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Golfers Tracked by GPS to Speed Play as Rounds Near 4.5 Hours

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ironcondor

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Saw this on my bloomberg terminal this afternoon....very interesting.

Golfers Tracked by GPS to Speed Play as Rounds Near 4 1/2 HoursBy Michael Buteau


Golfers Tracked by GPS as USGA Bids to Speed Play

June 4 (Bloomberg) -- Thousands of U.S. golfers are carrying a new item in their pockets when they head to the first tee this season: A mini GPS tracker.


Along with a scorecard, pencil and tees, a lipstick-sized tracking unit will be stuffed into the pockets of shorts and pants as the U.S. Golf Association embarks on a three-month project to track the exact movements and playing habits of golfers to prod them to play faster.


The goal, the USGA says, is to come up with data to address the perception that the sport’s four-hour, 22-minute average round is too much of a time commitment. The data gathered might one day lead to course owners widening fairways or changing start times to speed things up.


“There is increasing tension between the amount of time people have for recreational activities and the amount of time that it takes to play golf,” said Rand Jerris, senior managing director of public services for the USGA. “Whether it’s true or not, the perception that it takes too much time is preventing people from entering the game.”


Golf is wrestling with an exodus from the sport. About 400,000 players quit golfing last year, according to the National Golf Foundation. While almost 260,000 women took up golf, some 650,000 men gave it up.


The $125,000 data-gathering program is being funded by Chevron Corp. The Far Hills, New Jersey-based USGA will use eight interns from its P.J. Boatwright Jr. internship program to collect data during a wide variety of events at 30 to 40 U.S. courses this summer. In total, about 6,500 rounds will be tracked at each course between mid-May and August, giving the group about 26,000 rounds of data to analyze.


Player Data
Engineers at USGA headquarters, led by technical Director Matt Pringle, will then analyze the player-tracking data as a way to better understand golfers’ behaviors, course set-up and design features and the effect they have on the pace of play.


“There’s a lot of conventional wisdom, but we’re sitting here in 2014 and by all accounts pace-of-play is still a major problem in golf,” Pringle, a 42-year-old Canadian with a PhD in engineering from Ontario’s McMaster University, said in a telephone interview. “Clearly, it hasn’t been addressed effectively.”


A National Golf Foundation survey in 2012 showed that 58 percent of avid golfers said 4 hours and 30 minutes is “too long.” That’s eight minutes longer than the average time the group found for a round on public U.S. courses.


By addressing slow play with data, the USGA said it wants to improve the experience of golfers. In a separate 2013 National Golf Foundation survey, 91 percent of serious golfers said they are bothered by slow play and 70 percent said they believe the issue has worsened over time.


“We don’t want golfers giving up the game because it takes 5 1/2 hours to play,” Pringle said. “That’s our one and only goal.”


Golfers’ Interval
At most courses, the time it takes to play an 18-hole round of golf depends largely on the intervals at which players are sent onto the course, or flow-rate, the course’s design and playing conditions, such as the speed of putting greens and length of the rough around the fairways.


If course managers don’t allow enough time between groups, a backup quickly occurs, similar to when too many cars are funneled onto a highway too quickly.


“Golf courses have one on-ramp to their highway,” said Bill Yates, the 69-year-old founder of Pace Manager Systems, a Pebble Beach, California-based company that helps golf courses improve their pace of play. “You can control that if you want to. Typically, everybody blames the players, but the way management sets up and manages the course has a lot to do with it. The data we get will help us see what knobs to turn to regulate it.”


Chambers Bay
At Chambers Bay, an undulating, walking-only public course along the Puget Sound in University Place, Washington, the average round takes 4 hours and 45 minutes to play, according to Matt Allen, the course’s general manager. With the course set to host next year’s U.S. Open, the USGA plans to track rounds at the course this summer.


“This should be very interesting stuff,” Allen, 39, said. “How it gets implemented is another question, but it’s definitely a worthy exercise.”


Allen said he is most interested to see if players who use a caddie to carry their clubs play faster.
“We would hope that a caddie would improve the pace of play, but we don’t know,” he said. “If we found that the average round takes longer with a caddie, we could share that data with the caddies to help them speed up play.”


No Pros
While the USGA recently used the GPS devices to track the play of about 50 golfers during an event at Pinehurst Resort’s No. 2 course, site of next week’s men’s and women’s U.S. Opens, the group said it doesn’t plan to ask professional golfers to carry the devices. The group currently uses data provided by the U.S. PGA Tour to analyze playing habits of professionals over 45 tournaments.


“We are more interested in helping the other 16,000 golf courses in the U.S.,” Pringle said. “Nobody has any data on this, which is why we are doing this. At the end, we can provide the golf world with the equations that add up to pace. If you change ‘x’ variable, you should expect this result. Hopefully that will translate into best practice and results.”
Click to expand...
 
I love it, get a better understanding of where the heat maps are around the golf course..

If it were happening at my course, I bet it'd be hilarious. Heather all around the course = big red blotches on either sides of the fairway hahaha!
 
The release times of some of the local courses here are absurd. Tee times every 7 minutes in some cases. There's no way that can be sustained after the first few groups.
 
This is cool. I think it's a great idea.
 
Interesting, i think it'll provide some good data. We'll see where that leads tho
 
I love it! But it will take years to enforce and most courses will not oblige by it. Widening fairways ... NOT .... tee times spread out more .... NOT .... means more golfers, more revenue!

Just my 2 cents
 
I like it. The big issue I see is getting courses on board with results. If there's a huge bottleneck at a particular tree grove that eats Titleists, it'll be hard to convince them to remove trees or whatever else it'll take.
 
FWIW, my opinion is, this game we love is not a race, it's meant to be enjoyed. If you can't commit 4 1/2 hours to play 18 holes, then only play 9.
Or maybe there should be some speed golf courses where you can only play with 2 clubs and you have to run between shots.
 
Drumdog said:
FWIW, my opinion is, this game we love is not a race, it's meant to be enjoyed. If you can't commit 4 1/2 hours to play 18 holes, then only play 9.
Or maybe there should be some speed golf courses where you can only play with 2 clubs and you have to run between shots.
Click to expand...

I don't disagree, and there's nothing wrong with golf as a chance to relax and smell the roses. But hitting a shot, then standing around in the fairway waiting for 10 minutes, then hitting, putting....then waiting...rinse and repeat for 18 holes, feeling eyes boring into the back of your head from the group that teed off 5-8 minutes after you is not relaxing or enjoyable.
 
golfinnut said:
I love it! But it will take years to enforce and most courses will not oblige by it. Widening fairways ... NOT .... tee times spread out more .... NOT .... means more golfers, more revenue!

Just my 2 cents
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I agree. Many of the top course are living in denial that the course itself is part of the problem. The rough at my home course was ankle deep yesterday and the greens are like putting on concrete. My group alone hutted for lost balls several times for several minutes that were just off the fairway. Total denial.

Same could be said about course that include homes. By design they are built longer. Longer holes = more home sites. Greed drives so much of our lives........
 
Drumdog said:
FWIW, my opinion is, this game we love is not a race, it's meant to be enjoyed. If you can't commit 4 1/2 hours to play 18 holes, then only play 9.
Or maybe there should be some speed golf courses where you can only play with 2 clubs and you have to run between shots.
Click to expand...

I agree. I rush at work to get done to get the course.......
 
I'm not sure what this data will provide but at least it's a start. I also wonder how many of these pocket GPS are going to end up lost.

I suppose it would have been too forward thinking to use golf courses with GPS enable carts to trajectory rounds around d the country. But it is the USGA
 
Tadashi70 said:
I'm not sure what this data will provide but at least it's a start. I also wonder how many of these pocket GPS are going to end up lost.

I suppose it would have been too forward thinking to use golf courses with GPS enable carts to trajectory rounds around d the country. But it is the USGA
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Solid point, but pocket GPS devices will also be able to track golfers when they aren't in their carts, like when they are searching for balls in rough that is thick.
 
Mowing the rough down would be a huge step in the right direction. Also, clearing out underbrush along treelines. Of course this requires more labor, which drives the cost per round up...
 
The courses are to blame almost exclusively with setup and tee time intervals. 4 hr round is only attainable on short munis with no hazards or rough IMO. Cram golfers onto a "championship" course and you should expect 4:30-5:00 rounds. I played Fossil Trace last week with other THPers and it was a tough tricky course but their stated pace of play was 4:40. Very reasonable and shows that they are aware of the courses impact on play
 
captaincaution said:
Solid point, but pocket GPS devices will also be able to track golfers when they aren't in their carts, like when they are searching for balls in rough that is thick.
Click to expand...

Very true, didn't think of that.

Championsgate has GPS and has been known to send message to groups that fall behind. It also displays how far behind a group is in relation time started. I'd think this data would be more than enough to draw conclusions on why groups are slow
 
HoosierGolfer said:
I agree. Many of the top course are living in denial that the course itself is part of the problem. The rough at my home course was ankle deep yesterday and the greens are like putting on concrete. My group alone hutted for lost balls several times for several minutes that were just off the fairway. Total denial.

Same could be said about course that include homes. By design they are built longer. Longer holes = more home sites. Greed drives so much of our lives........
Click to expand...

I just played a course in a development and some of the holes were a 3 minute cart ride apart. This is just as annoying.
 
HoosierGolfer said:
I agree. Many of the top course are living in denial that the course itself is part of the problem. The rough at my home course was ankle deep yesterday and the greens are like putting on concrete. My group alone hutted for lost balls several times for several minutes that were just off the fairway. ........
Click to expand...

PentaKev said:
Mowing the rough down would be a huge step in the right direction. Also, clearing out underbrush along treelines. Of course this requires more labor, which drives the cost per round up...
Click to expand...

The problem with all this imo is that it takes away from the character of golf courses. Short rough, easy greens, shorter holes, wider fairways, less hazards and troubles. Even the wide cup suggestion too. I don't want to be shooting 75's and finishing in 3 and 1/4 hours all because the golf course has a 95 rating. How much do we take away from golf course integrity before the challenges of golf offers no fight? It is the difficult parts of the game and golf courses that is what actually keeps us coming back. Its what drives us to best ourselves in the first place. Its what keeps us addicted to it. Its the never ending chasing of the best round we can manage with all the challenges of it that keeps us playing. We are now suppose to make golf less challenging to the point of making it almost boring just because too many people don't know how to respectfully move along and also because too many others claim they don't play because it takes too long or its too hard.?

I say BS to all that. And for the people who claim they don't golf at all because it takes too long is crap too. Truth is they just don't have the passion for the game. If they claim could only afford 3 hours time but really did want to play the game then all they have to do is play 9holes or however many they want and then leave. Its that simple. I know if I couldn't afford the time that's what I would do because its all I would have but I want to play so I would do it.

Then there are also par3 and executive style courses too. If people are not playing because the game is too hard and long they can go play those too. But they don't and why? Because they don't really want to. Just go ask one. The answer will be "but i don't want to play an executive course" "I want to play on a real golf course" " and I want to play 18 holes". Besides playing less holes those are also other options if time and difficulty is a priority but Instead we are all suppose downgrade the game for them because those options are not good enough? BS imo. Truth is they just don't have the same passion so why change everything just for those who don't really have the passion for it in the first place. Why should we all play some sort of shorter and stripped down version of golf? I'll just play 9 or go to the executive and P3 courses if I want to do that. I would rather play 9 (or however many holes) and then leave on a course that has all its character vs playing 18 on some stripped down version of a golf course.

Golf has always taken a long time. very many people who played in the 70's say it was the same crap then too with the same complaints. Golf is on the decline because the "Tiger" influx has faded and that's it. I'll bet there is still way more people playing vs before the Tiger influx. And also the economy and modern times has a lot to do with it too. We are (as a society very busy and broke) People work weekends and Holidays 24/7. Its a different world than even 25 years ago. Yoy know how hard it was to find stores and businaesses open on Sundays and Holidays and late nights? Simply put they weren't. Then the family and children obligations today are also busier than years back too.

All I know is if we start playing some stripped down version of golf just to try to get those who don't really care to play it accomplishes nothing and will not work. Those who cant play wont anyway and those who blame the system also still wont because if their passion was really there they do have those other options and they are not taking advantage of them anyway. And it will just ruin the game for all who do carry the passion. The amount of people who golf vs do other forms of sport recreation is staggering even if it is on the decline from the Tiger influx and today's economy and busy times. Why is there this obsession with thinking every household has to have someone playing golf? It gets ridiculous.
 
I like that the device is intended to be on the golfer. Too many golfers have no idea how to get around the golf course efficiently. For example, say you hit your approach 20 yards short of the green...instead of parking the cart there, hitting your shot, and walking up to the green; drive the stupid cart all the way to the green and then walk back to your ball. That way when you are done putting, you get in the cart and go, and the foursome behind you is free to hit into the green. Nothing worse than a group that finished three-putting then has to walk 20 yards back to where they left their cart.
 
rollin said:
The problem with all this imo is that it takes away from the character of golf courses. Short rough, easy greens, shorter holes, wider fairways, less hazards and troubles. Even the wide cup suggestion too. I don't want to be shooting 75's and finishing in 3 and 1/4 hours all because the golf course has a 95 rating. How much do we take away from golf course integrity before the challenges of golf offers no fight? It is the difficult parts of the game and golf courses that is what actually keeps us coming back. Its what drives us to best ourselves in the first place. Its what keeps us addicted to it. Its the never ending chasing of the best round we can manage with all the challenges of it that keeps us playing. We are now suppose to make golf less challenging to the point of making it almost boring just because too many people don't know how to respectfully move along and also because too many others claim they don't play because it takes too long or its too hard.?

I say BS to all that. And for the people who claim they don't golf at all because it takes too long is crap too. Truth is they just don't have the passion for the game. If they claim could only afford 3 hours time but really did want to play the game then all they have to do is play 9holes or however many they want and then leave. Its that simple. I know if I couldn't afford the time that's what I would do because its all I would have but I want to play so I would do it.

Then there are also par3 and executive style courses too. If people are not playing because the game is too hard and long they can go play those too. But they don't and why? Because they don't really want to. Just go ask one. The answer will be "but i don't want to play an executive course" "I want to play on a real golf course" " and I want to play 18 holes". Besides playing less holes those are also other options if time and difficulty is a priority but Instead we are all suppose downgrade the game for them because those options are not good enough? BS imo. Truth is they just don't have the same passion so why change everything just for those who don't really have the passion for it in the first place. Why should we all play some sort of shorter and stripped down version of golf? I'll just play 9 or go to the executive and P3 courses if I want to do that. I would rather play 9 (or however many holes) and then leave on a course that has all its character vs playing 18 on some stripped down version of a golf course.

Golf has always taken a long time. very many people who played in the 70's say it was the same crap then too with the same complaints. Golf is on the decline because the "Tiger" influx has faded and that's it. I'll bet there is still way more people playing vs before the Tiger influx. And also the economy and modern times has a lot to do with it too. We are (as a society very busy and broke) People work weekends and Holidays 24/7. Its a different world than even 25 years ago. Yoy know how hard it was to find stores and businaesses open on Sundays and Holidays and late nights? Simply put they weren't. Then the family and children obligations today are also busier than years back too.

All I know is if we start playing some stripped down version of golf just to try to get those who don't really care to play it accomplishes nothing and will not work. Those who cant play wont anyway and those who blame the system also still wont because if their passion was really there they do have those other options and they are not taking advantage of them anyway. And it will just ruin the game for all who do carry the passion. The amount of people who golf vs do other forms of sport recreation is staggering even if it is on the decline from the Tiger influx and today's economy and busy times. Why is there this obsession with thinking every household has to have someone playing golf? It gets ridiculous.
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rollin, first I respect your opinion ... it certainly helps me to understand other points of views ... plus I am new so must tread lightly, but will take a chance on this one ...

so you are total satisfied with golf and where it is today ... no equipment changes ... no rules changes?

I ask because I believe there are things that can change to still allows a challenge for people like yourself, yet also make more desirable to people who are new to the game or just wanted to enjoy the day with buddies, or significant other ...

If you we play the "we can not change golf, because of the integrity game" card ... then how does it ever evolve? (for those of us that think it should recognize we are not all pro players)

Not saying the mowing the rough etc is the best idea ... but it is an idea ... while I do not think it is race, I think "ready golf" should be the norm ... if you looking for a ball, you can bet I will not be a gentleman and go ahead and hit ...

Again, I am not trying to flame anyone ... simply trying to understand a "no change" vision ... and sorry if I misunderstood your intent
 
iSukGolf said:
rollin, first I respect your opinion ... it certainly helps me to understand other points of views ... plus I am new so must tread lightly, but will take a chance on this one ...

so you are total satisfied with golf and where it is today ... no equipment changes ... no rules changes?

I ask because I believe there are things that can change to still allows a challenge for people like yourself, yet also make more desirable to people who are new to the game or just wanted to enjoy the day with buddies, or significant other ...

If you we play the "we can not change golf, because of the integrity game" card ... then how does it ever evolve? (for those of us that think it should recognize we are not all pro players)

Not saying the mowing the rough etc is the best idea ... but it is an idea ... while I do not think it is race, I think "ready golf" should be the norm ... if you looking for a ball, you can bet I will not be a gentleman and go ahead and hit ...

Again, I am not trying to flame anyone ... simply trying to understand a "no change" vision ... and sorry if I misunderstood your intent
Click to expand...

No worries and I am not good at golf to most people here. Struggle to shoot below 90 just to say where I stand. I also have fun and enjoyment even though I take it seriously enough. But I don't want to shoot consistently in the 80's all because they made golf courses much easier. I want to do it because I actually become better at it. I can not expect all golf courses to make the game easy simply because I want to shoot and stay in the 80's or use less time. That doesn't make me feel any good about it.

I have no issue if golf courses started openning up with shorter and thinner rough and flatter greens, wider fw's, less hazerds and troubles etc... But that is not about evolving. That is about easy. There is nothing wrong with that and it wouldn't bother me one bit if they built such courses. . But it would bother me is if they do what is often suggested and that is to make all golf courses attach to this logic and that's when the game imo will lose integrity.

If they went on and built such golf courses (go right ahead) but imo the masses are still not going to flock to them. If they do then I hope I could open one for business lol. But they don't flock to P3 and executive courses now. They are not packed every day either so what makes anyone think if all golf courses stripped themselves down to be easier and take less time that they will be packed with the masses. Those masses have the other options available now and are still not using them not to mention playing less than 18 holes if they chose. But they still don't do any of these things because they just don't have the passion for it.

Its not about being against evolving. I don't really think that's an evolving thing anyway. Its about this misguided logic that the masses are going to flock to courses if we all make it much easier and faster all over and I just don't believe for a moment that will work.

The masses are dropping out and/or never getting involved because Holes are too long, courses too hard, and takes too long? that is the logic.
So move up a tee or two or three. play as long as you can and leave, play P3 or executive courses. play by any rules you want, learn how to keep pace.
All these things are choices that already exist for casual golf and yet the masses still do not use them and take advantage of them and still don't play. So lets not fool ourselves to make all golf courses easy as if that's going to work. Build easy courses by all means go ahead but don't strip down all existing ones. Either way the problem is still going to exist because its really due to many more reasons than the game itself. Not everyone has to golf and have a passion for it.
 
Drumdog said:
FWIW, my opinion is, this game we love is not a race, it's meant to be enjoyed. If you can't commit 4 1/2 hours to play 18 holes, then only play 9.
Or maybe there should be some speed golf courses where you can only play with 2 clubs and you have to run between shots.
Click to expand...

Not enough courses embrace 9 hole rounds.
 
Personally, I think The Hurry up and hit the ball... run to the ball and hurry up and hit it again is being way overplayed. They want to see a mass exodus from golf by newbees, start overtly pushing rushing through a round of golf. In this my second year of learning the game, I don't need the added pressure and I won't tolerate it. When I walk, it takes me close to 4 hours. When I drive a cart, It's just over 3 hours. I ain't going no faster. I'm out there to enjoy the game and the challenge. There are lots of things going on that could help, that Marshals overlook. For example, our round today moved right along from hole to hole except for our approach shots, because the foursome ahead of us wouldn't exit the green until they checked and marked their scorecards. So we waited for them to clear. Once they did, they played ready golf off the next tee and all was fine... again until we reached the point of hitting approach shots to the green. Again, they would take the time to mark their scorecards before exiting the green area. Even with these delays, we finish in 3 hours and 40 minutes.
 
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I wonder how many people really believe that if golf never took any more than 4 hours (even 3:50 i dare to say) that masses of people will then flock back to golf courses and masses of new people will take up the game? lets be honest, thats is a pipe dream. There would probably be a very small percentage of existing players who left the game come back and perhaps some more rounds played by those who currently play but it would not be enough to equate to any measurable significance imo. For people who dont have the time, that is still a lot of time one must put aside to play.

The masses are not going to all of a sudden show a passion for golf because of this. The pace problem is a huge issue but its really only a huge issue within the existing golfing population. It is not why millions more people are not playing. No matter what, golf takes a good chunk of time to play. If the average round played is 4:40 (and i think thats high) plus the time to get to the course and check in etc plus the time to get home That 4:40 becomes 5:40 or 6 hrs in total. If all of that took 45 minutes to 1 hour less it will be much better for the current players but it will never be enough to create any large meaurable influx of the masses imo.
Most people who dont have a 6 hour window from home to back home they are also not going to have a 5 hr one. It just isnt going to matter much for that purpose. It is still a big chunk of ones day no matter what.
 
To me it's not the total time it takes but it's the waiting 15 minutes between shots that is the problem. As someone said, what's a 3:50 round compared to a 4:00 round? I don't think there is a way to save an hour on any rounds. But I know that if you spread out the start times 3-4 more minutes it would eliminate the waiting between shots and at least keep groups moving. I'm fine dedicating 4-4:30 hours for a round if it's moving and I'm in a rhythm and keeping a pace. But I have had 3:30 rounds where it feels much longer because I'm sitting in a cart waiting for the group in front to clear greens or standing on par 3s with their gps phone apps trying to figure out if their shanks will reach the bunker.

In short It's more about pace than total time.


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