Friday, July 2, 2010

Smart Golf Course Managers use GPS Tracking

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/3ZL4S)
By James Neely (re-posted from April 2009)



The water hazards on a golf course are no place in which your expensive golf carts should be found, but it does happen. Being prepared to handle these unfortunate events is a fact of life in golf course management. But it should be minimized by encouraging responsible behavior. This can be accomplished by installing a GPS Tracking system into these vehicles and other golf course equipment like mowers and tractors.

In the operation of a golf course, one of the most expensive items is the equipment that it takes to provide transportation between holes and maintaining the near perfect fairways and greens. Adding a GPS Tracking system will help in these ways.

Where is the equipment? In an instant you can get a visual on the location of a golf cart in question. Is it near the water, or in the water? Is it out of bounds and off of the course completely? Smart course management includes the ability to follow their equipment closely. Failure to do so can end up in disaster. And if there are any injuries from accidents, the reports from these systems can provide evidence of the location at the time in question.

If you should ever encounter a situation where a cart or other piece of equipment is stolen, it can be tracked to within a few feet of its location for recovery by authorities. This can help you keep your operations running smoothly in the face of theft or loss.

How is it being operated? Most golfers are safe drivers and operate the carts in a responsible manner, right? Now you can know for sure. These GPS Tracking systems can supply information other than just location. Now you can know how fast they are being driven. And if they are being driven in circles at a high-rate of speed, then disaster is sure to follow. Evidence of misuse can be used against a customer in helping to get them to pay for damages. This evidence is even admissible in a court of law.

How long since previous maintenance? One big part of course management is maintenance. How many hours has it been since a piece of equipment has been maintained to keep it in peak running condition? A GPS tracker can provide this data. Using it can help prevent break-downs and keep your course operating smoothly.

Insurance costs can be reduced dramatically because of these systems. This can mean a healthy dose of profitability over the course of a season.

Investing in GPS Tracking to locate and maintain expensive golf carts protects the golf course from theft and may end up lowering the insurance liability as well.  High-tech gps solutions keep the business of golf on track by encouraging responsible behavior.

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