On Saturday the 9th July and Saturday 30th July the R&A will be conducting a research trial during our Saturday competition rounds.
The trial involves each player carrying a small GPS device (roughly the same size as a memory stick) provided by the R&A. The purpose of the trial is to track player movement on the course with a view to understanding the following sorts of factors:
- The flow of golfers around the course and in particular where they go and where time is spent
- Identification of bottleneck areas
- The proportion of tee shots on each hole that come to rest on fairways, in rough or in bunkers
- Whether one side of fairways is preferred over the other side
- The proportion of approach shots that land on the green, compared with the proportion of approach shots that come up short of the green, and the proportion of approach shots that go through the back of the green, and the proportion to each side of the green.
- Identification of obstacle areas on the course that attract a significant proportion of shots, and obstacle areas that attract a very small proportion
- Identification of high traffic non-fairway areas that might warrant greater preparation
- Identification of low traffic non-fairway areas that might warrant less preparation
Golf Australia and Golf South Australia officials will be on hand to distribute these devices before your rounds on each of these days. Your co-operation with this will be greatly appreciated in helping us better understand your golf course.