At Nicklaus Design, one of the trends or pivots from standard golf course design we are asked to assist clients with is with golf technology for clubs that are going through a renovation or a new build. We have all seen the GPS range finders or GPS watches that golfers use, or carts that have GPS installed to track golfer’s distance. Now some driving ranges at golf clubs are offering Trackman or similar devices installed on the driving range to display accurate distances for the more discreet golfers.
Many golf clubs are adding club fitting studios either as a stand-alone fitting center on the driving range or combined with a teaching academy. Some clubs offer this service in-house while others outsource this to larger club fitting companies that specialize in fitting golfers accurately and with great feedback. These are great for not only servicing your members, but also for additional revenue and bringing potential members into your facility.
We are regularly asked to evaluate adding some kind of golf entertainment at a club. At public or semi-private golf courses, the owners are looking to convert the driving range into something that not only serves the golfers who plays there, but also the outside community and to raise additional revenue and awareness to the property. Most of these facilities are public or resort golf courses that want to have another amenity to attract more golfers and revenue. Recently, several facilities with too much golf course for the demand are evaluating converting nine holes into an entertainment venue or a state-of-the-art practice facility, including a driving range, putting course and/or a par 3 that is designed for fun and learning at the same time.
Depending on clubs’ needs, there are additional technologies that can be implemented to improve not only guest experiences, but also affect the club’s budget and time, including data analytics technology from the USGA.
The USGA representatives distribute computer chips—GPS data loggers—to golfers that they wear on their body for their golf round. Typically, this happens over several days, during the course’s busiest times, when play is moving slower than normal. The loggers record the golfer’s physical location every five seconds. Data collected from all golfers is displayed on the USGA Facility app as a traffic “heat map” that is superimposed over the course map, so that officials can see exactly how golfers use the course. The software also relays other data to course managers. By analyzing the data, officials can see exactly where golfers go, and more importantly where they don’t go on the golf course. For example, data collected at one club in Florida was used for a master plan that called for the elimination of 40-plus-acres of turf—parts of the course where golfers rarely went. As a result, 20 acres are being converted to natural crushed stone, 12.5 acres to naturalized plantings and eight acres to aquatic plantings. We are looking at this process at a few of the golf courses we are currently renovating.
While technology takes on many different meanings and uses at your club, it will continue to change the way we think of operating on a day-to-day basis.
Paul T. Stringer is president of Nicklaus Design. He can be reached at 561-227-0300 or [email protected]. For more information, visit nicklaus.com.