Quick Wins: 5 Ways Leading Operators Use Golf Cart GPS Systems to Manage Pace and Flow

Tagmarshal’s ‘Quick Wins’ series focuses on the proactive pace management strategies in place at 4 of its standout facilities, where forward-thinking operators have fully embraced the use of golf cart GPS systems to ensure a memorable on-course experience.

At Erin Hills, the world-famous Wisconsin course that hosted the 2017 Men’s U.S. Open and 2025 Women’s U.S. Open, Head Golf Pro Jim Lombardo, PGA, and his team have spent more than a decade fine-tuning their approach to improving on-course flow.

Erin Hills uses Tagmarshal’s Classic Tags and Classic Install devices across both cart and walking groups. We asked Jim 5 questions about how the resort course successfully balances delivering a memorable on-course experience with optimizing the tee sheet.

1. What processes have you implemented to improve pace and flow?

One of the best things we have done is implement a series of hand signals that a ranger can give to caddies to communicate the current pace of play.  This allows the caddies to attempt to get the group back into position quickly without a guest interaction. Key to that is an aggressive approach to all groups over the first 3-5 holes to establish good pace and stop groups from being delayers before they have time to do so.

2. How do you communicate with players around pace?

We communicate our standard pace of play guidelines to all groups before they tee off, as well as what we will do if a group falls out of position. This way, a group is not surprised when interactions take place. Also, if a group does fall out of position and our team is taking steps to fix that issue, we drop back and speak to groups behind them, letting them know we are actively doing something to improve pace.

3. What golf cart GPS systems data do you rely on to inform your strategies?

We use Tagmarshal’s data on a daily basis by recording each group type’s or caddie’s tendencies for pace in the Analytics Hub. After gathering data over the years, we have found that there are generally 4 types of groups that have a tendency to be delayers, and we know who they are before they even tee off. Our Starter will announce this information to the team.  

We will get ahead of this, and it allows us to be proactive and not reactive. Lastly, each Ranger is required to enter a certain number of interactions with players per day.  This can be reviewed to make sure interactions have been taking place with delayer groups. Not all interactions are pace warnings or notifications, and the ‘thumbs up’ interactions to groups on pace or ahead of pace are just as important for our groups as those where pace-of-play corrections are needed.

4. What technology do you lean on to facilitate oversight?

On the course, the Ranger team relies on iPads and tablets to see Tagmarshal in real time. Additionally, every department, including Maintenance, has the Tagmarshal screens up on computers. It is our belief that every department needs to know what is happening on the course at all times. Our caddie department uses our Paylocity system for scheduling to which Starters and Rangers are on the course, to better communicate with caddies and groups. 

5. What outcomes have you seen as a result of consistent pace and flow at your operation?

All of our strategies have resulted in controlling pace so much better than pre-Tagmarshal.  We see little or almost next to zero pace of play complaints. It is amazing to see the interaction of our staff even when we see a group 5 minutes out of position.  We just don’t accept that, and we know to get ahead of pace before it can mushroom into challenges. Ultimately, our goal is to develop repeat customers. If people come, enjoy our course, and feel the round was comfortable, they will come back.

Tee sheet optimization, made possible by Erin Hills’ proactive approach to managing pace, has resulted in an additional $700k in annual green fees.

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Tagmarshal’s golf cart GPS systems are also in place at Franklin Bridge Golf Club in Tennessee. Built on historic old farmland in the late 1980s, this links-style course features beautiful old trees, the magnificent Harpeth River crossing back and forth, and an 18th hole with an island green finish in front of the clubhouse, where patrons watch on.

Franklin Bridge’s owner, Brooks West, PGA, is a forward-thinking operator with a fantastic understanding of what breeds player loyalty. Brooks and his team were recognized for their exceptional efforts with a Diamond Award in the 2025 Tagmarshal Awards, as well as winning Best US Newcomer in the 2024 Tagmarshal Awards.

Franklin Bridge uses Tagmarshal’s 2Way 8inch Cart Screen. We asked Brooks 5 questions about how the daily-fee facility delivers on its pace promise while maximizing tee sheet capacity through effective use of golf cart GPS systems.

1. What processes have you implemented to improve pace and flow?

Consistent pace of play management of today’s burgeoning tee sheets begins and ends with data.  If you don’t have a GPS System with each group, there is just no way to consistently deliver an enjoyably paced round of golf. The key is to catch it early.  The vast majority of the time, a problem group is behind your pace standard by the 3rd or 4th hole.  Focus attention there, especially on weekends when you have less avid golfers playing, and communicate that you need them back on pace within 2 holes. Follow up with them in 2 holes, especially if they got back on pace; offer them a draft beer token, or at least a quality ATTA-BABY!

2. How do you communicate with players around pace?

I have shifted my perspective on this a bit over the past 4 to 5 years, since I’ve had GPS data.  I used to think that cart screens were antiquated with smartphones, making them an unnecessary cost and something else to manage, but I was wrong! The way the screen shows players their pace of play status is a FUNDAMENTAL shift in the ranger-golfer interaction that reduces defensiveness and lowers the natural tension of one grown man telling another grown man (who paid to be there and has a beer in his hand!) what to do!

Another very important principle that Tagmarshal has helped me distill is that there are two distinct buckets of pace of play management: overall pace and time spent waiting.  While the first one is what people most often exaggerate (ahem…talk about…excuse me), it is really the second one that has the bigger negative effect on how they enjoy the round.  Watching your backup holes and keeping tees forward (especially on windy days) on holes with forced carries is a good start.

3. What golf cart GPS systems data do you rely on to inform your strategies?

Dialing in your hole-by-hole pace splits is critical; moreover, really work hard on where your geofences are placed for the ‘start’ of each hole, and be sure to consider different tee markers, where golfers naturally park their carts, how long the turn flow takes, and other measurables.

4. What technology do you lean on to facilitate oversight?

We went to a customer app through Lightspeed a couple of years ago, and it has drastically improved our customer experience, particularly our loyal, frequent customers. They can see, manage, and make tee times seamlessly and in one place.  We also keep practice facility schedules and F&B hours updated on there, so it really cuts down on the calls to the golf shop and text messages to high-profile staff members.

5. What outcomes have you seen as a result of consistent pace and flow at your operation?

Managing pace of play at a busy public golf course is quite the mousetrap.  If you do it well (under 4h20m at our course), nobody really says anything or thanks you. But if you miss the mark, they disproportionately blast you on social media and with bad reviews. Once we reached critical mass in our business post-pandemic, we put some major initiatives into staffing up our golf operation and restructuring their focus, freeing them up to monitor Tagmarshal and catch problems quickly to address them with ‘targeted rangering’. 

Technology has helped Franklin Bridge optimize tee sheet capacity without compromising the player experience, driving repeat play and positive referrals.

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Synonymous with major championship golf, Baltusrol Golf Club boasts two world-renowned golf courses and one of the finest Clubhouses in the world. Baltusrol has hosted 18 major championships, including seven U.S. Opens.

The Upper Course underwent an extensive renovation in 2024, overseen by Gil Hanse, before reopening the following year to great acclaim.

Jaimie Pierson, PGA, the Head Golf Professional, places a huge premium on delivering exceptional member and guest experiences, and relies on technology to deliver on this front.

Baltusrol uses Tagmarshal’s Classic Tag devices across the Upper and Lower Courses. We asked Jaimie 5 questions about how the private club balances pace management with white-glove service for members.

1. What processes have you implemented to improve pace and flow?

We’ve implemented systems to ensure we are tracking all caddie groups and installed a TV with Tagmarshal up at all times to help monitor play.

2. How do you communicate with players around pace?

We have staff drive to groups if they fall behind by 7 minutes to let them know their estimated finish time.

3. What golf cart GPS systems data do you rely on to inform your strategies?

We collect data on average round times, pockets where we can be more aggressive in tee time intervals, and data on slow players and group pairings.

4. What technology do you lean on to facilitate oversight?

We used ForeTees, Tagmarshal, and Golf Genius. The three work together to help us collect data to help maximize our tee sheet utilization. Tagmarshal’s Auto-Assign feature is great, pulling through the player names from ForeTees and saving our team a great deal of time.

I also use the Track Map every day. It allows us to see exactly which staff member spoke with a group and when, so we can better understand what happened out there.

5. What outcomes have you seen as a result of consistent pace and flow at your operation?

Member enjoyment on the golf course has drastically improved due to pace of play. We have also saved a lot of staff hours (previous ranger loops) to be more effective with our time and target slower groups.

Rather than driving around the course looking for problems, I can instantly see what is happening on my phone and address problems as soon as they arise.

When Baltusrol’s Upper Course was closed for the 2024 season, the Lower Course saw a significant spike in play volume, yet still managed an average round time of 3h57m during the peak period between June and October.

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Advance Golf Partners, a multi-course operator (MCO) that owns and manages more than 10 courses across Missouri, Georgia, Texas, Indiana, and Florida, is renowned for its effective pace management strategies, which underpin significant revenue gains.

Frisco Lakes Golf Club is a great example of this management style and is consistently rated one of the top public golf destinations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

General Manager Dan McIntire, PGA, is well-versed in running busy operations, and has come to rely on golf cart GPS systems to ensure his team has the tools they need to succeed.

Frisco Lakes uses Tagmarshal’s 2Way 8inch Cart Screens and 2Way Mobile devices across both cart and walking groups. We asked Dan 5 questions about how the popular daily fee facility course consistently delivers sub-4-hour rounds with a very busy field.

1. What processes have you implemented to improve pace and flow?

At Frisco Lakes Golf Club, we’ve made pace of play a daily operational priority rather than something we address only when complaints arise. We focus on proper tee sheet management, strategic spacing of tee times, active monitoring of on-course positioning, and consistent player communication. We also empower our Player Assistants to proactively address gaps before they become larger issues.

2. How do you communicate with players around pace?

Communication begins before the first shot is hit. Our starters discuss pace expectations on the first tee and explain how maintaining position relative to the group ahead is the key metric, rather than focusing solely on total round time. Throughout the round, our team uses a positive and service-oriented approach when interacting with players. We have found that golfers respond best when they understand the reason behind pace initiatives and see that our goal is to improve everyone’s experience on the course.

3. What golf cart GPS systems data do you rely on to inform your strategies?

We rely heavily on operational data rather than anecdotal feedback alone. We review round times, gap reports, hole-by-hole performance, peak congestion periods, and historical tee sheet utilization. Member feedback is important, but having objective data allows us to identify trends, validate concerns, and implement solutions with confidence. Combining operational observations from our staff with real-time course data gives us a complete picture of how the golf course is performing each day.

4. What technology do you lean on to facilitate oversight?

Technology plays a significant role in helping us manage pace and flow. GPS-based monitoring provides our team with real-time visibility into course activity, allowing us to identify developing issues before they impact the entire operation. Beyond pace management, we use technology to evaluate tee sheet demand, booking patterns, and operational performance. These tools help us make informed decisions and allocate resources more effectively.

5. What outcomes have you seen as a result of consistent pace and flow at your operation?

Consistent attention to pace and flow has improved the overall golfer experience at Frisco Lakes. We’ve seen better spacing between groups, fewer pace-related complaints, improved staff accountability, and a more enjoyable environment for both members and guests.

2Way screen technology is in play across all Advance Golf Partners courses, enabling instant communication with each group, while they enjoy a range of player-facing benefits like to-the-pin yardages.

Whether it’s a high-end private club or a busy daily fee facility, many pace management principles remain the same.

Leading operators understand that it is essential to be proactive, rather than reactive, communicating clearly with groups that fall out of position before they adversely impact the rest of the field.

Tagmarshal is proud to partner with more than 900 courses, including more than 50 of the Top 100. To find out more about how Tagmarshal will help your operation more effectively manage pace and flow, watch our short demo video or schedule a live demo.

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