Pace of Play Study 2011 July 27, 2011 1 Acknowledgements The authors recognize and sincerely thank all the contributing participants in this study, including the staff at the golf courses who spent significant time with us during field work. Their involvement was invaluable for this report. For more information contact: Bill Yates, Pace Manager Systems ® (831) 624 4978
[email protected] Paul Metzler, PGA of America (561) 624 8433
[email protected] Jon Colclasure, PGA of America (561) 624 7697
[email protected] 2 PGA, CMAA and GCSAA Table of Contents Executive Summary 4 Background 11 Strategy 11 Project Goal, Objectives and Themes 12 Expected Benefits 13 Methodology 13 Survey Results and Observations 15 Customer Satisfaction Survey 15 Professional Attitude Survey 24 Facility Operations Survey 24 Observations 26 Best Management Practices Observed at Courses 30 Recommendations 33 Next Steps 36 Appendices A Customer Satisfaction Survey 37 B Facility Satisfaction Survey 39 C Professional Attitude Survey 41 D Superintendent Interview 42 E Summary of Customer Satisfaction Surveys 44 F Summary of Professional Attitude Surveys 46 G Tee Time Tracking Charts 51 H PGA National Golf Guidelines 64 I Facility Operations Response Chart 65 3 Executive Summary “The slow play concern is a never-ending challenge.” “It is a much harder nut to crack than I ever thought.” “It’s a very tricky situation.” “If we don’t have all of the steps in place every minute of every day, pace of play quickly deteriorates.” These are the comments of some PGA Professionals, CMAA facility managers and GCSAA course superintendents (together to be referred to as “managers”) who volunteered to participate in a new PGA, CMAA, and GCSAA Pace of Play Study, launched in Spring 2010.