WHY LEADING COURSES LOVE TAGMARSHAL’S GOLF CART GPS TRACKING AND PACE MANAGEMENT PLATFORM
Due to the value and proven return on investment that Tagmarshal offers, it has grown rapidly since its inception in 2014 and can now be found in 9 countries across 4 different continents.
In excess of 25 million rounds have been tracked and improved, but numbers don’t tell the full story. Course owners and operators who have partnered with Tagmarshal, utilizing golf cart GPS technology and real-time management tools, have significantly improved the player experience and increased efficiency.
The industry leader in golf course optimization software has partnered with more than 35 of the Top 100 US courses, including Bandon Dunes, Whistling Straits, Forest Glen, Country Club at Castle Pines, Erin Hills, and more than 500 courses in total.
Tagmarshal’s partners span private, daily fee, public and resort courses, as well as a number of golf management groups. Many of the courses range between $30 and $50 in green fees.
HOW GOLF CART GPS TRACKING CAN IMPROVE PACE OF PLAY
According to 84% of golf course owners and 74% of golfers, pace of play is a top three factor in creating a positive player experience, alongside course conditioning and course design.
Prioritizing pace of play is critical to the success of a course in order to either encourage players to return or to grow the membership base.
Forbes Magazine recognizes Tagmarshal as “the pace of play software leader,” as do the likes of Jim Lombardo, Head Golf Professional at Erin Hills.
Lombardo says, “Customer retention for us is huge and improving the player experience through pace of play management plays a big part in what we do on the golf course – Tagmarshal plays a huge part in us achieving this.”
Turning pace of play into an asset and maintaining open communication with golfers on the course further enhances the player experience. As players use Tagmarshal’s 2Way cart screen devices for their range-finding capabilities, based on data from golf cart GPS tracking, says Cade Hassel, Head Golf Professional at Country Club at Castle Pines, “they’re aware of their pace.”
The Jack Nicklaus signature course weaves into the Rocky Mountain landscape and policing such a sprawling site is daunting for staff members. Despite these challenges, round times have steadily decreased and 91% of rounds finish within 10 minutes of the goal time. Hassel now finds staff retention easier, with on-course pace-related confrontations uncommon, and a more effective approach to labor resources has created additional time for quality interactions with guests.
That’s a sentiment shared by John Eggleston, General Manager at Ballybunion Golf Club, a GOLF Magazine Top 20 course and one of the world’s marquee golf destinations.
Offering a birds-eye view of operations, with golf cart GPS tracking showing where each group is on the course, field flow can be managed remotely at a glance in real-time. Resources can be allocated effectively based on the data provided.
Each circle icon represents a group on the course and the color shows whether they are in position, providing full line of sight to identify risk groups.
If a circle turns purple, the group is slowing down play and a message can be sent to the 8-inch 2Way cart screen device asking them to get back in position.
Should the problem persist, a ranger is able to deal with the group in a non-confrontational manner, with the golf cart GPS data empowering staff to provide accurate, objective support.
According to Eggleston, this information “allows rangers to target specific groups and show them where they have lost time and offer encouragement to pick up the pace of play. This evidence-based approach has improved overall player experience for everyone and has made our rangers’ jobs easier and more productive.”
Ballybunion Golf Club is a Diamond Award winner in the 2022 Tagmarshal Awards, recognized for its high levels of on-course service and commitment to driving continuous improvement.
LABOR EFFICIENCY USING GOLF CART GPS TRACKING
With wages soaring and courses struggling to hire suitable candidates, freeing up existing labor resources has never been more important.
Tagmarshal’s optimization technology uses automation to manage pace and flow of play, saving labor hours and allowing smaller teams to operate more efficiently.
Golf managers and their teams can monitor pace of play via the Live Map feature, either by laptop, phone or tablet, making it easy to identify issues as they develop. The ability to respond immediately and proactively by engaging directly with the playing group that’s out of position frees up a significant amount of time.
Rather than rangering, labor resources can be redirected to service-oriented tasks that enhance the overall player experience.
Tagmarshal’s golf cart GPS technology reduces the need for a large team of rangers and allows existing staff to multi-task, keeping an eye on pace of play while carrying out other essential duties.
Whereas improving course conditioning and service delivery by hiring additional staff requires large investments, investing in course optimization technology offers an instant return on investment at a fraction of the cost.
Mike Fosnick, Director of Operations at Premier Golf, oversees 10 courses across six different cities in the Pacific Northwest that employ around 500 staff in peak season.
Utilizing Tagmarshal’s golf cart GPS data-driven management, Premier Golf’s labor needs have been greatly reduced. At the same time, he points out that they’ve eliminated 75% of complaints.
Danny Mulhearn, Head Golf Professional at Glen Oak Country Club, says Tagmarshal’s system “does all the work, allowing our team to be more efficient and using fewer staff to get things done.”
Whistling Straits has also been able to reduce labor expenses while increasing round capacity, according to PGA Head Professional Mike O’Reilly, who adds that the course “has realized many operational efficiencies utilizing Tagmarshal.”
Despite a steady increase in bookings year-on-year since partnering with Tagmarshal, Club de Golf Alcanada, the multi-award-winning Mallorcan venue, has improved operational efficiency and course flow.
Kristoff Both, Director of Golf, considers Tagmarshal “a revolution in golf management” with the opportunity to “empower our staff and have objective data to manage and continuously improve.”
Thanks to Tagmarshal’s geofencing feature, which makes use of golf cart GPS tracking, course managers can protect and restrict certain areas of the course, lowering conditioning costs and giving superintendents the opportunity to focus on other important aspects of course maintenance.
Superintendents are also able to use the real-time map to identify gaps in the field between groups, utilizing these to conduct maintenance efficiently and without impacting the player experience.
As the movements of maintenance teams and machinery are tracked, superintendents can easily identify areas where efficiency can be improved.
INCREASING REVENUE WITH GOLF CART GPS TRACKING AND OPTIMIZATION SOFTWARE
The majority of owners surveyed in the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA) 2022 Golf Business Pulse Report strongly agreed that technological innovations increase the efficiency of golf course operations, including golf cart GPS tracking.
Ultimately, courses want to know what impact operational efficiency and an enhanced player experience have on their bottom line.
Additional tee times deliver an immediate return on investment. Tagmarshal’s technology tracks and measures starter accuracy, and helps courses identify optimal gap intervals between groups without impacting the player experience. During periods of the day when rounds are generally quicker, tee times can be added, increasing capacity and green fee revenue.
Building out player profiles also helps identify players who consistently finish 18 holes under the course goal time. They can then be offered priority tee time slots during high-volume periods.
“The data has helped us to gain tee times and increase our capacity. That is incredibly valuable to us,” says Oakmont Country Club’s Devin Gee.
A sizeable reduction in the average round speed at Erin Hills has resulted in additional tee times for extra capacity, raking in more than $140 000 in green fees each season.
Fieldstone Golf Club saw increased golf revenue of 25% within a year of implementing Tagmarshal’s golf cart GPS technology, as well as significant gains the following year. General Manager Chip Hierlihy credits the data provided for optimizing tee sheet capacity.
Ensuring golfers return to play the course is also a surefire way to increase revenue.
Serenoa owner and operator Kevin Paschall says, “Using Tagmarshal’s Analytics has made us much more effective at making player experiences better and improving loyalty. The value of a player enjoying a 4.05h round? It allows you to increase your fees.”
Dynamic pricing is becoming increasingly popular and has grown five-fold since 2012. With courses now managing pace of play more effectively thanks to the technology at hand, ensuring consistent round times, they’ve earned the right to charge higher fees for tee times in greater demand.
Erin Hills’ Lombardo puts it best when he states, “Tagmarshal pays for itself a hundred times over.”
With Tagmarshal’s golf cart GPS tracking system providing automated, in-depth analytics, courses stay ahead of the game even as the industry continues to see significant advancements. Effective management of labor challenges and increased efficiency, as well as optimizing on-course flow and thus the player experience, leads to additional revenue.
To learn more about the impact of Tagmarshal’s optimization software on your golf course, calculate your ROI by tagmarshal.com/roi or email contact@tagmarshal.com for more information.
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