TAGMARSHAL MAKING WAVES ON IBERIAN PENINSULA

Leading courses saving an average of 20 minutes per round

Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, Praia d’el Rey, West Cliffs, Alcanada – four top golf courses that are on the bucket list of many golfers visiting Spain and Portugal for a golfing break.

In addition to being much-lauded designs and exquisitely manicured, one of the reasons a round at these clubs stands out from the crowd is that each has adopted the market-leading Tagmarshal course-management system, which improves the golfing experience for the player, while benefiting the venue with optimised on-course efficiency, resulting in cost savings and additional revenue.

The proof of Tagmarshal’s effectiveness lies in the data the company retrieves from its clients. Between the four courses, they achieved a 20 minute reduction in average round time between June and August.  This 20-minute average round-time improvement, on the back of optimally balanced play on the course, freed up more than 66 hours on a single busy day, with 200 players. 

The improvements are well received by golfers who rate a positive flow and pace of play as a key experience driver. Leading the way were West Cliffs and Alcanada, who reduced their average round time by 28 and 23 minutes respectively.

Agustin Mazarrasa, the general manager at Sotogrande – one of Europe’s premier layouts – explained: “I do not know how we could not have used Tagmarshal until now. It is a great tool that is allowing us to optimise the job of our marshals, monitor pace of play, control restricted areas on the golf course and be able to make decisions based on information.”

And his views were echoed by Francisco Cadete, the director of golf at Praia D’El Rey and West Cliffs, the finest new course in Portugal.

“Tagmarshal has given us the ability to have a line of sight and full control on the course. It allows us to know where the players are, when they finish etc. We can now provide an exceptional on-course experience to our members and guests,” he said.

Indeed, Alcanada’s year-on-year performance for August to October – the busiest month for the Mallorcan club – shows an average 10-minute reduction with an improvement for groups within 10 minutes of goal time of 10 percentage points. While in October itself, when the most rounds were played, the improvement was almost 12 minutes, with a goal-time increase of 21 percentage points.

Tagmarshal’s industry-leading algorithms display real-time alerts for clubhouse staff and marshals to pre-emptively address golfers falling out of position the required pace of play. Data transmission is provided from a small GPS device clipped to golfers’ bag, or a 2Way screen installed on buggies.

From pace-tracking and utilisation heat maps, to geo-fencing and individual player history, Tagmarshal software can provide data essential to the smooth running of any size of venue. And it pays off: partner courses are routinely able to shave off between 14 and 24 minutes from an average round in just six months using Tagmarshal’s systems, the equivalent of one or two more tee-times per day.

Having cornered the market in the US, with major venues like Whistling Straits, Erin Hills, and Pinehurst Resort & Country Club, Tagmarshal is now establishing itself in mainland Europe as the ‘go-to’ golf course optimisation provider.

Indeed, the world renowned US business magazine, Forbes, has gone as far as describing Tagmarshal as “the pace of play software leader”.

As Tagmarshal’s managing director, Stephen Knoop, explained: “Soon, all golf course operations will be managed in this way and we are delighted to have some really high-quality adopters. Their positive experiences will help fuel our push into southern Europe. 

“Courses now have the tools to inform players they’re on track, or that they’re falling slightly behind. This means players no longer feel they are being policed; when players have awareness, they can self-manage better, which benefits everybody on the course and off it.”

Through pace of play management and on-course optimisation, Tagmarshal is able to improve the player experience, increasing loyalty and driving repeat play, and additional F&B spend, thus affording material benefits to both players and operators.