THE Ryde Parramatta Golf Club is one of Sydney’s leading private clubs, located less than 20 kilometres northwest of the CBD.
With a strong membership base, while also welcoming member guests and corporate events, Ryde Parramatta is thriving under the leadership of a relatively new and progressive Board of Directors.
While the positives are many, the course being presented in outstanding condition by incoming superintendent Shane George and with members, visitors and guests embracing the new catering providers Villaggio, Ryde Parramatta certainly isn’t immune to the problems and issues faced by many of the busiest courses around the country, with slow play being one of the biggest challenges.
“At every club, the major issue members talk about is slow play,” Club President Steve Helmich began.
“And every golf club thinks they’ve got a solution, based around inuendo and rumour, but really without any facts.”
Member bag tags communicate with the On Pin analytics program to provide valuable data and to track the pace of play.
In looking at ways to make golf on Saturday morning, or at any members day for that matter, flow quicker and more seamlessly, Helmich and Club Captain Martin Kenny were alerted to On Pin and their pace of play analytics system after watching a video endorsement from the Cronulla Golf Club.
And the rest is history.
“We thought lets put something in place that gives us the data, gives us the facts and if we need to take action around slow play, we can,” Helmich said.
The Ryde Parramatta board agreed to try the On Pin analytics program 18 months or so ago, put a small levy on members to finance it and they haven’t looked back.
Now into their second year, they’ve reduced the levy to just $20, what they believe to be a small price to pay for quicker and more enjoyable golf for their membership.
“Nobody has complained about the $20, they realise it’s a means to and end,” Helmich said.
As a part of the On Pin system, eight stations were installed around the Ryde Parramatta course, with rounds tracked through member bag tags.
Two monitors, one in the Ryde Parramatta clubhouse, the other in the pro shop, show exactly how each group is moving around the course, with colour coding displaying those who need to pick up the pace and the groups playing at a suitable rate.
“The two maps, which the members can see, show red – falling behind and not keeping up with the group in front; yellow, which is a buffer zone; purple they are being delayed by the group I front; and green which means they are going fine,” Helmich explained.
Data collected is then sent to Helmich, Kenny and the club General Manager the following day for analysis.
A ‘red card’, for want of a better description, results in Ryde Parramatta sending a letter, from the GM on behalf of the board to make the member aware of the need to keep up with the group in front.
Two monitors, one in the Ryde Parramatta clubhouse, the other in the pro shop, show exactly how each group is moving around the course.
“The first letter is for awareness,” Helmich said. “It says, ‘you might not realise but you fell behind at these stations and you slowed the field. Please be aware of it.’
“If there are repeat offenders, and we haven’t had any yet, they’ll have to go and talk to the pro about their speed of play and how they might be able to improve on it.
“But we do use a common sense when we look at the data as well,” he added, referencing lost balls or unavoidable incidents which can happen late in a round.
The time on course at Ryde Parramatta had been in excess of four hours 30, sometimes taking as long as five hours to play, now they target four hours 15 minutes and most groups achieve that goal on the majority of member competition days.
And this despite the fact that two bridges have recently been out of play and under repair, resulting in golfer traffic being diverted.
“I’m not declaring victory just yet, but the talk around the clubhouse about slow play is gone,” Helmich boasted.
“At the moment its working,” he said of the On Pin analytics. “And we’re really happy with it.”
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