The 2024 PGA Show in Orlando, Florida was an action-packed, energetic affair, and Tagmarshal was excited to join –  bringing technology solutions, data-driven insights and innovation to the thriving golf industry!

Booth #3123 was buzzing throughout the 3-day show and it was a great pleasure to meet so many golf managers, directors of golf, their teams and our partners in person at the biggest golf event on the calendar.

The golf industry is set for a bumper 2024, following a year of record traffic with 531 million rounds played across the US.

Courses are increasingly finding themselves under pressure, trying to deliver consistent player experiences, both in terms of pace of play and course flow, amid a high volume of rounds.

By embracing technology and automation, and using this to collect data that helps them better understand every facet of how a course runs, operators can make informed decisions that lead to optimal performance.

In addition, with the rise of AI, operators are finding that the more data they gather, the greater the opportunity for machine learning to benefit, thereby strengthening the insight the system delivers.

Used correctly, the data generated by optimization systems like Tagmarshal will be your course’s superpower. Let’s unpack how effectively gathering and using this data will transform your operation.

DATA HELPS YOU ENHANCE THE PLAYER EXPERIENCE

Pace and flow of play consistently rank among the top factors impacting a player’s enjoyment of their round. Through the use of advanced AI and machine learning, based on data from more than 50 million rounds, Tagmarshal’s powerful algorithms identify potential problem groups before issues arise.

With proactive pace management, you can avoid on-course bottlenecks and ensure a steady course flow.

A study by the USGA also found that golfer interactions with player assistants (previously referred to as marshals) can make or break how a player recalls their round. Use the data gathered and generated by Tagmarshal to transform your conversations with players, ensuring they are neutral and fact-based while adding value to the experience.

With built-out, data-rich player profiles, showing their full pace history, you can assign appropriate tee times, as well as offer on-course service tailored to their particular preferences.

PRO TIP: You can reframe post-round conversations with players by using Tagmarshal’s Track Map, which includes all logged interactions, geofence breaches and their pace against your goal time.

DATA UNLOCKS INSIGHTS AND AIDS OPTIMAL DECISION-MAKING

Raw data is a starting point for improvement, but to do so you need to find a way to spot trends. With Tagmarshal’s Analytics Hub, all of the data gathered by the system’s extensive feature set is brought together and presented in an insightful, visually appealing, simplified manner.

Following a powerful system upgrade, which shows each member of your team menu options that are relevant to their role so they can analyze what is important to them, the Analytics Hub is fine-tuned to show you unique data insights that highlight areas for improvement.

These include:

• Playing Group Performance bar charts – help identify periods that play quicker and track on-course interactions and interventions.
• Starter accuracy data – reveals how much of an impact a late tee-off has on each round, as well as the rounds that follow.
• Hole stats data – makes it easy to spot opportunities to optimize your hole setups and shows how long players are waiting on each tee box.
• Pace Distribution charts – provide a true and comprehensive look at how completed rounds compare to the goal time you have set and what proportion of your players are on pace.

Aiding better decision-making for optimal course management, these powerful data insights give you the tools you need to ensure you are prioritizing the player experience, as well as holding your team accountable for continuous improvement.

PRO TIP: Tagmarshal integrates with more than 25 of the world’s leading golf technology systems, bringing exponential value to your course by combining data insights from multiple sources to help you unlock new opportunities.

DATA DRIVES CONTINUOUS, INCREMENTAL IMPROVEMENT

To achieve continuous, incremental improvement, you need to set short and long-term goals. This is only possible if you have benchmark data that helps you understand what is realistically possible across a season, or from one year to the next, at your course.

Using Tagmarshal’s Goal Setting feature, you can set your team goals, which are reflected in the Analytics Hub. These can be set across key metrics:

• Rounds on Pace: How many rounds finish within your course’s goal time on a given day.
• Interactions Per Day: This can be a friendly check-in or an intervention with players on the course.
• Intervention Success: An intervention is considered a success then it results in a group getting back on pace and finishing the round within the goal time.
• Assignment: The number of tags that have group or caddie names assigned to them.

PRO TIP: A 1% improvement every day across an entire season quickly adds up, leading to a transformational effect on how your course operates.

DATA HELPS PROTECT YOUR TURF

These days, it’s not enough to rely on signage alone to protect sensitive areas of your course.

Tagmarshal’s geofencing technology allows you to create geofence templates, which can be toggled between depending on weather conditions and other variables.

To help with accountability, all geofence breaches are logged in Tagmarshal’s system and are accessible during or after a round. In the case of the latter, make use of the Track Map feature to show players the exact time and location that they transgressed.

As you build out the tracking data, you can identify areas where regular breaches occur and increase protective measures such as additional signage.

Tagmarshal’s Heatmap Visualization feature (seen above) will identify areas that are receiving high traffic. This works by entering a course utilization time frame, which then depicts all collected geolocation data by carts and walkers that the system has tracked. Visible wear patterns reveal areas with the most traffic, which are the most at risk of soil compaction.

PRO TIP: Using data, your maintenance team can be more targeted in their approach to upkeep, reducing expenses in areas like fertilizer and water use for a more eco-friendly, sustainable approach.

DATA HELPS GENERATE ADDITIONAL REVENUE

Through proactive pace management strategies enabled by Tagmarshal, you’ll find your pace of play and course flow steadily improving. The next step is using the data to identify opportunities to add additional tee times, in a way that doesn’t impact the player experience.

Daily fee and resort courses benefit from immediate and significant revenue gains, while private clubs can offer their members greater opportunities to play during peak periods.

With improved pace and course flow, players are generally willing to pay more for a round and are more likely to return to play your course again.

PRO TIP: Dynamic pricing, where the price of a round shifts in response to real-time supply and demand, works best when your course can guarantee players an enjoyable pace and flow of play.

CONCLUSION

Without data, your course is essentially flying blind when trying to solve its challenges, and you can’t improve what you don’t measure.

As technology such as AI and machine learning have developed and become integral to modern-day business operations, efficiencies in collecting and processing data have made huge strides.

By ensuring that you are best utilizing the course data you gather, you’ll identify areas where gains can be made, driving incremental improvements and the optimization of your on-course operations.

Kennesaw, Ga. (Jan. 18, 2024) – Valhalla Golf Club—site of the 2024 PGA Championship, numerous other majors, and the 2008 Ryder Cup—will host a unique education session at the upcoming PGA Show explaining how golf clubs can benefit from technology in controlling pace of play and other key metrics that affect on-course performance.

The session, hosted in partnership with Tagmarshal, is titled “How 2024 PGA Championship host Valhalla Uses Tech to Optimize Pace, the Player Experience, and Efficiency,” and will take place on Wednesday, January 24, at 9:45am in Room W103 of the Orange County Convention Center. This session will also earn valuable PDR credits for attendees.

Valhalla’s head golf professional, Kyle Cramer, PGA, will share insights into how he and his team successfully harness the power of technology to increase efficiency at all levels of their operation, freeing up time to focus on delivering exceptional service to members.

“With Tagmarshal, we know what is happening on the course and can get ahead of any issues with anticipatory service for our members. It’s really great having these tools,” said Cramer.

Tagmarshal, the market leader in on-course optimization and pace-of-play management technology, has worked with Valhalla for many years to gather data and in turn, impact the player experience and a recent course renovation, where data was used to assist in the course design.

“We’re very proud to partner with the exceptional team at Valhalla and see their operation achieve continued success through the use of technology,” says Tagmarshal CEO Bodo Sieber. “We have no doubt Kyle and his team will make the 2024 PGA Championship a huge success.”

Tagmarshal will be exhibiting in Booth 3123 at the PGA Show, where facilities interested in improving their operations can attend live demos of the company’s newest AI-assisted software. Tagmarshal experts will run ROI (return on investment) calculations using actual course data. Also on display will be the company’s new Caddie Management Module, which makes it easy to assign and manage caddies, whether they’re club employees or independent.

PGA Show attendees also will be able to speak with representatives of existing Tagmarshal clients including Erin Hills, Fieldstone, and others and “test drive” the new 2Way 10-inch cart screen, with bigger and better high-definition imagery, including to-the-pin yardages and live pace updates, as well as a host of other devices.

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

Tagmarshal—the world leader in optimizing on-course operations and pace and flow of play management through data-driven software—will be exhibiting at the 2024 PGA Show in Orlando, Fla., January 24-26, booth #3123. Club pros and managers interested in solving operational challenges and improving pace of play while significantly increasing efficiency and maximizing revenue are invited to stop by the booth.

“We’re thrilled to be exhibiting at our ninth PGA Show and look forward to sharing powerful new software designed to manage operations more efficiently and effectively, resulting in significantly optimized revenues,” said Bodo Sieber, Tagmarshal’s CEO.

Tagmarshal experts will be running live demos that show ROI (return on investment) calculations using the operator’s actual course data. Visitors to the booth can see just how much revenue Tagmarshal software will generate based on optimization and efficiency.

Other demos will showcase Tagmarshal’s powerful new software including:

• Machine learning and AI-enhanced algorithms to provide intuitive, easy-to-use analytics and data visualizations for better management and decision making.
• Streamlined navigation, customizable widgets, and modules that can be set up to show what’s most important to each segment of a club’s operations.
• Enhanced dashboard and menu personalization by role to ensure the platform and its integration add relevant value.

According to Matt Barksdale, PGA, Director of Golf for Pinehurst Resort, host of the 2024 U.S. Open Championship, “Tagmarshal is such a game changer. With 360-degree coverage, we can see pace of play with a glance at a screen.”

2024 PGA Championship host, Valhalla, featured in exclusive PGA Show Education Session. Wednesday, Jan. 24, at 9:45 am in Room W103, Orange County Convention Center. All are welcome. PDR credits apply.

Tagmarshal will host a live education session, “How 2024 PGA Championship host Valhalla uses tech to optimize pace, the player experience, and efficiency.”  Kyle Cramer, PGA, Head Golf Professional at Valhalla, will explain how the course uses technology and automation to drive efficiency, freeing up time to focus on service while enhancing the player experience.

Other elevated Tagmarshal technology includes the new Caddie Management Module, which makes it easy to assign and manage caddies, whether they’re club employees or independent. The module also tracks real-time stats like current pace and gaps between groups.

Visitors to the booth will be able to “test drive” the new two-way, 10-inch cart screen, with bigger and better high-definition imagery including to-the-pin yardages and live pace updates, as well as a host of other devices.

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

The 18-hole Golf Le Champêtre is renowned for being one of the most beautiful in Quebec, extending across hilly terrain and offering a panoramic view of water, dunes, deciduous forests and pine forests.

Opened in 2003, the course challenges players technically and boasts immaculately maintained fairways, greens and bunkers.

We spoke with Anne Rogerson, the Head Golf Professional at Golf Le Champêtre, about her favorite golfing memory and how the sport has always been a part of her life.

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

The first thing is a big cup of coffee then a quick look at emails to start planning my day. I drive 40 minutes to work so I brainstorm and prioritize daily activities.

Has golf always been your first love?

Golf has always been a part of my life. My love for the game was instilled in me by my dad. I was lucky enough to earn a scholarship to Florida International University in Miami, where I played 5 years and earned my college degree. Golf also allowed me to travel and see the world as a member of the Ladies European Tour. I have met extraordinary people along my journey!

Tell us about your role at your golf course. Why is it important?

I am very involved with member activities and day-to-day operations. My goal each and every day as a semi-private facility is for all golfers to experience a first-class member experience.

Why has your course decided to invest in Tagmarshal?

As an 18-hole facility, we wanted to improve our pace of play and maximize times on our tee sheet. It has had a tremendous impact on the roles of our starters and marshals. They now have the tools necessary to do a great job.

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

It is a win-win situation for golfers and staff. Pace of play and flow are much better on the course. Marshals can identify slow golfers before it becomes a major problem.

Describe Tagmarshal in three words.

Pace of play

What is your dream golf destination? Why?

The Old Course, St Andrews in Scotland.

Every golfer should have the chance to experience the Home of Golf. It gives you chills and goosebumps the first time you see the grounds, fairways 1 and 18, the white fence around the property, the Swilcan Bridge and the R&A clubhouse.

Your best golf moment?

Hands down, playing Pinehurst #2 with my dad on Easter Sunday with walking caddies. Priceless.

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

I would have loved to caddie for Annika Sorenstam in her prime on the LPGA Tour to see up close the skills and mindset of a great champion.

Designed by world-renowned architect Stanley Thompson, St. George’s Golf and Country Club has hosted the Canadian Open six times – 1933, 1949, 1960, 1968, 2010 and 2022.

The championship course in downtown Toronto opened for play in 1929, and over the years there have been several enhancements to the club and course.

Measuring more than 7,000 yards, the Par 72 course finishes with two very taxing par 4s, culminating with a finish on a steep and heavily bunkered green at 18.

Quinn Godfrey, PGA of Canada, the Head Associate Golf Professional at St. George’s, took some time out of his busy schedule to chat with us about his daily routine and running the course.

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

Make a coffee while headed out the door and drive to work. Once I get to the golf club, I try to check in with all staff areas to see how the morning has gone so far. Once I get to my desk, I typically open up my emails, check my daily/weekly calendar and finally open up all my tabs I need for each day. 

This will consist of the tee sheet, Weather Network, and of course, Tagmarshal. 

Has golf always been your first love? 

Growing up in Canada, everyone played hockey. Golf was just something we did in the summers to keep busy. I was the typical golf kid in the summer, and would get dropped off at the golf course each morning and picked up before heading home for dinner.

Tell us about your role at your golf course. Why is it important? 

The Golf Professional’s role at any golf course is important because it’s most often the first and last department you interact with when you get to the course. The Golf Pro’s role is to organize and manage the golf operations team for success.

Why has your course decided to invest in Tagmarshal? 

Like everyone else, we saw a huge increase in rounds since COVID and wanted to better understand how golfers move around our golf course. We have a world-class golf course that is considered one of Stanley Thompson’s best. It can be a challenge for players of all calibers and we wanted to know how long it really takes to play 18-holes. 

After researching a few different companies, our Golf Committee and management team made the unanimous decision to implement Tagmarshal.

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

Almost all golfers saw this as a positive for the club. It helps start the conversation on the 1^st tee with each group and is a subtle reminder that pace of play is being monitored at the Club. Once the round started, a lot of them forgot they even had the bright green tag on their bag. It allows our shop staff to have easy access to view every group on the golf course.

Describe Tagmarshal in three words.  

Quick, Accurate, Easy 

What is your dream golf destination? Why? 

For anyone outside of Canada, if you haven’t visited Cabot Links or Cabot Cliffs in Nova Scotia, I would highly recommend it. 

However, my personal dream golf destination would be the West Coast, starting in BC and driving south to California, hitting all the great courses along the way.

Your best golf moment? 

3 hole-in-ones so far to my name. One in front of my best golfing buddy and one in front of baseball legend Russell Martin.  

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

If you do not answer Tiger Woods to the question, we are not friends. Rory McIlroy would also be pretty cool to see him outdrive guys that are twice his size.