NEWS
Pinehurst Leans Into Tech To Shape ‘Major Experience’ Post-U.S. Open
Article by Erik Matuszewski, Forbes, June 2024
For regular resort golfers, part of the allure of Pinehurst No. 2 is playing the same penal golf course and fiendish turtleback greens that have hosted the U.S. Open four times. But while the heralded Donald Ross design might deliver a similar look and feel for traveling golfers, it won’t be played to tournament conditions most other weeks of the year outside the U.S. Open.
In trying to figure out the balance between fair and foul for everyday golfers at a championship layout like Pinehurst No. 2, the resort’s golf staff for the past seven years has relied on a data-driven software – Tagmarshal – to help answer questions about green speeds, hole positioning, and pace-of-play.
Tagmarshal’s on-course technology provides one-third of the top 100 golf courses in the U.S., including Pinehurst, with real-time data and player tracking that help optimize operations. The millions of data points Tagmarshal has amassed while tracking every round at Pinehurst’s No. 2 and No. 4 courses in recent years reveal how changes in conditions affect the player experience.
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“We consider ourselves a living laboratory and we’re continually trying to improve. As a result, Tagmarshal is a great catalyst for us to understand what we’re putting in place, providing quantitative analysis of what is working and why it’s working.”
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![profile picture](https://www.tagmarshal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/golf-cart-gps-matt-barksdale.jpg)
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Tagmarshal has helped the Pinehurst staff determine what “major conditions” should look like on a course like No. 2 after the professionals have left town, perhaps most notably how fast the greens should roll to provide an exciting experience while maintaining a reasonable pace of play. The software can also show which holes (and hole placements) most add to on-course delays.
While the treacherous greens might roll at a 13 or 14 on the Stimpmeter during the U.S. Open, yielding rounds that average over five hours for the pros, everyday Stimpmeter speeds of 10 to 10 ½ are found to best keep rounds around the 4 1/2-hour target for resort guests. When speeds exceed 11, only 22% of rounds are on pace.
“For us to have that information both previous to and post-U.S. Opens gives us concrete evidence that we are back to normal playing conditions from a flow and pace-of-play standpoint,” said Barksdale. “Tagmarshal gives us a barometer to get to the appropriate outcome.”
Pinehurst No. 2 isn’t returning to resort conditions just yet though.
Just a week after Bryson DeChambeau’s U.S. Open win, the course is set to host one of the nation’s premier amateur tournaments — the men’s and women’s North & South Championships – from June 23-29. Competitors will face similar green speeds to that at the U.S. Open.
Shortly after, the process of bringing the course back to resort conditions begins. And it’s Tagmarshal’s data that will inform the process and help determine a standard Barksdale calls the “championship level for resort guests.”
Read the full article in Forbes
ABOUT TAGMARSHAL
Tagmarshal, the market leader in on-course optimization technology, provides courses with full, real-time operational oversight and reporting, giving golf operators the tools to manage pace and flow of play effectively, resulting in enhanced player experiences, increased efficiency through automation, and additional revenue generation.
Tagmarshal’s technology has collected over 1 billion data points from more than 75 million rounds of golf and has relationships with in excess of 600 partners, including Hazeltine, Whistling Straits, Baltusrol, Fieldstone, Bandon Dunes, Serenoa and Erin Hills.
Tagmarshal partners with several golf management groups, private, daily fee, public and resort courses, including 40 of the Top 100 US courses, as well as many $40-$60 green fee courses, which are seeing excellent results using the system.
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ABOUT TAGMARSHAL
Tagmarshal, the market leader in on-course optimization technology, provides courses with full, real-time operational oversight and reporting, giving golf operators the tools to manage pace and flow of play effectively, resulting in enhanced player experiences, increased efficiency through automation, and additional revenue generation.
Tagmarshal’s technology has collected over 1 billion data points from more than 75 million rounds of golf and has relationships with in excess of 600 partners, including Hazeltine, Whistling Straits, Baltusrol, Fieldstone, Bandon Dunes, Serenoa and Erin Hills.
Tagmarshal partners with several golf management groups, private, daily fee, public and resort courses, including 40 of the Top 100 US courses, as well as many $40-$60 green fee courses, which are seeing excellent results using the system.
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ABOUT TAGMARSHAL
Tagmarshal, the market leader in on-course optimization technology, provides courses with full, real-time operational oversight and reporting, giving golf operators the tools to manage pace and flow of play effectively, resulting in enhanced player experiences, increased efficiency through automation, and additional revenue generation.
Tagmarshal’s technology has collected over 1 billion data points from more than 75 million rounds of golf and has relationships with in excess of 600 partners, including Hazeltine, Whistling Straits, Baltusrol, Fieldstone, Bandon Dunes, Serenoa and Erin Hills.
Tagmarshal partners with several golf management groups, private, daily fee, public and resort courses, including 40 of the Top 100 US courses, as well as many $40-$60 green fee courses, which are seeing excellent results using the system.
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ABOUT TAGMARSHAL
Tagmarshal, the market leader in on-course optimization technology, provides courses with full, real-time operational oversight and reporting, giving golf operators the tools to manage pace and flow of play effectively, resulting in enhanced player experiences, increased efficiency through automation, and additional revenue generation.
Tagmarshal’s technology has collected over 1 billion data points from more than 75 million rounds of golf and has relationships with in excess of 600 partners, including Hazeltine, Whistling Straits, Baltusrol, Fieldstone, Bandon Dunes, Serenoa and Erin Hills.
Tagmarshal partners with several golf management groups, private, daily fee, public and resort courses, including 40 of the Top 100 US courses, as well as many $40-$60 green fee courses, which are seeing excellent results using the system.
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ABOUT TAGMARSHAL
Tagmarshal, the market leader in on-course optimization technology, provides courses with full, real-time operational oversight and reporting, giving golf operators the tools to manage pace and flow of play effectively, resulting in enhanced player experiences, increased efficiency through automation, and additional revenue generation.
Tagmarshal’s technology has collected over 1 billion data points from more than 75 million rounds of golf and has relationships with in excess of 600 partners, including Hazeltine, Whistling Straits, Baltusrol, Fieldstone, Bandon Dunes, Serenoa and Erin Hills.
Tagmarshal partners with several golf management groups, private, daily fee, public and resort courses, including 40 of the Top 100 US courses, as well as many $40-$60 green fee courses, which are seeing excellent results using the system.
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ABOUT TAGMARSHAL
Tagmarshal, the market leader in on-course optimization technology, provides courses with full, real-time operational oversight and reporting, giving golf operators the tools to manage pace and flow of play effectively, resulting in enhanced player experiences, increased efficiency through automation, and additional revenue generation.
Tagmarshal’s technology has collected over 1 billion data points from more than 75 million rounds of golf and has relationships with in excess of 600 partners, including Hazeltine, Whistling Straits, Baltusrol, Fieldstone, Bandon Dunes, Serenoa and Erin Hills.
Tagmarshal partners with several golf management groups, private, daily fee, public and resort courses, including 40 of the Top 100 US courses, as well as many $40-$60 green fee courses, which are seeing excellent results using the system.