Golf course management is being reinvented and revolutionized by technological advancements, often focused on the collection and analysis of large amounts of data. With multiple tech solutions and systems frequently in use at a single facility, extensive data sets are gathered that aid and inform better decision-making and optimal strategies.

If these solutions aren’t working together to combine the data and insights gathered, though, then operators aren’t harnessing the full power and potential of the data they gather.

Because Tagmarshal integrates seamlessly with many of the industry’s biggest names, it has established itself as the go-to central hub through which opportunities to improve can be identified.

Here are 5 tech integrations that will help you unlock new opportunities for optimization.

All the data you gather is now tied to these names, in real-time and historically, so you have a full record of every time a guest or member plays at your course.

PRO TIP: Built-out player profiles mean you can offer tailored service specific to their needs, and assign tee times paced on historical pace data.

The use of dynamic pricing has become increasingly popular in recent years, as courses look to capitalize on the surge in golf’s popularity to grow their revenue.

• Dynamic pricing software is most effective when it collects and analyzes large data sets from tee sheet providers and other course management software.
• To charge a premium rate, your course does need to guarantee a steady pace and flow of play, especially during peak periods when the price will be highest.

Your team should understand how dynamic pricing works so they can explain it to players, with pricing software taking care of the rest.

PRO TIP: Using Tagmarshal’s pace of play management to reduce round times and improve flow means more players on the course at a price that better serves the bottom line.

Via the Analytics Hub, you can also select a date range and see the average weather conditions over that period, displayed in the weather widget in the top-right. Comparing your course data alongside your weather information reveals insights into how factors like course setup and cart path only days affect what is realistically achievable pace-wise.

PRO TIP: Knowing that a certain area of your course suffers wear and tear on wetter days, for example, means you can switch between different preset geofence options and proactively protect your turf.

The real benefit here is to the player, rather than any data gathered, but an enhanced experience increases the likelihood of return play and drives member loyalty.

PRO TIP: Younger, newer golfers are accustomed to tech being a part of their experience. With live scoring, they can enjoy leaderboards in the same way they might have while playing off-course golf.

When software solutions designed for club management integrate with on-course optimization systems, you can unlock additional efficiency opportunities and insights.

The recent integration between Whoosh and Tagmarshal is a great example.

• You can now seamlessly view bookings managed in Whoosh directly within the Tagmarshal system, which eliminates duplication of effort and optimizes workflows.
• You can also assign tracking tags and carts to specific members or players without interruption, enhancing overall course management and personalized service.

PRO TIP: Keep an eye on this integration, which will soon extend to incorporate player pace profiles and trends from Tagmarshal into the Whoosh platform.

The most effective golf tech solutions understand that they shouldn’t operate in isolation, but rather talk to one another so operators maximize their opportunities to unlock additional insights that aid better decision-making.

By committing to integrating with solutions that benefit both clubs and players, Tagmarshal ensures that you have all the tools at your disposal to optimize your operation.

Designed by the world-renowned architectural team of Dr. Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry, The Quarry opened for play in 2007.

The Par 72 championship golf course offers an exceptional golf experience with spectacular views. Stretched across 800 acres of pristine native preserves, it features abundant wildlife and an expansive lake system.

For our latest Quick 9 interview, we caught up with The Quarry’s Head Golf Professional, Pat Doyle, PGA, who had some great insight and golfing memories to share with us.

How would you describe your morning routine to kickstart your day?

My morning routine involves first watering my bonsai trees before I leave the house. I’ve never been a big breakfast person before work but I do enjoy coffee. So that involves making black coffee at home with a bit of honey added or stopping at Dunkin for a cold brew (AKA rocket fuel). My drive in to work takes about 30 minutes and I like to spend it listening to a book on tape or music and driving slowly.

Has golf always been your first love?

Golf for me has always been about spending time with people and enjoying good competition between friends. I wouldn’t consider it a love but more of a hobby that I’ve made into a profession.

Tell us about your role at The Quarry Golf Club. Why is it important?

My role at The Quarry Golf Club is to manage our day-to-day operations and golf events. The day-to-day goal is to meet all of our Members’ and Guests’ expectations of what they think “their” private Golf Club experience should be. Obviously, it is very difficult to meet everyone’s expectations but if you give each individual the time and listen, each will tell you ways they think you can improve.

Why has your course decided to invest in Tagmarshal?

The Club invested in Tagmarshal to provide the management team with real-time pace data and a high-level visual of course traffic to improve our reaction time with slow play. The gravy on top is the 8” color display screen in each of the members’ private carts that provides them with their actual pace of play and hole yardages.

Since implementing Tagmarshal, how have your golfers responded to the on-course experience?

Any time you are introducing something new into a Member’s golf experience there can be some pushback. With Tagmarshal the Members thought we just needed better player assistants rather than paying a GPS company to tell us players are slow. Tagmarshal is a major assist when experiencing slow play and provides the Golf Staff with real-time information to react quicker to solve the issues sometimes before they develop into real problems.

Since implementation in 2022, our Members have embraced Tagmarshal and really enjoy the 8” color display screen and improved pace management.

Describe Tagmarshal in three words.

Sharp, intuitive and advantageous.

What is your dream golf destination? Why?

Old Head in Kinsale, Ireland. If you’ve been there then you know.

Your best golf moment?

Can I give you two? Watching one of my playing companions on the ‘Road Hole’ – number 17 at St. Andrews – make a 10 when he was 3 under through 16. One of his shots even stopped on the road.

The other was a match with one of my Club Members at North Berwick, Scotland (my favorite golf course). On the 2nd hole, he hit his drive on the beach (Firth of Forth). Luckily, the tide was out, he climbed down the ladder, hit his shot off the beach and somehow made a PAR. We ended up tying the hole and he won the match.

If you could be a caddie on Tour, whose caddie would you like to be and why?

I would caddie for any player in a Ryder Cup match, USA or European. The intensity and fire in that sporting event are unmatched.

Playing more than 7,000 feet from the back tees, Tierra Rejada is nestled in the foothills of eastern Ventura County in Southern California.

Since opening in 1999, this par 72 masterpiece of playability and scenic beauty consistently ranks among the state’s top courses. It offers a true test for golfers of all skill levels.

We spoke with Brian Helmuth, Tierra Rejada’s Manager of Golf Operations, to learn more about his role at the club and how technology is being used to optimize operations.

How would you describe your morning routine to kickstart your day?

My morning routine is to open Tagmarshal and check the current pace. If I see our pace from the day before was abnormal from the report generated, I check the delayer groups.

Has golf always been your first love?

Yes.

Tell us about your role at Tierra Rejada Golf Club. Why is it important?

Manager of Golf Operations. I work directly with customers and our marshals. I also provide relief to Kris (Dennis, GM) and Jacob (Chandler, Assistant GM) and am more hands-on with guest interactions.

Why has your course decided to invest in Tagmarshal?

The GPS is a big plus for a tough course like ours.

Since implementing Tagmarshal, how have your golfers responded to the on-course experience?

Positively.

Describe Tagmarshal in three words.

Smart, effective, accurate.

What is your dream golf destination? Why?

Augusta. To play a round at Augusta National – for obvious reasons.

Your best golf moment?

Albatross on a par 5 (6 other hole-in-ones…not to brag).

If you could be a caddie on Tour, whose caddie would you like to be and why?

Rickie Fowler. I grew up competing against him and he is from my rival high school.

Latest technology will track every group on three top-rated courses, managing pace of play
and creating other efficiencies

Streamsong Golf Resort—the exceptional golf resort with three top-100 courses in central Florida—has chosen to use the latest software from Tagmarshal to optimize its on-course operations. The innovative technology will be fully operational this Spring.

Streamsong is owned and managed by KemperSports, which has already implemented Tagmarshal at other leading resorts it manages, including Bandon Dunes and Sand Valley. Like those properties, the Streamsong courses range over large, open tracts of land filled with sand dunes, dramatic contours, and vast expanses that can make it hard to track and service hundreds of golfers every day.

Streamsong will get full, real-time line-of-sight and analytics from Tagmarshal’s proprietary system, which tracks everything that moves on its courses from golfers in carts and caddies to maintenance crews, drink carts, and other staff. The Live Map feature allocates a color to each group of players, with different colors used to indicate whether they are on pace or not, and if their pace is negatively affecting other groups.

With this data, Streamsong will be able to proactively manage pace of play, identifying potential problems before they become intractable and effectively dealing with out-of-position groups in a non-confrontational manner with supporting data.

“Pace of play has been one of the main detractors in the golf industry for years,” explained Miles Blundell, the resort’s Director of Golf. “At a bucket-list destination like Streamsong we want to be on the cutting edge of helping solve challenges like this one for our guests. Tagmarshal’s software will give us the opportunity to drill down on the pace of play data in real time that we’ve not had previously to ensure the guest experience at our three Top 100 courses exceeds guest expectations.”

Tagmarshal’s latest intuitive and highly customizable new system powered by AI and machine learning—which was introduced at the 2024 PGA Show—also will give Streamsong other ways to optimize its on-course operations. These include automating many aspects of pace and flow of play management, increasing operational efficiency and resource allocation, and unlocking the opportunity to generate additional revenue by adopting advanced strategies such as tee sheet optimization. 

Tagmarshal partners with more than 35 of the Top 100 golf courses in the U.S., including many private, resort, and daily-fee facilities, as well as hundreds of other courses of all types and in all price ranges around the world.

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

Mill Valley, CA – Whoosh, Inc., the best-in-class club operations software, is proud to announce their newest integration with Tagmarshal, the industry leader in golf course optimization through pace and flow of play management.

Mutual customers of both industry leaders can rejoice: the integration between Whoosh and Tagmarshal brings unparalleled efficiency and insight to golf course operators. With this collaboration, clubs can seamlessly view bookings managed in Whoosh directly within the Tagmarshal system, eliminating a duplication of effort and optimizing workflows. This joint effort streamlines operations, enabling operators to assign tags and carts to specific members or players without interruption, enhancing overall course management and personalized service.

The partnership between Whoosh and Tagmarshal is founded on a shared commitment to modernizing the club industry. 

“We’re building the golf operations system of the future and opening up our API to like-minded companies allows us to push the boundaries of what’s possible in the golf industry,” added Colin Read, Whoosh’s co-founder and CEO. “We’re not just integrating systems; we’re unlocking new realms of innovation and efficiency, ultimately changing what clubs have come to expect from their green grass software tools.”

Looking ahead, the integration will extend to incorporate player pace profiles and trends from Tagmarshal into the Whoosh platform, providing clubs with comprehensive player data and insights to further improve course operations and hospitality.

For more information about the Whoosh and Tagmarshal integration, or for a product demo, please reach out via email to contact@tagmarshal.com.

To read the full article, click here.

Article by Harvey Silverman, Golf Business Live

We launched “Tech Talks” this past February, a new webcast to bring members a variety of interviews with technology leaders from around the world. In fact, we’ve set the record for the longest-distance NGCOA interview, all the way from Cape Town, South Africa, outdistancing Seoul, South Korea. So, yes, we’re “spanning the globe.” More importantly, we’re spanning a variety of new and innovative technologies for green grass golf course operators.

We had our longest-distance interview with Bodo Sieber, CEO of Tagmarshal. Bodo connected from Cape Town, South Africa (Tagmarshal has a U.S. office in Atlanta), a tidy 7,858 miles from NGCOA HQ in Charleston, SC, and just edging out Seoul, South Korea. Tagmarshal is an NGCOA Smart Buy partner and brings a data-driven GPS tracking system to a worldwide portfolio of courses, including notable ones like Bandon Dunes, Erin Hills and Whistling Straits. Tagmarshal began as a “tag” technology, a device that could be attached to a golf bag or carried in a golfer’s pocket or cart. Its purpose was to track the flow and pace of play and give course operators real-time data to improve it.

Next came the ubiquitous on-cart screens displaying GPS distances, hole layouts, and more. But Tagmarshal doesn’t want to be known as just another GPS company. Its DNA is in the data it provides and analyzes. Bodo explained to us the three metrics to consider when measuring pace and flow. The key is “average time vs. goal time.” “Average is a bad indicator,” Bodo exclaims. “It hides the outliers, both good and bad, so we work with courses to establish goal times and then measure how many rounds are faster, on pace or slower.”

In Bodo’s example, the average on a particular day might be six minutes over goal time. But drilling down in the data, it might show 20% of the rounds played considerably faster, 40% were on pace, and 40% went over the goal time. So the average round time might be acceptable, except that 40% were materially delayed with wait times – a primary source of golfer discontent. Management now has the data to enhance the flow by time of day, depending on the play volume.

Read the full article here.