The Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final taking place this week in Mallorca, Spain gives players the chance to earn a card for the DP World Tour. With pace of play a hot topic at the Masters and other majors this year, the Challenge Tour, supported by the R&A, was intent on ensuring good pace and flow of play at the Grand Final. 

Tournament organizers approached pace of play and optimization technology expert Tagmarshal to track player pace this week. Tagmarshal has been working with the DP World Tour for nearly 4 years. No stranger to golf in Spain, Tagmarshal also has a long-term partnership with the Club de Golf Alcanada, host to the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final.

Tagmarshal International’s managing director, Stephen Knoop, knows there will be numerous benefits to using the technology and data – not just for Tour officials, but also for players and spectators.

“Improving both the pace and flow of the play will result in a better experience for the players. With fewer hold-ups in play, and technology enabled line of sight for rulings, officials have an improved tournament environment, and the general public will enjoy a more fulfilling day of spectating.”

Tagmarshal’s optimization and pace of play technology has been improving pace of play and the player experience at hundreds of golf clubs since launching in the USA in 2015, where it is now in use at 35 of the country’s top 100 venues, including major hosts Whistling Straits, Valhalla, Erin Hills, Oakmont, Pinehurst, the Ocean Course at Kiawah, and some 500 other partners.

Its European expansion began in 2017 in Spain, at Club de Golf Alcanada, who received a 2023 Platinum Award for performance excellence in recognition of exceptional pace and flow of play and levels of on-course service at this year’s Tagmarshal Awards. Tagmarshal is now in use at 80 facilities across Europe, including the prestigious Real Club de Sotogrande, in Spain; the highly acclaimed Praia D’El Rey and West Cliffs resorts in Portugal; Ballybunion and Portmarnock in Ireland; and The Grove, Royal Portrush, Turnberry, and eight-time Open Championship host Carnoustie Golf Links in the UK.

Kristoff Both, Director of Golf at Club de Golf Alcanada, puts his trust in Tagmarshal:

“I consider Tagmarshal a revolution in golf management. For the first time, we are 100% in control of what is happening on the course. On top of optimizing our course flow, we can empower our staff and have objective data to manage and continuously improve our operation.”

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

Our latest webinar, “How tech brings innovation to Wild Rock, improving the player experience and revenue,” is now available to watch on-demand and in your own time!

Our expert guest, Pat Stein, PGA, Director of Golf Operations, Wild Rock Golf Club, delves into how his club uses tech to enhance the player experience through pace and flow of play management, while also generating additional revenue.

ABOUT THE WEBINAR

Webinar Topic: How tech brings innovation to Wild Rock, improving the player experience and revenue

Expert Guest: Pat Stein, PGA, Director of Golf Operations, Wild Rock Golf Club

ABOUT TAGMARSHAL

Tagmarshal, the leader in golf course intelligence software, optimizes on-course operations.

The industry-trusted system provides full operational oversight and reporting, proactive, real-time management of field flow and data-driven management, which drives cost savings.

• Established in 2014, Tagmarshal’s headquarters are in Atlanta, GA.
• Our office in Cork, Ireland focuses on the UK and Europe.
• With operations in South Africa, supporting partners in SA and Australia.
• Tagmarshal has a global reach: Partners in 9 countries and 4 continents.

To optimize on-course operations, using data driven management to increase efficiency, enhance player experiences and drive cost savings.

rounds tracked and improved

of the Top 100 USA courses

private, daily fee and resort courses

$50 per round courses

ROI per season

Golf course optimization technology expert, Tagmarshal, is excited to announce its partnership with the Illinois PGA Section, as it looks to engage with and add value to PGA professionals across this region.

Tagmarshal’s technology provides courses with full, real-time operational oversight and reporting. Using a hybrid of advanced GPS technology and powerful algorithms based on data from more than 30 million rounds, managers can optimize on-course operations, effectively manage pace and flow of play to enhance the player experience, increase efficiency through automation and generate additional revenue.

The partnership with the Illinois PGA includes sharing educational opportunities such as online webinars and expert sessions, as well as event sponsorship.

“We’re proud to be recognized as a valuable partner of the Illinois PGA, working in synergy with their team, to grow the game in Illinois. We look forward to sharing our data-driven insights and processes with their members.”

BODO SIEBER
CEO, Tagmarshal

“We are excited to announce our new partnership with Tagmarshal. We value their commitment in supporting the Illinois PGA Section and look forward to working with them closely to help grow within the Illinois Section boundary lines.”

CARRIE WILLIAMS
Executive Director, Illinois PGA

The partnership with the Illinois PGA Section builds on Tagmarshal’s existing partner network, which includes several PGA Sections, such as Northern Texas, Southern Texas, Southwest, South Florida, North Florida, New England, Metropolitan and Pacific Northwest, as well as the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA), PGA Magazine and the Golf Business Network (GBN).

Reading Time: 9 minutes

Club owners and operators across the US are facing inflationary stresses, with a sharp rise in the cost of running a golf club over the past few years.

Interest in the sport has also never been greater and as the high volume of off-course golf (real club, real ball, full-swing driving range or simulator-related) being played translates into on-course golf, operators are under pressure to get the most out of their team.

In addition, clubs are finding it difficult to hire qualified staff for open positions and wages have soared, meaning that many clubs are having to do more, with smaller teams.

Fortunately, technological advancements are changing the way clubs manage their on-course operations, and being able to automate what were once very time-consuming tasks plays a large part in this.

Below, we will discuss 5 ways you can use Tagmarshal’s on-course optimization technology to automate and get the most out of your team, while improving the player experience.

1. PLAYER ASSISTANTS

Tagmarshal’s Live Map feature gives operators real-time, full line of sight of each group on the course. This means player assistants no longer need to patrol the field to find groups that are out of position, as the technology does this for them.

The system also allows managers to set up pace-based alerts for staff, which are automatically triggered when a group falls out of position by a specified number of minutes.

For example, an alert can be sent to your player assistants notifying them that a group on hole 7 has fallen 8 minutes out of position so that the issue can be addressed before it impacts the rest of the field.

PRO TIP: Alerts can also be set up to display on Tagmarshal’s 2Way screens, letting players know they are behind pace. This drives compliance on the part of the players.

“Tagmarshal allows us to more or less eliminate player assistants on certain days. The idea of aimlessly driving the golf course looking for issues seems like a nightmare now.”

Andrew McCarthy
Head Golf Professional, Donalda Club

2. GEOFENCING

Geofencing helps to prevent golfers from entering protected or prohibited areas of your course and technology makes this easier to manage and gain compliance.

Use Tagmarshal’s technology to set up geofencing for your facility. When setting up your geofence borders, you can draw a number of preset options – suitable for cart path only days or adverse weather days, for example.

These can be toggled on and off as needed and automatic alerts set up for your team to be notified whenever a breach occurs.

Your team will save hours that would otherwise be spent patrolling the field, receiving alerts directly to their computer, tablet or phone in real-time.

PRO TIP: Tagmarshal’s system allows for different priority alerts to be set up for players, ranging from a message displayed on the 2Way screens to an audible alert.

“I’ve noticed a marked improvement in compliance. The geofencing is very easy to draw and can be turned on and off depending on weather conditions.”

Eric Schwab
General Manager, North Kent Golf Course

3. F&B ORDERS

Prompting F&B orders before players arrive at the halfway house or clubhouse will help generate additional revenue, as well as free up labor hours.

At courses using Tagmarshal’s 2Way screens, automatic prompts can be set up to trigger at strategic locations using GPS technology, encouraging players to complete an order before reaching the halfway house.

These orders are then automatically fed through to your kitchen staff, who can prepare the order to be ready upon the player’s arrival, increasing efficiency and reducing turn times.

PRO TIP: Use the alert system to keep players informed about any F&B specials you are running. You can also promote upcoming events and deals at the pro shop.

“Our F&B menu pops up on the 2Way screens on our 8th hole and it speeds up the turn time, preventing any backup. This improves course flow and boosts our revenue.”

Kris Dennis
General Manager, Tierra Rejada Golf Course

4. STARTER ACCURACY

Ensuring that your playing groups tee off on time is the first step in managing pace of play. However, measuring starter accuracy with pen and paper is extremely labor-intensive and often inaccurate. With GPS tracking technology, the precise moment a group enters the first tee area is automatically recorded. Tagmarshal’s Analytics Hub stores this information so that performance can be tracked and reported on over time to drive improvement.

Each group’s actual tee time also reflects in the Track Map, informing any post-round conversations you may need to have with players.

PRO TIP: Tagmarshal’s Auto Assignment functionality automatically assigns the nearest tee time recorded on the tee sheet to a round as it starts. Your team only needs to monitor those assignments, which will be flagged by the system if the timing goes out of alignment.

“Through our partnership with Tagmarshal, we have consistently improved pace of play. The Analytics Hub eliminates pace discrepancies, providing precise data down to the second.”

Tahlon Sweenie
Director Of Golf Operations, Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge

5. ALERT MESSAGES

Alongside automated alerts to groups that fall out of position, with escalating alerts following before a player assistant is sent to the group, valuable information can be shared with players.

Let players know where the drinks cart is at any time, or a rules official during tournament play.

Towards the end of each day, tee up an automated message triggered at a specified time telling players when the last cart must be in and where carts must be parked.

PRO TIP: In the case of approaching bad weather, a message can be sent to inform players where they can take shelter, or to let them know they must return to the clubhouse.

“The 2Way feature is fantastic. We can see who is out on the course and send messages directly to groups. That gentle nudge tends to work really well.”

Allison George
General Manager, Toad Valley Golf Course

CONCLUSION

Golf continues to embrace the use of technology to optimize on-course operations and provide the best player experience possible.

Every hour your team saves by automating tasks that were previously time-consuming
is not only cost-efficient, but also allows for more time to be spent offering exceptional service.

This helps drive repeat play and positive word of mouth, helping to ensure the long-term success of your operation.