Jack Howard from Fota Island with the new TagMarshal devices

Everyone knows that pace of play, more commonly described as slow play, is a big problem in golf, and Fota Island is the first Cork course to introduce a new technological aid to help manage this issue.  The five-star resort is one of the first courses in Ireland to launch the groundbreaking Tagmarshal system.  The new system provides and easy way to monitor every group on the course.  A small gps unit is given to each group when they start, and the unit reports back to a base station in real time, collecting live information on the pace of play.  The base station (which is actually an iPad) relates the live information to the bank current and historic information.  Using data analytics and advanced algorithms, the system creates a heat map which identifies areas on the course where delays are likely to happen.  As the system tracks golfers in real time, any group that’s out of position can be easily identified.  Prior to the use of this technology, many courses including Fota Island would have used a course marshal.  While a roving course marshal will have a good understanding of Continue reading →