The German magazine, Golf Manager recently featured Tagmarshal.

Ways to optimize the game

View the German version here.

Ways to optimize the game

by Golf Manager Magazine

Even though not every golf course worldwide has the luxury problem of a start-up times that exceeds the supply: the duration of the golf season is not only an important factor in the possible yield of a golf course but plays an important role in the evaluation of the golfer’s experience by the players.

Probably every golfer knows this from their own experience: If a round of five or even six hours (as in Germany, especially in tournaments often hit), the fun of the round can be felt noticeably. In surveys, too, the time intensity of the golf game is often referred to as an obstacle to the choice of this sport. At the PGA show, several supplier solutions were presented this year to analyze and optimize the lap times. The South African company Tagmarshal with additional office in Las Vegas has already won some prestigious golf courses for its concept in the past months. CEO of the company is the German-born Bodo Sieber. The reference people include Whistling Straits, Forest Glen, The Links at Gateway and Erin Hills, venue of this year’s US Open. The goal of the company is to optimize the round-the-clock and support the Marshals of the clubs in their work. “Golfers usually have a defined time budget for their sport. If this is completely used up by the round, the golfers mostly forgo a visit to the restaurant or the Pro shop, “says Sieber. In other words, the shorter and the more rigorously maintained play times mean that the golf clubs have not only the chance to bring more golfers to the round, but also to make more sales with existing golfers within the area where they stay.

The required technique is comparatively simple: Each game group is given its own tracker, which is given either (if available) to the caddy or at each game group goes with a tracker on the round – with “Tagmarshal” the round times can be analyzed and if necessary, take action.  to a player attached to the bag. Golf carts also have their own version. The trackers have their own Sim cards, which are used to communicate the ongoing measurements to a central server. “Extensive hardware installations on the system are not required with our system,” emphasizes Sieber. The question of how long a round should last is ultimately decided by the respective facility. Tagmarshal considers each individual path in its application, so that the clubs can precisely track which lanes, if any, lead to delays. This can then be the basis for the club’s measures to accelerate the game, for example, to mow the rough shorter or move the tea boxes. The evaluations of these measures can be measured and evaluated immediately. The Marshals – and, of course, the club management or the secretariat – also use tablets to identify the respective game times and possible delays against the target time per game group. “Most of the time, we also take on the specific data of the individual players from the clubs’ start-up systems so that in the medium term it becomes clear whether certain players or game groups are often slower than planned,” Sieber shows further possibilities.

However, the system not only shows the delays, but also analyzes them by means of its own algorithm – and Marshal or Club management automatically provides recommendations on the order in which the delayed game groups are to be taken care of. “Lastly, if there are several late game groups on the round, they have to balance each other carefully with regard to their impact on the overall system and to put them in a sequence of measures,” Sieber continued. Club management can also evaluate the data as daily statistics and per game track. Tagmarshal will also offer its system in Germany in the future, its own office here is not planned so far. The cost depends on the version used: The basic system is ideal for clubs where laps are usually completed on foot. It costs $ 490 per month, including 40 trackers. Clubs that typically use carts, the company recommends the premium version with additional features such as geofencing, VIP guest tracking, and Marshal Management for $ 690 per month. On request, there is also a purchase variant for the tracker. The training in the system is by video training; Currently this is usually carried out in English. “On the whole, we expect an average of six weeks’ advance, including training. We use about two weeks to calibrate the system, collect data and define the algorithms,” says Sieber. His previous customers were very satisfied with the impact of the system – the lap times were noticeably lowered and also the perception of the golfer’s experience by the players was noticeably increased. “In addition, it was shown that the clubs were able to reduce the number of marshals or their hours of service with our system, or that even the club secretariat was responsible for the delays of the customer. It is important to us, however, that the golfers are addressed about the problem in a personal communication and at best suggest solutions directly, “summarizes Sieber.

View PDF here.

The Pellucid Perspective recently featured Jim Dunlap’s Tagmarshal article.

Pellucid Perspective is an industry publication sent to over 35,000 opt-in golf professionals each month. Jim Dunlap also contributes to Golf Inc. and Club & Resort Business.

New pace of play technology tracks walkers too

by Jim Dunlap

The golf industry’s recent emphasis on accelerated pace of play as the answer to golf’s time problem with millennials and others has not come without a price. While the USGA attempted to get the faster play word out to golfers through its “While We’re Young” TV ad campaign, the message was disseminated to operators that shaving a few minutes off the time required for an average round of golf would increase play and customer satisfaction. It’s difficult to measure exactly how much and in what way more aggressive pace of play monitoring has impacted customer traffic, but the industry-wide data on participation and rounds does not indicate that slightly faster play is the answer. Additionally, in some cases, more aggressive marshalling has meant increased payroll and caused friction with customers who feel they are being blamed and unduly harassed for delays that are not their fault.

A new product called Tagmarshal, initially launched at the 2015 PGA Merchandise Show, is designed to address those problems, as well as the gap in cart-mounted GPS tracking systems that occurs at courses with a high incidence of walking golfers. The Tagmarshal system can either be installed on golf cars or attached to the bag of one member of a walking foursome. Pro shop staff members can then monitor the progress and pace of every group in real time and get a more accurate reading on slow groups who are causing bottlenecks and slowing overall pace of play. Rather than having several course marshals roaming the course and occasionally making inaccurate assessments of which groups are actually causing a slowdown, the course can dispatch a marshal to the source of the delay, armed with recorded proof that the group in question is slowing play.

Bodo Sieber, the co-founder and CEO of Tagmarshal, said that the target course profile is one which is really busy and/or is making a concerted effort to control pace of play. If, like two of the company’s earliest adopters Whistling Straits and Erin Hills, the course is either walking-only or has a significant number of walkers, the Tagmarshal system is perhaps uniquely suited to monitoring pace for the full tee sheet. Sieber estimated that the system can provide up to 40 percent more coverage at frequently walked courses. “The Tagmarshal management system has enabled us to effectively implement our pace of play policy, assisting us in reducing playtime, which enabled us to add an additional tee time for extra capacity,” said Erin Hills Head Pro Jim Lombardo on the Tagmarshal web site. His comment illustrates a revenue incentive in the additional tee time for sale to accompany potential cost savings in marshal labor. The system also offers additional software metrics such as “geofencing” to detect carts or golfers who venture into restricted areas or leave the property, as well as other statistical analysis of play patterns.

The Tagmarshal system includes both hardware components which can be either purchased or rented and software components. Sieber said the basic or core software solution costs courses $490 per month, while packages with additional features run $690 monthly. The hardware costs as little as $150 per month if rented. In either case, Sieber said that the cost could potentially be offset or wholly covered by savings in marshal labor or by adding an additional tee time.

Sieber said that anecdotal evidence indicates that one of the primary causes of discord between golfers and marshals is arguments about who is to blame for a gap in play, or slow play. As he noted, “It’s not us, it’s the group ahead of us” is a frequent claim. With the Tagmarshal system, he said, marshals can not only see exactly which group is causing delays, but demonstrate that to the offending players.

The company is headquartered in South Africa and has some client courses in Europe and the U.K., but Sieber said the company’s focus is the U.S. market. The company’s goal, he said, is to establish long term working relationships with courses, continually expanding and refining software applications and technology to meet client course needs. For those interested in learning more, the company will be exhibiting at the PGA and GIS shows this year.

See the article on the pellucidcorp.com website here.

Tagmarshal set up next to PGA Technology Pavilion at PGA Show

The Tagmarshal team is gearing up for a 3rd successive PGA Merchandise Show and will attend the Golf Industry Show as well, just a week later, also in Orlando, Florida.

“We are excited to attend and exhibit again, as it gives us an opportunity to see many of our existing clients, as well as meet courses, Golf Pros and course owners that have expressed interest in our system over the recent months and weeks.” says Tagmarshal CEO Bodo Sieber.

The Pace of Play management system was first introduced at the PGA Show in 2015 as a ‘new technology’ exhibitor. The company’s 2017 booth is located suitably close to the PGA Technology Pavilion at number 3102.

Tagmarshal has a strong relationship with its customers and uses this working connection to stay close to market demands and take its partner courses lead when it comes to adding new functionalities and providing a stronger service.

The system has seen strong growth in partner courses since the 2016 show and starts 2017 on a high note after the company signed a growth funding round and tee’d off a US marketing and PR campaign.

The company’s customers confirm there is a mindset shift evident in the golf industry moving away from seeing Pace of Play as a potential problem that may or may not need fixing, to instead treating Pace of Play as an asset, with a very real opportunity to optimize returns.

“We have a number of very interesting strategic and media meetings lined up for both events and are excited to start the year with this positive momentum!” concludes Sieber.

Booth info: 

Tagmarshal will exhibit at the PGA Merchandise Show booth 3102 (next to the PGA technology Pavilion) January 25th-27th, Orange County Convention Center, Orlando Florida.

To schedule an introductory meeting or demo at the PGA show please contact: 

John Willmore
Email: john.willmore@tagmarshal.com

Press, Media and interview requests:

TOMMY GLASGOW
Office: +1 703.891.3348
Mobile: +1 703.615.6484
Email: tglasgow@buffalo.agency

Tagmarshal closes funding round to further growth

Introduced at the 2015 PGA Golf Merchandise Show in Orlando, Florida. Tagmarshal delivers a B2B SaaS solution to the growing golf industry problem of slow play. Through its sophisticated pace of play management system, Tagmarshal turns this widespread challenge into an opportunity for golf courses to unlock significant additional revenue and improve player satisfaction.

The course and field optimisation system was bootstrapped in South Africa by a team of four co-founders and gained early successes by catching the eye of several major championship venues in the US. The technology, which uses small GPS tags to transmit player movement data to course management, has a chance to revolutionize the United States’ multi-billion dollar golf industry.

Following an initial angel round by European investors in Q1 of 2016, Tagmarshal’s product advancements and growth performance saw the company aggressively increase its customer base and revenue over the next two quarters.

The second funding round was again led by first round lead investor Christian Vollmann, a well-known and particularly active multi-exit founder and investor from Berlin, Germany. He was joined by five new EU and SA-based investors, among them James Espey OBE and Florian Bauer. Tagmarshal’s founders and another round one investor also followed on in part and the round was oversubscribed by early December.

“We have a proven product and a growing list of customers that are not only getting results and significant ROI, but are happy to recommend and refer their networks. This speaks volumes for the effort our team has put into working closely with some of the industry’s best courses, focusing on advancing the technology to help achieve their business goals” said Bodo Sieber, Tagmarshal co-founder and CEO.

Sieber, a German national and long-time South African resident with previous startup experience in Berlin, added “We are excited to be in a solid position to focus on expanding our U.S. and international footprint. We are obviously delighted to work with a strong group of investors to back us in this growth phase. Personally I believe this funding round also supports our decision to run operations from Cape Town, which has recently been voted as a stand out destination for foreign direct investment.”

The company predicts rapid growth at an existing distribution hub and sales branch in the U.S. Another part of the expansion strategy is the appointment of the U.S. golf and sport marketing firm, ‘Buffalo.Agency,’ a division of Billy Casper Golf – one of the world’s top golf management companies..

“We’re part of the growing list of Tagmarshal believers because the value they bring is so clear ,” says Rich Katz, Managing Director of Buffalo Agency. “Several of the world’s top courses use Tagmarshal because it allows them to make data-driven decisions that lower average play times, improve player experience, reduce costs and deliver additional revenue.”

Buffalo Agency Selected by Tagmarshal to Direct Integrated Marketing Program

(RESTON, VA) – Tagmarshal, the new pace-of-play and revenue-optimizing system used globally by golf courses, including hosts of major tournaments have selected Buffalo.Agency to direct an integrated marketing program.

Focused on branding, sales strategy consultation and public relations, Buffalo will also leverage its deep network to introduce Tagmarshal to golf courses, resorts and country clubs. Erin Hills and Whistling Straits, host of the 2017 U.S. Open and 2020 Ryder Cup, respectively, continue to benefit from the system.

Tagmarshal’s industry-leading algorithms display real-time alerts for clubhouse staff and marshals to preemptively address golfers slowing off pace. Data transmission is from a small GPS device clipped to walkers’ bags or installed on carts. Tagmarshal stands alone in tracking walking rounds.

Access to a wealth of information allows course staff to decisively monitor golfers’ on-course positions, prevent potential bottlenecks and accelerate pace of play. Faster golfers mean shorter tee-time intervals, streamlined staffing, and greater golfer enjoyment and member-guest lifetime value.

“Feedback from courses confirms there are opportunities to unlock significant revenue and improve player satisfaction through Tagmarshal technology and practicality,” says Bodo Sieber, Co-Founder and CEO of Tagmarshal. “Buffalo’s powerful storytelling, and media and industry connections, will increase awareness and adoption of the system.”

A recent USGA survey shows 74% of golfers believe pace of play is “critical” to their enjoyment of a round. Fittingly, the Tagmarshal solution causes many holes to be played in three fewer minutes and golfers to play from the correct tees. Superintendents use Tagmarshal pace data to better manage pin placements which lead to less golfer stress, better scores and repeat play.

“There is a rise of advanced analytics across the sports industry, and golf is no exception with Tagmarshal taking the guesswork out of marshals’ hands,” says Rich Katz, Managing Director of Buffalo.Agency. “Several of the world’s top courses use Tagmarshal and it’s our job to showcase its proven value proposition.”

More information: tagmarshal.com, 725.333.7354.

About Buffalo.Agency

A 50-person, full-service, integrated marketing firm headquartered outside Washington, D.C., Buffalo.Agency specializes in the golf, sport and lifestyle markets. It delivers strategy development, public relations, data and analytics, direct marketing, digital-social media and creative services to clients operating in more than 40 countries. Golf brands include Arccos Golf, CHAMP Spikes, ECCO, Fila, GolfTEC, LPGA, PGA National Resort & Spa, Sea Pines Resort and World Golf Foundation.