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

BODO SIEBER
CEO, Tagmarshal

The partnership with the PGA of Alberta 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, Pacific Northwest, as well as the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA), PGA Magazine and the Golf Business Network (GBN).

You can now watch our latest webinar, featuring Secession and CC of Charleston, on demand and in your own time!

It’s titled “How Secession and CC of Charleston are optimizing pace of play, keeping their members happy – using technology and data to shape their experience.”

In the webinar, Kory Reitz, Director of Golf, Secession Golf Club, and Matthew Bova, PGA, Director of Golf, Country Club of Charleston, unpack how their courses have harnessed the power of technology to provide a superb member experience.

ABOUT THE WEBINAR

Webinar Topic: How Secession and CC of Charleston are optimizing pace of play, keeping their members happy – using technology and data to shape their experience

Expert Guests: Kory Reitz, Director of Golf, Secession Golf Club, and Matthew Bova, PGA, Director of Golf, Country Club of Charleston

Improvements in equipment performance and clubfitting advances have also made it easier to dial in performance, with the help of PGA Professionals, and high-tech fabrics have made golf apparel and footwear more comfortable and protective from the elements. And on the coaching side, PGA Professionals are able to help players improve more efficiently with the data from launch monitors and other performance-tracking tech.

Technology also continues to change the business of golf in ways that may not be obvious to consumers, but are making a massive difference to owners, operators and PGA Professionals. GPS tracking is making it possible to streamline oncourse traffic, helping facilities improve pace of play while accommodating more golfers. Maintenance vehicles also are equipped with GPS for more efficient use, and some courses are deploying robotic mowers that can mow at night. Software solutions are creating efficiencies in tee times, dining reservations and inventory, while helping PGA Professionals benchmark performance and collect customer data.

Technology is also intertwining with golf beyond the course. Simulator technology has made the game a weatherproof, year-round activity like never before for consumers around the country, adding new revenue streams in food & beverage and social gatherings.

Ranges have become a technology hub, with shot-tracking solutions creating gamified practice options unlike anything the game has seen – look no further than the Toptracer and Toptracer Range, the official range technology of the PGA of America, in high-profile use at the Home of the PGA at PGA Frisco. And as golf fitness expands, motion trackers and advanced fitness equipment are helping golfers feel better and stay more active, which benefits both players and the game itself.

Something particularly interesting about most of these technologies is how quickly they’ve become mainstream. Technologies that were once experimental or aspirational are now proven performers, making them less risky as investments. Simulators are an excellent example of a technology that was once an expensive bet on a market that was not well established. Now simulators can be found in traditional high-end private clubs, resorts, daily fee courses and off-course facilities, and the proven return on investment and many established best practices for incorporating a simulator into an existing business makes the technology a much easier sell to owners and operators.

In fact, there may actually be more risk involved in shying away from technology than in embracing it. Investing in technology improvements at your facility can bring benefits in a number of areas, such as:

• Reducing costs by increasing efficiency;
• Getting to know your customers better through tracking their spending and engagement;
• Showing tech-savvy younger members and potential customers that your facility is in step with them;
• Attracting talented new employees who expect to use the latest technologies in their careers; and
• Establishing that your facility is forward looking.

In addition to those areas, bringing proven technologies to your golf facility can help PGA Professionals work more efficiently, leaving more time to spend interacting with golfers throughout the day.

“We’re using a lot of different technology solutions throughout the club, and they’re all meant to enhance the experience for members and guests – and to get our PGA Professionals out from behind the desk,” says Craig Thomas, the PGA Head Professional at Metropolis Country Club in White Plains, New York.

“The members don’t want me sitting in my office running invoices or in the back room doing inventory. They want me out on the range or the first tee, shaking hands and introducing guests to their PGA Professional. And that’s a lot easier for me now than it was even five years ago.”

On-course Technology for Facilities

While improving the experience for golfers is obviously of paramount importance, so is technology that allows facilities to enhance and streamline the on-course experience in ways that directly impact revenue and utilization – while helping make the operation run more efficiently as the labor market remains tight.

For example, technologies that help run tournaments, outings and leagues – like Golf Genius, Unknown Golf, Gallus and Cap Patrol – save valuable time for PGA Professionals. Solutions like Golf Genius, which automates processes like generating scorecards, inputting scores and calculating winnings, allow PGA Professionals more time to spend with golfers instead of dotting scorecards or poring over results at the end of an event. And Cap Patrol works in tandem with tournament solutions, helping PGA Professionals get a handle on handicaps to avoid sandbagging and keep events fair for all participants without spending valuable time searching for golfer handicaps online.

Even golf car fleets have become technologically advanced, with new lithium-ion battery golf cars requiring less maintenance and leaving less wear on the course due to lighter designs, while internet-connected golf cars allow PGA Professionals to keep the vehicles out of sensitive areas on the course, in addition to providing connectivity for ordering food & beverage or communicating with the golf shop during a round.

Golf cars are also part of the pace of player solutions that technology is making possible at many golf facilities. With the surge in golf that started at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, pace of play became an even greater issue at some facilities due to increased rounds played and the sheer number of newer – and slower – golfers on the course. Companies like Tagmarshal, Izon, AccuPin and FAIRWAYiQ have become integral elements in helping facilities maintain or even improve the flow of play, which leads to benefits across the board.

At New York’s Metropolis Country Club, Thomas and his staff deployed Tagmarshal’s GPS-based player tracking technology to overhaul the private club’s pace of play strategy.

“At a private club like ours, we don’t have rangers because the members just don’t respond to them. When play slowed down in the past, we’d inevitably get a call in the golf shop from an upset member, and the problem would already be affecting multiple groups,” Thomas says.

“Now we just clip a Tagmarshal tracker onto one bag in each group that goes out and we can follow the flow of play throughout the course from a screen in the golf shop. When we see a gap in play, we can quickly send a member of the golf staff to ride out and address the situation before it becomes a logjam that slows down the entire course.”

In the first season Metropolis used Tagmarshal technology, the club decreased round times by 12 minutes on average even as the number of rounds played increased by 34 percent. The club has since grown out more native grass and increased the speed of its greens, but the pace of play improvements have remained despite the course playing more difficult for its 250 members.

“The members really enjoy the faster pace of play that’s happening even though the course is playing significantly hard than it used to,” Thomas says. “We’ve maintained 10-minute tee time intervals, and for members it just all happens in the background. It’s been very helpful for managing traffic on course and making sure we can get out all the members who want to play without any pace of play issues.”

Management Technology

A final piece of the technology puzzle – and one that helps unlock better business performance for many facilities – is in benchmarking, where data is analyzed to improve earning potential. Companies like Sagacity Golf and Club Benchmarking are at the forefront of this trending technology, and the PGA of America has partnered with Sagacity Golf to create PGA Operations Benchmark as a free benefit to PGA Professionals who want to better understand conditions in their local markets.

One facility that has seen strong results from using Sagacity Golf’s services is Fieldstone Golf Club, a municipal course owned by the city of Auburn Hills, Michigan, just north of Detroit. PGA General Manager Chip Hierlihy was looking for ways to optimize the facility’s performance during the current golf boom and was interested in trying dynamic pricing – a system like what airlines use to lower or raise prices based on demand.

Sagacity works with Fieldstone to flex the facility’s published rate – $71 during high season – plus or minus 40 percent based on demand for a given time or day. No effort is required from the golf staff, other than being educated on how dynamic pricing works so they can explain it to customers. Between implementing dynamic pricing and bringing in Tagmarshal to improve pace of play – cutting nearly an hour off the average round time at the busy facility – Fieldstone is able to get more golfers on the course at pricing that better serves the bottom line.

“We have a 30-day booking window, and if you’re booking a tee time for a Tuesday a few weeks out, golfers might get something around $50 or less – but if they’re calling on Friday to play on Saturday when we already have 250 people on the tee sheet, they might be paying $93,” Hierlihy says. “No one else in our market was doing dynamic pricing. In 2021, when we made the switch, revenue went up 25 percent over 2020, which we thought was our high water mark. Then in 2022, we went up another 10 percent, and we’re still going higher so far in 2023.”

Other facilities have noticed Fieldstone’s success in the highly competitive Detroit market. Three of Fieldstone’s biggest competitors have since brought Sagacity Golf on to implement their own dynamic pricing systems. “I take it as a positive that other facilities are seeing what we’re doing and jumping on board,” Hierlihy says. “I talk about technology with other PGA Professionals all the time. I really think that if you’re not a part of what’s current in technology today to optimize your business, then you’re really missing the boat. ”

Source: PGA Magazine, July 2023

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Head golf professionals and course managers have long argued that there aren’t enough hours in the day to complete the tasks associated with running a successful golf operation.

As the sport’s popularity continues to grow and the demand for rounds increases, inflationary pressures and shortages in the supply chain have had a sizeable impact on wages and general operating costs. Coupled with the increased difficulty of finding quality staff for open positions and then retaining them, many teams are trying to do more, with fewer resources available.

Faced with these pressures, courses are turning to technology to give their teams the tools they need to operate more efficiently, automate time-consuming tasks and achieve success.

Here are 5 ways that your team can use technology to save valuable hours, optimizing the resources at your disposal to ensure your players have the most memorable experience possible.

TARGETED PACE MANAGEMENT

Gone are the days of aimlessly patrolling the field, looking for playing groups who have fallen out of position. Golf cart GPS tracking technology gives teams real-time updates of where each group is on the course, identifying those that are out of position and causing delays. Targeted interventions save time and improve course flow, along with reducing the number of marshals needed.

Use the data that industry-leading systems gather to make these interventions fact-based, neutral discussions and to help develop realistic pace of play policies to communicate to your players.

PRO TIP: Set your marshals daily or weekly goals for positive on-course interactions. This will reframe them as player assistants over time, tasked with enhancing the golfing experience rather than just policing pace of play issues.

INCREASED LABOR EFFICIENCY

Technology has enabled one person to fulfill what were once multiple roles. For example, a team member can now monitor the course’s pace of play from the clubhouse or pro shop while carrying out other tasks, or on the move via mobile phone, only stepping in to assist when a potential problem arises. 

This saves labor hours and salary costs, freeing up resources that you can direct toward delivering an exceptional player experience that will set your course apart from the rest.

PRO TIP: Tagmarshal’s Live Map provides a real-time, birds-eye view of where each group is on the course. Have this visible on TV screens in the clubhouse or pro shop to encourage players to self-manage their pace, further increasing resource optimization.

AUTOMATING TASKS

Harnessing the power of technology to automate what were once time-consuming tasks is quickly becoming the norm.

Rather than having staff running mental or pen-and-paper calculations on each group’s time to schedule, embrace industry-leading golf cart tracking technology that compiles this data automatically. Not only is it far more accurate and immediately accessible, but it may also shine a light on areas where efficiencies can be uncovered at your course, like gap time interval management and hole setups.

Many labor-intensive, day-to-day tasks, such as protecting sensitive areas of the turf via geofencing or assigning tee sheets, can be automated with the right technology in play.

PRO TIP: Investing the time upfront to set up automation processes wherever possible will pay dividends down the line, both in labor and cost saving, as well as increasing the amount of data the technology you use can gather.

ADVANCE FOOD AND BEVERAGE ORDERS

Bottlenecks around the halfway house are a surefire way to create pace and flow issues across the back nine.

Utilize technology to order food and beverages directly from carts, before players arrive at the halfway house or clubhouse, which results in a quicker turnaround time.

Your kitchen staff can then plan ahead and be more efficient, saving labor hours and increasing the amount of time players have to spend at the pro shop and 19th hole at the end of their rounds.

PRO TIP: On courses with Tagmarshal’s 2Way screens, automated alerts can be configured to trigger at certain locations. When a group enters the fairway on the 8th hole, for example, set up a message to appear notifying players that they can place their orders via the screen.

IMPROVED GEOFENCING TURF PROTECTION

Course conditioning remains the biggest expense associated with running a club, so resource optimization is crucial.

With golf cart GPS tracking, once a geofence is designed and activated, automatic notifications can be set up to alert players as they enter a restricted area, saving your team hours that would previously have been spent patrolling the course. You also have recorded data of exactly where and when breaches occur, ensuring players can be held accountable and driving compliance.

Your team is able to see where playing groups are at any time on the course, identifying gaps in the field to safely complete maintenance during the day, rather than after hours, without adversely impacting the player experience.

PRO TIP: Hard-stopping carts with a kill switch is a proven cause of complaints and negative post-round sentiment. Tagmarshal’s system is set up to alert players when they breach a geofence, allowing them to self-correct. It also records the data so players can be held accountable during and after a round.

Given the difficulties of hiring and retaining qualified staff in the current labor market and the increasing costs associated with doing so, it’s imperative that opportunities to maximize efficiencies are embraced.

Courses that use technology for resource optimization, automating tasks and increasing efficiency to save their team labor hours, are best placed to deal with these challenges.

When that same technology is proven to enhance the golfing experience and identify opportunities to generate additional revenue, it becomes a win-win for both courses and players.

“On-course guest experience is critical to Sand Valley’s success; most notably our pace of play. By partnering with Tagmarshal ahead of our highly anticipated openings of Sedge Valley and The Lido, we have ensured that our player experience toolkit remains fully stocked. Tagmarshal allows us the confidence to open new golf courses that will meet our stout requirements from day one.”

DEREK GUZMAN
PGA, Head Golf Professional, Sand Valley Resort

“It’s been a pleasure watching Sand Valley’s phenomenal rise to becoming one of the region’s premier golf destinations. Credit must go to the Keiser family for their vision, hard work and dedication, and we’re delighted to extend our partnership with the group to include these two extraordinary courses.”

BODO SIEBER
CEO, Tagmarshal

The original The Lido Golf Club opened in 1917 on Long Island, New York, and ranked among the best golf course designs in the world. During the Great Depression, it fell into disrepair and the course closed for good when the land was repurposed by the U.S. Navy during World War II.

Once heralded as “the greatest course you’ll never play,” that changed when the Keiser family undertook to painstakingly reconstruct the course using digital blueprints of the original design. With GPS-guided tractors recreating everything from routing and shaping to bunkers and hazards, it’s easily one of the most anticipated new course launches in history.

Inspired by the revered links courses of England, Sedge Valley’s design blends an intimate piece of Sand Valley’s property, rich with sandy soil, native groundcover and a prominent rock outcropping.

“With an experienced and committed management team running day-to-day operations and guaranteeing amazing golf experiences, Tagmarshal wishes Sedge Valley and The Lido great success as they get ready to open to the public over the next year.”

BODO SIEBER
CEO, Tagmarshal

The industry leader in on-course optimization technology, Tagmarshal is proud to partner with Sand Valley, providing their team with full, real-time operational oversight and reporting and the tools they need to enhance the player experience and increase efficiency.

Tagmarshal partners with over 500 private, daily fee, public and resort courses and several golf management groups including 35 of the Top 100 US courses. Partners include Pebble Beach, Baltusrol, Whistling Straits, Cog Hill, Erin Hills, Oakmont and many $30 to $50 green fee courses, which are all achieving excellent results using Tagmarshal’s optimization technology.

To learn more about Tagmarshal and the impact optimization can have at your course, please book a meeting or live demo with John Willmore, Chief Revenue Officer (email: john.willmore@tagmarshal.com). Alternatively, visit www.tagmarshal.com/demo.

Read the original article here.