday 6-hour Bataan Death March.

“That could be 50 to 60 days in an eight-month season. Courses will lose revenue and lose happiness with players. What you’ve really done is you’ve balanced the course, so those really bad days don’t happen.”

SETUP ISSUES

MyGolfSpy’s survey respondents say slow play is primarily the fault of slow golfers, aka the other guy. Only 7% cite course setup (high rough, narrow fairways, fast greens), 8% cite poor use of 2-person carts, 18% cite playing from the wrong tees, 14% cite short tee-time intervals, and only 1% cite long/difficult Par 3’s.

The USGA says – and TagMarshal’s data verifies – Par 3’s are a critical pace of play bottleneck, especially a long or tough Par 3 early in the round.

The problem is math. If it takes 11-minutes to play the hole and you have 8-minute tee time intervals, someone is waiting. And courses that start with a difficult hole followed by a tough Par 3 get even further behind. That’s a built-in problem, but it can be mitigated to a degree by prep from the starter.

“It comes down to the staff briefing players,” says Seiber. “‘Welcome to our course, it’s yours for the day and by the way, here are some of our feature holes and here’s how to play them.’ It’s player awareness, and the better we prepare them, the more there’s success.”

TagMarshal has also found cart-path only is a pace-of-play killer – which is no surprise – as is cart control, that annoying technology that stops the cart in an area where the golfer isn’t supposed to be. Sometimes tech can get in the way.

In addition, walking clubs that play like a traditional links-style course can be played much more quickly than a course with carts. TagMarshal is hoping to work with courses that feature single-rider vehicles, which would be the first comprehensive study on whether the single-rider option really is a viable pace-of-play solution or merely a fun way to play golf.

The USGA also says high rough, fast greens (11 or higher on the stimp meter) and difficult hole locations all slow down play, as do driveable Par 4’s and reachable Par 5’s. They’re fun, but when you’re waiting for the green to clear the group behind you is waiting, too.

The USGA has several setup recommendations for courses:

• Wider fairways – 40 yards or wider recommended in the anticipated landing zone.
• Shorter rough, particularly on the right-hand side of dogleg right holes.
• Smarter weekend setup in general – cut the rough, move tees forward (except on short Par 4’s and reachable Par 5’s – move those back to make them unreachable) and provide easier hole locations for the most crowded days.

Those are things the golfer has no control over – it’s all up to the course. For golfers, the USGA has a series of videos that help golfers use common sense to control what they can control: be ready to when it’s your turn, bring extra clubs with you if it’s cart path only, improve your short game (keep it on the ground when you can), leave your bag or pushcart near the path to the next hole, and use your rangefinder to get distances while others are playing.

In addition, when disaster strikes make use of Equitable Stroke Control – pick up when you’ve hit your limit, and beginners should agree on a double par-max rule. The USGA also still promotes Tee It Forward, saying 56% play faster and 85% report enjoying the game more when moving up.

PACE MATTERS

The USGA says 82% of you feel course conditions are critical to your enjoyment of the game: no one likes dog tracks. However, 74% of you say pace of play is also critical to your enjoyment. What’s more, the USGA survey suggests you’re willing to pay up to 14.5% more for your greens fees for a consistent and predictable pace of play. If you’re under 45, the results suggest you’d be willing to pay up to 25% more, ostensibly to keep the spouse and kids happy. Golfers over 60 would pay up to 8% more, but 48% in that age group say they wouldn’t pay anything more.

The MyGolfSpy survey says 63% of the respondents would not pay more for a guaranteed four-hour round, believing this is something courses should be providing anyway. Only 27% of those who responded say they’d be willing to pay any kind of a premium. Our survey did not break down responses by age.

Another interesting factoid from the USGA study shows Greens Fees and Tee Time intervals are correlated – the greater the tee time interval, the higher the greens fee. You’d think spreading out tee time intervals would take a bite out of course revenues, but the USGA found exactly the opposite. Going from an 8-minute to a 10-minute tee time interval would reduce tee time inventory by 20%, which the USGA says is fine since it found average peak utilization – or how much of that inventory is actually sold – is a tick below 70% overall anyway.

An example in the USGA study says if an average $50 green fee is raised by 9% (which, based on their survey, was deemed acceptable to a wide range of golfers) to $54.50, when combined with 10-minute tee time intervals, it could result in a net gain to a course’s bottom line of $71,000 annually, with no additional costs incurred and an improved pace of play.

TIME VS. MONEY

Time and money are interchangeable – you can always save more of one by spending more of the other. But what would happen if your local overcrowded, 6-hour round muni raised rates by 9%? Hell, what if it raised weekend greens fees by 25%, or even 50%? How many golfers would say the hell with this, I’ll play somewhere else?

10%? 20%?

If a course raised greens fees and lost some customers, three things would happen: pace of play would improve, the course would have happier customers and it would have the same, if not more, revenue. One problem: fewer golfers means a drop in food, beverage and Pro Shop sales, which is where money is made.

So again, does anyone really want to solve the pace of play problem?

“A lot of courses don’t want to engage the pace of play problem because they think it will reflect badly on them and their management,” says Seiber. “And a lot of courses don’t think they have a pace of play problem and hence don’t need to do anything about it.”

“Some courses would rather stick their heads in the sand and say we don’t have a problem rather than look at the opportunity and say if we manage the flow better, if we do the on-course experience better, then we have a benefit and a revenue opportunity.” – Bodo Seiber, CEO, TagMarshal

On the other hand, if the pace of play improved dramatically, would golfers have time after the round for a burger and a beer or two? Would they spend some cash in the Pro Shop? Would they enjoy the experience more and not have to face the music when they get home?

How many articles, Tweets or posts do you see about a single rider vehicle or other doodads, ideas or technology, asking if this is the answer to slow play? The truth is there is no one single solution, no one magic wand that will cure pace of play concerns. Pace of play can certainly be improved, but only if golfers and golf courses look in the mirror.

All golfers – even if you’re convinced it’s those other chowderheads and not you – need to be more self-aware and use common sense, and understand there’s a difference between golfer behavior that truly slows down pace of play and golfer behavior that merely pisses us off but doesn’t affect pace of play. In addition, golf courses need to embrace all methods of improving pace of play open to them – including technology, course logistics (including tee time intervals), course set up, and properly prepping golfers before they tee off as to the expectations of the day.

Improving pace of play isn’t about rushing through the round – it’s about a predictable and smooth-flowing round. It’s far more enjoyable to have a consistent pace with little to no waiting.

And whether that total time is 3:30 or 4:10, if it’s predictable and consistent no matter when you play, it makes for happy golfers and happy golf spouses.

view original article

About John Barba 

John is an aging, yet avid golfer, writer, 5-point-something handicapper, and golf reality show finalist. He’s a fan of Hogan, Jack, and Arnie and still has an old set of MacGregor irons that get to see the course a couple of times a year. “The only thing a golfer needs is more daylight.” – BenHogan

Tagmarshal Tournament Track Venue To Host 2019 PGA Championship

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Millions of golf fans will be itching to glue their eyes to their screens after a thrilling Masters tournament, as this year’s second major takes us to the Bethpage Black Course for the 2019 PGA Championship.

The Black Course will be up for the challenge on the big stage, having previously hosted the 2002 and 2009 US Open Championship; and is the future site of the 2024 Ryder Cup.

Tagmarshal had the opportunity to track the field during the 2018 New York State Open which was hosted at the Bethpage Black Course, in partnership with the Metropolitan PGA. The system uses real-time data and industry leading algorithms to improve the average round times of a tournament, ensuring a well-managed and consistent field flow and pace of play.

The Metropolitan PGA is among four PGA sections (Carolinas, North Florida and South Florida) who have partnered with Tagmarshal’s innovative pace of play management platform into the sections’ annual tournament roster.

“From a tournament pace of play management perspective, Tagmarshal has provided a solution that we have long been in search of,” says Jeff Voorheis, Executive Director of MET PGA. “Our partnership is predicated on the utilization of this wonderful resources for some of our major events while increasing awareness about the Tagmarshal system and its capabilities among PGA professionals in our section.”

Tagmarshal is no stranger to working with PGA Championship hosting courses. The pace of play management platform has partnered with 4 of the top 10 (5 in the top 15) courses featured in the Golf Digest’s Best PGA Championship Venues rankings.

Courses using Tagmarshal’s golf course intelligence solution almost immediately realize returns through improved on-course experiences, achieved with fewer staff, and also through increases in available daily rounds and capacity.

The team at Tagmarshal HQ will certainly be watching the PGA Championship with excitement as it unfolds over the next couple of days, eager to find out who will be crowned this year’s PGA champion.

The race to solve pace of play

Is the solution found in analysis and data, or a ranger named Sally?

By Bradley S Klein, Golf Advisor

Reading Time: 5 minutes

MELBOURNE, Fla. — When it comes to keeping up with the group ahead, golfers at Crane Creek Reserve Golf Course in Melbourne, Fla. don’t have a problem. That’s because they have respect for the kind but firm words of starter Sally White, who seems to rule the roost at this in-town municipal facility that’s exceedingly popular with the locals.

It helps that this par-71 layout, designed by Donald Ross in 1926 – with a routing plan in the architect’s telltale style hidden away in a clubhouse annex – is only 5,886 yards from the back tees and 5,344 from the more commonly used middle tees. At 4,656 yards from the forward tees, it’s also not a stretch for players with slower swing speeds.

About 40 percent of the folks here walk, many of them using a pull cart. Yet even with seven ponds and a large culvert down the middle, the pace of play is a brisk 3:30 to 4 hours. The green-to-tee connections are proximate and it’s just about impossible to lose a golf ball in the rough. So golfers don’t spend a lot of time looking for wayward shots. It’s either wet or it’s easily found in play.

All of which suits Sally the Starter just fine. “There’s no need for a big speech at the first tee,” says White. “And if someone calls in from the course and complains about the group ahead of them, I’ll head out there and casually ask them how it’s going, how are you doing, and engage them in a simple conversation.”

It helps her demeanor as a ranger that White previously invested 34 years as an elementary school physical education teacher. Spend enough time with kids K-6 and you become an effective communicator in soft, non-threatening language – exactly what’s needed when you have the tender task of approaching sluggish golfers and entreating them to play faster.

“I might say something about the group behind them having called in,” adds White. “And that we’d appreciate it if they catch up with the group ahead.”

Industry-wide, golf struggles with slow play and how to expedite golfers. In an era of declining participation – golf lost 1.9 million participants from 2011 to 2017 – 7 percent of its consumer base – the industry is taking a close look at how to encourage golfer satisfaction. Private management firms and consultants have been trying for years to reverse the trend. Now they are being joined by the USGA, which has coordinated an effort to address the problem.

The initiative began a decade ago when the USGA teamed up with a manufacturing industry consultant out of Pebble Beach, California, named Bill Yates, who became an unofficial pace of play guru. Yates, who passed away a year ago, helped the USGA reduce round times at national championships by reformulating everything from tee time separation to the location of spectator crossings. The staff at Golf House in Far Hills, N.J. broadened its approach by studying thousands of rounds played by everyday golfers. It amounted to an expanded version of time and motion studies that had been a staple of the manufacturing sector, this time helped by GPS monitoring devices that tracked every step a golfer took and mapped it out collectively.

The next step was consumer satisfaction surveys, which revealed that the two most important items on how players experience a round are course conditioning and pace of play.

It might seem strange for a game based upon timeless tradition and the absence of a play clock to indulge in data gathering. But as Bodo Sieber, CEO, and co-founder of the golf course pace of play management firm Tagmarshal, said in a recent webinar, a “customer journey analysis” is crucial to understanding how golfers experience a round in general and slow play in particular. He was summarizing what underlay presentations at the Fifth Golf Innovation Symposium in Tokyo, undertaken in conjunction with the USGA and the Japan Golf Association. The idea follows what Sieber paraphrased as the gospel of pioneering business analyst Peter Drucker: “What gets measured gets managed. If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.”

The work could not come at a better time. Slow play has been gnawing away at the PGA Tour and the LPGA for over a decade. And just last week, the European Tour’s Edoardo Molinari was so concerned with what he said were rounds lasting 5:30 that he tweeted out previously undisclosed data documenting slow times for Continental players.

As promised…list of timings as of April 22nd. Next updates list will come out at the end of June!
There are a few usual suspects and a few surprises.
Please retweet and share to speed things up!#stopslowplay pic.twitter.com/VpR65M4Xrb

— Edoardo Molinari (@DodoMolinari) April 27, 2019

Simply urging golfers to play faster does not suffice if the “flow-through” structure of the golf course presents nearly insurmountable obstacles like a profusion of hazards and heavy rough on the right side of holes, where most (right-handed golfers) hit the ball. Architects and management companies have now become more attuned to the need to reduce such hindrance factors – without compromising design integrity.

Perhaps the biggest single move, known as “Tee it forward,” is to get golfers to play the course length appropriate to their swing speed rather than to their ego. In many cases, that has meant 16-handicappers playing from 6,200 yards rather than 6,600 yards, and setting forward tees at around 4,500 yards rather than at 5,400 yards.

A concern for expediting the flow of a round was also one of the motivating factors behind recent rules changes that reduced the time allowed for looking for lost golf balls, and that gave players more options to drop from the immediate area in the case of a lost ball or out-of-bounds without reverting to one of the biggest time killers of all, stroke and distance penalties.

Studies also showed that pace of play could be accelerated if tee times were stretched out a bit, from the 7-8 minutes found at many daily-fee courses to 10 minutes.

The accelerated pace of play, it is hoped, will more than compensate for the marginal reduction in tee times per hour, leading to happier golfers who feel like the round was worth it and who will, therefore, be encouraged to return to the facility for more golf.

In other words, use the increased pace of play as a marketing asset.

In all of this, using starters and rangers as bullies to push people about faster is actually the worst possible approach. In fact, it’s so bad it’s counterproductive. USGA studies revealed that among the most discouraging elements of a golf round are aggressive rangers. The game is tough enough without the added frustration of being harassed to play faster.

All of which Sally White seems to know, intuitively if not necessarily through careful study of industry data. A softer approach goes a long way in public golf. It’s not an approach that is enough on the professional tours, where the consensus is that the best response to slowpokes would be penalty strokes, not just fines. But in a consumer setting, the dynamics are different. Especially at a facility like Crane Creek Reserve, where the design lends itself to relatively trouble-free passage and players just need a reminder.

View original article here.

Key pace of play management measures and goal-setting metrics at Tagmarshal courses: The pace distribution module

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Tagmarshal’s Pace Distribution module gives operators a deeper understanding of a golf course’s actual pace and field flow, going beyond just tracking the average round time. It is a key success measure and goal-setting metric for the pace of play management software.

With millions of data points collected through the golf course intelligence system, more  trends have developed that operators find extremely valuable.

One pattern that emerges is to compare “Average round time vs Goal time” is not necessarily a measure of the real pace and the actual on-course experience.

For example, a Tagmarshal partner course has a 4hr goal time and their average play time in a busy March was 4.03h – all was going well one might assume.

A closer look at the pace distribution, as well as morning and afternoon split revealved that 68% of their play was in fact slow. 32% of total play was between 15 and 45 minutes slow.

Based on this data there is a material opportunity for improvement: Out of 1200 rounds played, 800 could have been quicker and a better experience for their members and guests.  

With the help of Tagmarshal’s pace of play management tool the course devised an actionable strategy, to make a good golf experience even better, by providing accurate, non-confrontational player assistance, data-driven performance measures and more consistent, faster round times.

The pace distribution module ranks the pace of playing groups by their time over goal time, segmented into 10 minute intervals, ie. 20min slower, 30min slower etc. This feature offers a material opportunity to improve the player experience and allows for constructive goal setting, such as reducing play over 40min slow from 6% to 0%.

As a result of increased awareness and improved pace of play management the number of slow rounds, particularly those 1o minutes or more slow, can be reduced materially.

The module works retrospectively, meaning course management can track and compare past Pace Distribution.  

“This pace or experience distribution is one of the metrics we look at when it comes to on-course data and management. The principle split is actionable real time data on the left and relevant planning and performance analytics data on the right. This empowers courses and teams to work smarter and continuously improve. Excellence is a journey, as they say,” added Rob Seiderer – Tagmarshal  Product specialist.

Client success is of highest priority at Tagmarshal. As a result, empowering the course operators to effectively implement their pace of play policy, using the system, assisting in reducing playtime becomes critical. Not only will it create memorable player experiences, it provides an opportunity to add additional tee times for extra capacity, ensuring additional revenue.

Player experience and on-course optimization goal setting for a successful season utilizing pace of play management tools

Reading Time: 3 minutes

A golf course should never become complacent regardless of it success, and staff should know exactly what is expected from them in each aspect of their duties. Adopting pace of play management software can actively assist in goal setting ahead of the season.

From the minute a customer steps onto the course their customer journey begins, and consistently maintaining the customer’s expectation becomes very important for management and staff to maintain.

Here are some tips your course can adopt. By incorporating Tagmarshal’s pace of play management software into the day-to-day running of your club, you can ensure that members enjoy an exceptional experience, while generating a healthy return on investment.

Understanding the golfer expectations around their experience

74% of players say the flow on the course, the pace of play, and respecting their time is crucial to their enjoyment of a round. Knowing what is important to your members then becomes significant part of goal setting.

By incorporating Tagmarshal’s pace of play management solution, marshals can constantly monitor the pace of play and the consistency of the field flow, and intervene by averting bottlenecks before they become an even bigger problem.

When members see a proactive approach by the club, they immediately feel like they are prioritized, and they also see more value in the membership fees and course fees that they have to pay for.

Empowering your set-up and staff to be aligned with the golfer experience you are looking to provide

Every member of staff is equally important in ensuring things run smoothly when it comes to pace of play, field flow and on-course interaction. Therefore, it is crucially important to ensure that they are trained to handle issues that arise, such as bad 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.

Should an on-course issue arise, the wealth of data allows staff to handle them immediately, offer members assistance, and follow up upon the completion of the round, all of which ensures an exceptional experience.

Smart starter processes set the pace and keep golfers accountable

Pace of play starts right from the first tee box, and the starter needs to hold members accountable. Teeing off at the prescribed time sets the right tone and makes keeping the intervals true throughout the rest of the day far easier.

Starters should also pay attention to factors that consistently affect pace of play, such as age, handicap, and mobility.

Once these groups are out on the course, Tagmarshal’s real-time data and golf cart GPS tracking software can keep tabs on each grouping’s pace of play and adjust accordingly.

The introduction of Tagmarshal’s next generation 2Way System gives added player value and self-management, and allows communication between golfer and course staff members giving both parties accountability in ensuring a consistently well-managed pace throughout the round.

Use accurate real-time field management to supports risk groups and ensure effective flow for the field of players

Using on-the-go, real-time data and industry-leading algorithms identifies risk groups and empowers courses to provide accurate, objective support to alleviate pace challenges before they arise. This reduces average round times and materially improves the pace experience.

Added features such as the geofence module gives 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.

Track performance by day, by week, by month

Averting player bottlenecks and improving performance with actionable data are a testament to the effectiveness of Tagmarshal technology.

Our Pace Distribution module allows staff a deeper look at the on-course pace and field flow per day, per week and per month. Staff use this data to identify areas that need attention, thus routinely improving their per-hole and overall goal times.

How better Player experience and on-course optimization impacts bottom-line results

Successfully run golf operations are ones that can strike a balance between maximizing revenue and maintaining a consistently satisfying golfing experience.

In a 2016 USGA survey, results showed that golfers under the age of 40 would pay 14.2% more for a better pace of play and shorter round times. With golfers between the ages of 40 and 59 willing to pay over 11.5%.

When customers are willing to pay a premium for faster round of golf, golf courses need to be better prepared and deliver efficient, accurate, data-driven support to members and guests to seamlessly manage their expectations and further add to a superior experience. Furthermore, alleviating pace challenges means golfers will have more time to spend at the pro shop and on F&B, ultimately boosting the bottomline for a golf facility in its entirety.

In conclusion, studies have shown how important golfers consider the pace of play and on-course flow as an integral part of their overall experience. It is, therefore, important for golf courses to align their season goals with the expectation of the players.

Investing in pace of play management platforms such as Tagmarshal can play an integral part in the planning and implementation of the goals before, during and post season. With this tool, golf courses can confidently promote and provide an experience that is over and above the customer’s expectations, while achieving maximum return on investment results.