Title: How the Vancouver GC, Priddis Greens CC and the Donalda Club have created exceptional player experiences, while increasing operational efficiency

Guests: Sean Thompson, Director of Golf, The Vancouver Golf Club; John Wilson, Senior Associate Professional, Priddis Greens Golf and Country Club, and Andrew McCarthy, Head Golf Professional, Donalda Club

Duration: 1 Hour

Title: 5 ways Glen Oak CC is managing pace and flow exceptionally well – keeping members happy, during a busy season

Expert guest: Danny Mulhearn

Duration: 1 Hour

Title: How leading Texas courses use technology to create exceptional player experiences, while reducing labor hours.

Co-hosted by the Northern Texas PGA Section

Data has been called ‘the most valuable commodity in the world’ and its importance in effective golf course management cannot be overstated.

Courses that have embraced the increased use of technology will benefit from some operational benefits, but if the data gathered by this technology isn’t captured, a huge opportunity to drive further gains is being missed.

Data helps draw valuable insights, predict trends and guide better decision-making. Let’s look at 5 data sets your course shouldn’t go without.

You can also assign resources to busier, slower periods where they are most needed to ensure pace and flow are maintained.

PRO TIP: Using Tagmarshal’s Analytics Hub, you can set variable goal times for different periods of the day, based on their respective average pace data.

In the same way that a day’s average temperature masks the highs and lows, your course’s average round time doesn’t accurately tell you how many golfers are actually finishing on pace.

For example, even though you may only be a few minutes above your desired average goal time, this could be skewed by rapid morning rounds. Data may show that most of your rounds are still finishing over pace, negatively impacting the player experience.

Only once you understand your course flow better can you put in place plans to improve it.

PRO TIP: You get a full pace distribution breakdown in the Analytics Hub, illustrating the percentage of rounds that fall into each pace bracket.

Measuring starter accuracy is a key aspect of effective pace management, because groups consistently teeing off later than scheduled will have a cumulative effect throughout the day.

Tracking the data across weeks and months means you can set goals for your team to achieve, driving continuous improvement.

PRO TIP: Tagmarshal automatically tracks starter accuracy via the Analytics Hub. The time each group enters the first tee area is measured against their tee sheet starting time.

An average round time is valuable, but having that broken down into time spent at each hole offers a far more granular understanding of course flow.

This data allows you to spot opportunities to tweak and optimize hole setups, ensuring a more consistent flow and preventing potential bottleneck areas.

On busier days, you may consider more straightforward pin placements at holes that traditionally play harder, with additional tips and insights on how to play these holes provided. 

Ideally, you would also have an understanding of how long groups are waiting on the tee box before they actually hit a ball, which is a major frustration for golfers.

PRO TIP: Via Tagmarshal’s Analytics Hub, you’ll be able to see the exact amount of time groups spend at the halfway house, to gauge whether any changes need to be made.

Research has shown that pace-based interventions with marshals can make or break the player experience. If these aren’t effective in getting players back into position, then you’re assuming that risk without any potential reward.

PRO TIP: Every discussion between golfers and player assistants shouldn’t be centered around pace. Friendly check-ins are a great way to establish trust, which in turn drives up pace compliance.

Optimal decision-making starts with understanding the nuances of how your course operates. 

“You can’t improve what you don’t measure,” goes the popular saying, and comprehensive data sets are the ultimate unit of measurement.

Utilizing the full insights that these 5 data sets offer to drive improvement in pace and flow of play will ultimately enhance the player experience, ensuring that members and guests leave your course happy.

Tagmarshal is delighted to announce the appointment of Pat Parenti as its new Business Development Executive.

Parenti brings a wealth of industry experience to the company as a seasoned veteran in the golf GPS space, serving for more than 20 years as a President, Senior VP and Sales Executive in the GPS industry. Pat received PGA Class “A” status in 1996.

Tagmarshal’s Vice President of Business Development, David Hamilton, welcomed the appointment.

Since entering the market in 2015, Tagmarshal has established itself as the industry leader in on-course optimization. In the same way that Google Maps or Waze has made our lives easier, Tagmarshal’s GPS-based technology has changed golf course management for cart, walking and caddie courses.

Data is at the core of the system that optimizes on-course player flow and drives efficiencies and savings through automation, as well as delivering material ROI via revenue and tee sheet optimization.

“I’m excited to be joining Tagmarshal during a period of unprecedented growth,” Parenti said. “With an ongoing commitment to innovation, dedicated installation teams, and the finest service and support in the industry, I’m certain that Tagmarshal will continue to deliver a best-in-class solution that helps courses capitalize on golf’s surging popularity.”

Tagmarshal recently announced its biggest system upgrade yet, powered by AI and machine learning based on data from more than 50 million rounds. Featuring enhanced data visualization and analytics, it’s now easier than ever for users to customize their experience, with the system highlighting data that aids managers in making smart operational decisions.

Tagmarshal partners with over 500 private, daily fee, public and resort courses, including 40 of the Top 100 US courses, several golf management groups, and a large number of $30 to $50 green fee courses. To learn more about Tagmarshal, visit tagmarshal.com/demo.

Courses partnered with Tagmarshal include Pebble Beach, Cypress Point, Tierra Rejada, Gold Canyon Golf Resort and Terravita Golf & Country Club.

Parenti will focus his efforts on Arizona, Nevada and Southern California, where he has built up relationships over many years. With his appointment, and its partnerships with the Southwest and Southern California PGA sections, Tagmarshal furthers its commitment to driving growth in these areas, providing courses with valuable, analytics-driven guidance to help them reach their objectives.

Parenti is based in Phoenix, Arizona. Get in touch now and schedule a meeting or live demo by emailing patrick.parenti@tagmarshal.com, or calling 602-524-6376.

Article by The First Call, May 2024

Tagmarshal—the market leader in optimizing on-course operations and pace-of-play management through data-driven software—has partnered with tee-sheet provider Club Caddie, known for innovative tee-sheet solutions.

Working together, Tagmarshal and Club Caddie will focus on daily-fee courses and country clubs, strengthening their mutual commitments to streamlining operations and elevating the golf experience for facilities and players alike. Club Caddie is the latest golf technology management company to partner with Tagmarshal, the acknowledged leader in pace-of-play and on-course operations data technology. 

Tagmarshal’s vision is to help course partners unlock the exponential power of their data via integration. Once data is incorporated into Tagmarshal’s ecosystem, operators can unlock insights that will aid better decision-making, including into individual players’ behavior and performance. Leveraging these player-profiling and data-analytic tools, courses can not only personalize the golfer experience, tailor services and marketing efforts, and foster stronger relationships with players, but also optimize their return on investment, as greater control of on-course operations yields rewards in the form of additional green fee revenue. 

Club Caddie is a leading  cloud-based tee-sheet and online reservation engine on the market, offering tee-time scheduling, inventory management, and member-engagement solutions. Acquired by Jonas Club Management Software in 2020, the organization continues to grow and diversify.

“Our goal has always been to help golf course operators become more efficient and improve their bottom line. By combining Tagmarshal’s advanced pace and flow of play management and data analytics capabilities with our tee-sheet management system, we can offer more value to our clients. This partnership perfectly aligns with our mission to enhance the operational efficiency of golf courses, ultimately benefiting both operators and golfers,” said Jason Pearsall, CEO of Club Caddie.

Club Caddie courses will be able to optimize tee-time allocation, track individual golfers’ pace of play in real-time, and streamline staff workflows by accessing the tee sheet from within Tagmarshal’s system, further enhancing productivity. With labor shortages still critical at many courses and player demand remaining consistently high, increasing operational efficiency is key – allowing smaller teams to achieve more, with less.

Course managers who want to benefit from the power of integration with Tagmarshal may schedule a meeting or live demo via email: contact@tagmarshal.com or by visiting www.tagmarshal.com/demo.

For more information about Tagmarshal, access the website at www.tagmarshal.com.

Read the full article in The First Call