Article by Steve Pike, Spike on Golf and Travel, December 2024

Bodo Sieber readily admits he’s not a golfer, but the former rugby player turned tech entrepreneur is changing the way golf courses and golf management companies deal with “real time’’ operational oversights and reporting. Through his Tagmarshal company, Sieber is taking “real time’’ data-driven insights and on-course optimization to the next levels.

Tagmarshal’s technology – first introduced at Erin Hills in 2015 – has collected over 10 billion data points from over 75 million tracked rounds of golf and has relationships with more than 600 partners. Those on-course partners include some of golf’s more celebrated courses, including Pinehurst No. 2 and 4, Pebble Beach Golf Links and Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. 

All told, more than 40 of the top U.S. Courses use Tagmarshal technology to track players (and equipment) from the first tee to the 18th green.

“By tracking the players from the first tee, you can get players off quicker… maybe eight minutes instead of 10-minute tee times. That increases profit,’’ Sieber said.

How did it all begin?

“I was looking for a new challenge,’’ said Sieber, Tagmarshal’s CEO. “Two of my friends – who are both passionate golfers – said that one of golf’s biggest problems today is slow play. So, we analyzed the market and began building solutions.’’

Tagmarshal’s software and resulting data, gathered using golf cart GPS tracking, Sieber said, each give golf operators the tools to manage operations effectively, resulting in enhanced player experiences, increased efficiency, cost savings, and additional revenue.

“Better decision-making through data. You’re no longer flying blind.’’

Those pieces of data and solutions each are key components to what Sieber calls his “Technology Toolbox.’’

“Number One, analyze everything that moves on course,’’ Sieber said. “Line of sight (one of Sieber’s favorite phrases) creates better decision making. Everything on the live map is color-coded, so we know where on the course each group is. Are they playing slow? Are they getting better or worse? Each of those things is dynamically calculated to help make better decisions.

“Number Two is accumulating data traffic patterns. You (an operator) can see where there is a bottleneck and where people are slowing down because of those traffic issues.’’

This past Spring, the company, whose U.S. headquarters is Kennesaw, Ga., launched its first version of software to be powered by AI (artificial intelligence), building on the previous machine-learning-based release. Real-life data from more than 75 million rounds of golf was gathered from many current Tagmarshal partners to create the new version. The updated software was put through its paces in real-world field testing at Bandon Dunes, Erin Hills, the Country Club at Castle Pines, Pinehurst, Kiawah and other public, private, and resort courses.

This helped to ensure that this latest release continues to meet the company’s fundamental goals of providing intuitive tools to help course operators enhance the player experience, improve efficiency through automation, and generate additional revenue.

“The golf course is the economic engine that drives everything on the property,’’ Sieber said. “Make the data work for you. If you do what the data tells you to do, you’ll find that golfers will have enhanced player experiences, as well as more time for food and beverages and more time in the pro shop. There are endless opportunities for on-course optimization if you really follow the data.’’

Read the full article here: Spike on Golf and Travel