Modeling the impact of new technologies on pace of play in golf: Segway GT, range finders, RFID golf balls, and longer hitting drivers.

Speers, Jimmy D. ; Tiger, Andrew A.

ABSTRACT

A model-based decision support system (DSS) is used to study the impact of new technologies on pace of play on golf courses. The DSS is based on a Microsoft Excel simulation model that accurately represents the variability and interactions that impact pace of play on a golf course. Research shows the economic benefits of understanding the impact of policy on golf course play, specifically throughput (rounds played) and cycle time (round length). The use of a new mode of transport, the Segway GT, is compared to traditional two player carts. Results indicate that pace of play is improved and that golf course managers have cost/implementation strategic options that could offer advantages in a competitive market. Other technologies that are addressed include the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) to identify lost golf balls, global positioning systems (GPS) and other range finders to identify target distance, and longer hitting clubs.

INTRODUCTION

Golf courses and country clubs are second only to gambling in the amount of revenue produced in the amusement, gambling and recreation industries. In 2002 there were 12,189 golf courses that produced $17.4 billion (US Economic Census, 2002). In 2001 there were 518.1 million rounds of golf played. Since then the number has declined by 4.5 percent, even though 2004 saw an increase of .7 percent. In the late 90's, 1800 new courses were built at a rate of over 300 per year. That number has declined to just 150 new courses in 2004 (Kuffman, 2005). With the number of courses increasing and the number of rounds played decreasing, the imbalance in supply and demand has many courses struggling to attract customers. One of the major factors in getting people on the golf course is the amount of time it requires to complete a round of golf (cycle time). If cycle time can be reduced, the number of rounds played during a day (throughput) can be increased.

In a recent interview Lee Trevino addressed the issue of cycle time, he said, "We have a tremendous amount of high-end daily-fee courses in Dallas that are in trouble. They aren't getting the play. The harder you build the course, the more money it costs to maintain it. The economy goes south, people aren't playing, and you still have to meet this big nut to maintain it. To make it hard you put in all these mounds and deep bunkers and creeks and railroad ties, and you have to maintain them. I would never build a modern course. I'm strictly traditional. Build a golf course like it's supposed to be played. I tell people I've never seen them put chairs on a tennis course to make it tougher.... If you put high handicappers on courses that take 5.5 hours to player, you're going to lose them. And time is money when it comes to golf. You can't get as many rounds in on a tough course." (Lowell, 2004) New technologies offer the potential of reducing the cycle time. This paper uses math-based modeling to examine the impact of new technologies on the pace of play.

Math-based models have been used to analyze stochastic systems such as manufacturing plants or distribution networks. Recent research demonstrates that math-based models are also being used to model pace of play on golf courses (Tiger and Salzer, 2004; Tiger, et al, 2003). A simulation model that accurately quantifies queuing on a course, developed by Tiger, et al (2003) is the basis for this research. In Tiger et al's (2003) paper, a modeling concept was created that offered a simple, yet powerful method for modeling course congestion, specifically, waiting for the group immediately in front to move out of the way. The concept is call gate methodology.

Gates are modeling constructs used at different points of a course. The gates indicate at what point on the fairway the players behind would be able to safely hit. The location and frequency of the gates vary based on golfer characteristics (short or long hitters); hole length and design. Typically, a par 4 hole typically has one fairway gate and a par 5 hole has two fairway gates. No fairway gate is used on par 3 holes because the players behind must wait until all players leave the green to safely hit.

Many queuing statistics are available as model output: feature-specific (tee box, fairway, green, and to next hole) and type (par three, par four, and par five) are the primary outputs.

TECHNOLOGIES

The primary technology of interest in this paper was the use of one-person carts, similar to the Segway GT, and their impact on pace of play. The Segway Golf Transporter (GT) is a Segway that has been fitted with a golf bag carrier, extended life range batteries, enhanced traction tires, and a special software-control key ("Business Outlook," 2006). The Segway uses a technology called dynamic stabilization, enabling it to work seamlessly with the body's movements. The system uses gyroscopes and tilt sensors to monitor the center of gravity at approximately 100 times a second. When the rider leans forward, the Segway moves forward, when the rider leans back, the Segway moves backward. Riding a Segway is very simple; almost anyone can ride one (Alexander, 2006). They are used in cities and resorts all over the world to give guided tours. A picture of the Segway GT is shown in Figure 1.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

Other technologies that could affect pace of play are RFID golf balls, range finders, and longer (but not necessarily straighter) golf clubs. Looking for lost balls is one factor that can increase the time to play a round of golf. Advances in materials and production processes have produced drivers that allow an average golfer to hit the ball farther than they could when most courses were designed. With the greater distance, the angle that represents the player's accuracy covers a wider area. More balls are hit into the rough or into a lateral hazard, increasing the number of lost balls. In the data collected for this study, the average rate decreased by over 50% when a player lost a ball. This reduction negatively impacts round length (cycle time). This negative impact on cycle time can be alleviated with the use of a ball imbedded with an RFID chip and a handheld device to locate it. Radar Golf Inc. produces a ball, with an RFID chip imbedded in its core, that they claim performs equal to or better than balls from Titleist, Callaway, Nike and Maxfli (LaPedus, 2005). The system includes a handheld finder with a range of 30-100 feet, depending on terrain. When switched on it stays on for 5 minutes, the maximum amount of time allowed to look for a lost ball. Extra balls are carried in a shielded bag so that the handheld finder will only locate the ball in play. With the use of the handheld finder that "beeps" when pointed towards the ball, the golfer can find a lost ball more quickly. The handheld finder also provides a visual LCD signal strength display.

Another technology that offers the possibility of increasing pace of play is rangefinders. Knowing the exact distance from the tee box to a bunker or the distance to the green can allow the player to make a confident swing. Players usually must look for a sprinkler head, ground plate, or stake. The time to find the yardage can be reduced using a range finder. A range finder can give the correct yardage in a few seconds. Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology and laser rangefinders are the best available products.

Global positioning systems provide an accurate measurement from the player's current location to the green. GPS handheld devices can be carried by the golfer to find distances form his/her location to any waypoint previously set. Waypoints are set for tee boxes, bunkers, water hazards, greens, or any desired feature on the course. Many resorts and high-end courses use cart mounted GPS systems. The PGA TOUR does not permit the use of these devices during competition. The U. S. Golf Association allows the use of distance-measuring devices by local rule. The Tight Lies Tour, a Texas-based mini-tour, does allow the use of rangefinders. They decreased the time of play by 15 minutes per round in 2005 (Tschida, 2006).

Another alternative for range finding is the handheld laser range finder. The laser rangefinders look like small video cameras and are used like binoculars. These rangefinders send out a laser beam that bounces off the target. The unit measures the amount of time for the beam to bounce back and calculates the distance. The process takes less than a second. The laser rangefinder works only with line of site, but is more accurate than the GPS system (Gleason, 2005).

DATA COLLECTION

Prior research did not identify rates specific to transport mode. No information existed for determining different rates for walkers, two person carts, and one-person carts. Additionally, prior research assumed that all rates followed a normal distribution. For this research, new data was collected to (1) generate transport specific rates and (2) determine different rate shapes and parameters. Data was collected for two different transportation methods -two players in a cart and with one player in a cart. One player in a cart was assumed equivalent to a Segway GT. No research has been done in this area but the Segway GT will travel at 12.5 m.p.h. and the course where the data was collected for this study has its carts set at the 12 m.p.h. setting. The electric golf carts have faster settings, 20 m.p.h., but most courses do not use this setting because it is too fast for uneven terrain. A data collection sheet similar to Table 1 was used to record data as follows for a specific course: first, gates were established for each par 4 and par 5 hole. Some familiarity with the course must exist to establish reasonable gate locations. A global positioning system (GPS) was used to locate the gates on the course as waypoints. The GPS recorded the route of the players and the time. The times, locations, and speeds are viewed with software that shows when the waypoint is reached. The times are used to calculate the rate on the fairway in yards per minute. Also the time on the tee boxes and greens and the time to travel to the next hole are recorded. The start and stop times when searching for a lost ball were also recorded.

To illustrate, hole number 1 is a par 4 hole. The time entering and leaving the tee box is recorded. It was determined that the gate on this hole should be 100 yards from the green. When the gate is reached, the time is recorded in the box immediately following the "100" (see Table 1). The times entering and leaving the green are then recorded. On hole number 2, which is a par 3 hole, only the time entering and leaving the tee box and green are recorded. There is no need to use a gate on a par 3 hole because players on the tee box must wait until the players ahead leave the green before they can hit safely. Hole number 4 is a par 5 hole. There are two gates on this hole, 200 yards and 50 yards from the green. These times are recorded in the same manner as the gate on hole number one.

Table 2 summarizes the collected data results and Figure 2 provides the histogram for two person cart rates from the tee box to fairway. Figure 2's positive skewness existed for all rate histograms and a lognormal distribution was found to be a better fit than a normal distribution. Tee box and green times followed a normal distribution, which were the same results as the prior research.

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

SIMULATION EXPERIMENT

An experiment was run comparing two players in a cart with one person in a cart for different tee time intervals (6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 minutes). Smaller intervals put more golfers on the course, increasing rounds played (throughput) and increasing round length (cycle time). Each mode/tee time interval was simulated for 100 busy days. A busy day is defined as a day that enough player demand exists to fill all tee time intervals. On most courses, this occurs during weekends and holidays. The main factor is the weather; however, other factors exist that might increase the number of busy days: the quality of the course, the size of the market area, the number of other courses in the area, etc. Courses in the southern United States could have over 100 busy days annually due to good weather; however, northern U.S. courses may have less than 50 annually.

EXPERIMENT RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

The use of the Segway GT reduced round length and increased rounds played for all tee time intervals studied. The reason for this is that with only one player on the vehicle, a more direct route is taken. When two players are in a cart, they travel to the next ball, or the ball that is the greatest distance form the green. This can cause a zigzag route to be taken. In Figure 3, if player 1 plays down the left side of the fairway, and player 2 plays down the right side of the fairway, the cart must travel form one side of the fairway to the other in order to get to the next ball to be played.

[FIGURE 3 OMITTED]

For the golf course used in this study, the optimum tee time interval would be 12 minutes. When tee time intervals are reduced to 10 minutes, no improvement in rounds played exists, but round length continues to increase, as shown in Figures 4 and 5. Service is compromised without the benefit of additional revenue. If the players are given a quicker round of golf, they are more likely to return, thus creating more business on less busy days, or adding to the number of busy days for the course.

[FIGURE 4 OMITTED]

[FIGURE 5 OMITTED]

Additional revenue is illustrated in Figure 6 as a function of busy days and green fees (the cost to play a round of golf). Using this information as a starting point, course managers can determine whether introducing Segway GT would be a profitable decision.

[FIGURE 6 OMITTED]

CONCLUSION

Anecdotal evidence tells us that these technologies can increase the pace of play: in this study we demonstrated that a math-based model has enabled us to quantify the benefits. Benefits can vary from course to course due to the location of hazards and bunkers, distance traveled between holes, cart path routes, terrain, and green size. This study has shown that improvement always occurs when using the Segway GT on any golf course. Managers of golf courses are always looking for ways to improve pace of play. Reducing the time required to play a round of golf will attract more golfers to a course. It will also allow more players to play on any given busy day. These technologies offer managers options that can have a significant impact on revenues. The Segway GT allows golfers to travel through the course in a more direct route. The use of RFID golf balls will reduce the amount of time searching for lost balls, many of which are caused by golf clubs that allow the average players to hit farther but not more accurately. Range finders will reduce the amount of time to determine the yardage to the green or to a hazard. When the correct yardage is known, a player can select the correct club and be less likely to hit into a hazard. Having the ball in the fairway, instead of the hazard, will also speed up play. Implementing any or all of these technologies will improve pace of play and increase revenues.

REFERENCES

Alexander, R. (2006). Knight Ridder Tribune Business News. Washington: January 7, 2006. 1

Business Outlook (2006). Golf Business, March, 2006. Retrieved March 7, 2006 from http://www.golfbusiness.com/pageview.asp?doc=1096.

Gleason, D. (2004) Pro Shop Insider, Golf Business December, 2004. Retrieved February 17, 2006, from http://www.golfbusiness.com/pageview.asp?m=12&y=2004&doc=1194

Kauffman, S. (2005). State of the industry--Is the wild ride over? Golf Business, March, 2005. Retrieved February 17, 2006 from http://www.golfbusiness.com/pageview.asp?m=3&y=2005&doc=1241.

LePedus, M. (2005). Radar Golf Claims Breakthrough With RFID Golf Balls, Information Week, January 25, 2005. Retrieved February 20, 2006 from http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=57703713.

Lowell, R. (2004). One Last Stand for the Merry Mex, PGA Tour Partners, March/April 2004 40-45.

Tiger A. and Salzer D. (2004) Improving Golf Course Throughput by Restricting Early Tee Times to Faster Golfers, Academy of Information and Management Science Journal, 7(1), 115-126.

Tiger A. and Salzer D. (2004) Daily Play at a Golf Course: Using Spreadsheet Simulation to Identify System Constraints, INFORMS Transactions on Education, 4(2), http://ite.pubs.informs.org/Vol4No2/TigerSalzer/index.php

Tiger, A.; Speers, J., Simpson C., & Salzer, D. (2003) "Using simulation modeling to develop a golf course flow DSS", Issues in Information Systems, Volume IV (2), 2003.

Tschida, C. (2006). Taking The Guessing Out Of Golf, PGA TOUR Partners, Volume 10, (2), 28-32.

US Economic Census (2002), Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries: 2002, Washington, DC: U. S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration.

Jimmy D. Speers, Southeastern Oklahoma State University

Andrew A. Tiger, Southeastern Oklahoma State University

Table 1: Data Collection Form

 Gate 1
 Number Tee box
 To
 Hole Par Yards in Cart Enter Leave Green

 1 4 341 2 100
 2 3 164 2
 3 4 327 2 125
 4 5 463 2 200
 5 4 295 2 50
 6 4 333 2 50
 7 4 346 2 125
 8 3 150 2
 9 4 315 2 100
 10 4 294 2 50
 11 3 129 2
 12 4 337 2 100
 13 4 375 2 150
 14 4 362 2 100
 15 5 483 2 200
 16 3 136 2
 17 5 481 2 200
 18 4 339 2 100

 To
 Gate 1 Gate 2 Next
 Green
 To Hole
 Hole Time Green Time Enter Leave (Yards)

 1 75
 2 75
 3 250
 4 50 50
 5 250
 6 50
 7 50
 8 200
 9 300
 10 250
 11 50
 12 100
 13 50
 14 200
 15 50 250
 16 75
 17 50 75
 18

Table 2

Location Unit of Measure m Shape

Tee box minutes/golfer 0.77 normal

Tee box to fairway gate yards/minute 74 lognormal
(two person cart)

Tee box to fairway (one yards/minute 87 lognormal
person cart)

Fairway gate to Green yards/minute 54 lognormal
(two person cart)

Fairway gate to Green yards/minute 70 lognormal
(one person cart)

Green minutes/golfer 1.07 normal

Green to next hole tee yards/minute 200 lognormal
box