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New GPS solution seeks to reduce courses' slow-play issues

Textron's Pace Technology Walk allows courses to track walkers and caddies in hopes of alleviating frustrations golfers have with pace of play

Pace of play has long been a hot topic for golfers.

Two of the more substantive reasons for why rounds often move beyond the five-hour mark are standing on a tee box waiting for the group in front to move along or course rangers failing to police slow play.

On Tuesday at the PGA Show in Orlando, Florida, Textron Specialized Vehicles launched a new solution that the company hopes will help combat the pace-of-play issue. The manufacturer of E-Z-Go golf cars and Cushman utility vehicles introduced Pace Technology Walk, which will enable course owners and operators to track walking golfers and caddies on their course. The company already offers GPS-equipped Pace Technology in its E-Z-Go and Cushman vehicles to its clients at more than 2,250 golf courses in 40 countries.

The Walk solution looks like a small, silver hockey puck and clips onto any caddie bib or golf bag.

Textron
The GPS-powered Pace Technology Walk now enables a pro shop to track the pace of walkers and caddies.

"It basically gives the pro shop a more complete picture of everything that's going on on their course," says Brandon Haddock, Textron director of communications. "It also gives golfers in carts visibility to walkers, so it prevents situations like hitting into a blind spot where there may be a walker ahead of you and you can't see them."

Through an alarm built into the puck, course operators can send audible alerts to nudge golfers to speed up play or warn walkers of inclement weather or other conditions on the course. In the event of a medical issue or on-course emergency, operators can use Pace to locate any walker in an instant.

About 45 percent of E-Z-Go clients who lease golf carts have the Pace Technology system. Haddock expects many of those to opt in and add the Walk product.

"The Pace system has proven to be incredibly popular with our golf course owners and operators and customers," Haddock says. "Everybody's looking for ways to simplify their operations and really gather that information they need to manage their operations and see what's going on around the course."

The technology race just keeps increasing across all golf avenues.

"It's like every other aspect of life," Haddock says.”Technology is just embedding itself into everything we do. The number of golf apps that are out there, the devices that everybody has like range finders are really kind of just changing the way people play the game and the way golf courses operate. They have so much more access to information, and now the ability to use that information in real time, which is something they’ve never had before."

The Walk technology closes the gap that has existed between tracking a fleet of vehicles on the course and walkers.

"For a number of courses, they don’t allow cell phones on the course, so Walk is our solution to tracking them," says Brian Wanta, a senior project engineer with Textron.

Each of the Pace Technology systems are web based.

"The information is accessible obviously on a computer, but it's also accessible on smart devices, tablets and phones," Wanta says. "So anyone who can access the web can access the backend. So, let’s say a superintendent's out on the course and he has just got his phone, he can still log in and kind of see where his crew is, see what they're up to, how long they've been in a given location, things like that.”

Operators also can record and view historical data for their caddies, helping them manage their staff and daily operations. Operators can view detailed reports about each caddie on their staff, including average pace-per-hole and pace-per-round.

"We’re always developing, always coming out with the newest and greatest features and benefits to stay ahead of the competition instead of keeping up with them," Wanta says. "Pace has the majority of the market share in the industry and we're the market leader in golf GPS, so we're trying to maintain that title. We’re just continuing to innovate and develop; just keep the foot on the gas."

"What really drives it more than the competition is quite frankly what the customer and the golfer are asking for," Haddock says. "The golf course owners and operators want to run more efficiently and enhance the golf experience."


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