MONTHLY Medal stroke rounds taking five hours, regular men’s and women’s club competition events four hours, 45, can be a common occurrence at both private and social golf clubs around the country.
Some courses may live with taking that long to play however it wasn’t good enough at Cronulla Golf Club and they did something about it.
The club located in Sydney’s south encountered all the usual pace of play issues during weekend or midweek comp rounds.
Rather than scratch their collective heads and ponder what could be done, the Board and Management at Cronulla sought the assistance and advice of On Pin Analytics and Verifeye to better understand and potentially help with any slow play problems.
A passive set and forget system, Verifeye collects individualised data and overlay analytics so as courses and clubs can predict problem groups before the round and address slow groups during the round with smart marshalling.
A simple bag tag with a chip carried by each member delivers the information, where the position of each group can be seen on the PACE TV television monitor in the clubhouse, improving the experience for all concerned.
“We went from probably a four hour, 50 medal round consistently, and got down to four hours 15 minutes,” Cronulla Vice President Glenn Anthony expressed, with the club implementing the system in March 2023.
“There is a bit of work you’ve got to do to keep it all going, but the members in general love it. It’s accepted and we wouldn’t go back on it,” he added.
The clubhouse PACE TV screen where golfers can see and track all groups out on the course.
While some members at Cronulla viewed the pace of play monitoring with a deal of trepidation, Anthony explained after the improvements in the time it took to get around the course, attitudes changed.
“It does give us a lot of information about the course, where the bottle necks occur, who the slow people are, so that in itself is fantastic,” Anthony said.
“We can also monitor the number of rounds. We did 66,000 rounds last year, and it gives us more information.
“We had a complaints night for anyone that wasn’t happy and only had six people complained. Out of 800 members, that’s not too bad.”
After identifying the problem groups and slower members, Cronulla initially sent out some 300 letters encouraging better habits and quicker play. Over time, the number of issues and repeat offenders has lessened considerably.
“Since Christmas, we’ve only had to send out six letters,” Anthony said. “Everyone who has received a letter is invited to come and sit with me and Lyndall (Bamford – director). And we’re also sending letters to our best groups, to say thanks.
As for the service offered by On Pin, Anthony explained the support received after the initial installation, quickly solved any issues that might arise.
“They are very supportive,” he said of On Pin. “If something goes wrong, there is no issue about them coming back to you. They come up with reports, everything, all our data goes to them, and they send it back to us.
“Their technical rep has been amazing. If something breaks down, he’s here in a couple of days or will work with our superintendent. If we ask for a report, its back in our inbox within 24 hours.
“I think everyone should have the system. I go out and play other golf courses and it annoys me. I don’t want to be out on a golf course for five hours. I don’t know anyone who does.”
David Glasson from On Pin explained that in addition to Cronulla, a number of golfing facilities, including Avondale, North Ryde and St Michaels in Sydney, along with courses in the US and Canada, are also reaping the benefits of the Verifeye monitoring.
“Capilano Golf Club in Vancouver added an additional 1450 Tee slots per annum with Verifeye POP improvement and better course utilisation as an example of what can be achieved,” Glasson said.
As a closing endorsement, Anthony had no doubt Cronulla was on the right track in keeping their member fields and members moving around the course at a more than acceptable pace.
“I’m really glad we put the system in. The bottom line for me, it has turned it around for us and it’s at least 20 minutes quicker than it was 12 months ago,” Anthony said.
“I’ve had a couple of members come to me and say, whatever you do, don’t take it out.”
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