PGA TOUR host John Swantek and veteran analyst Billy Kratzert are used to dissecting the game of golf through a traditional flat environment, but for the first time at THE PLAYERS Championship, the duo highlighted the new No. 12 hole via augmented reality.
According to Scott Gutterman, Vice President of Digital Operations at the TOUR, it was the first time the sports property had utilized the technology on its subscription-based over-the-top service.
“We always struggle, as a lot of people do, in a 2D, linear environment around how our courses look, how they’re laid out and really give people a good point of view,” he said. “It’s always hard to do that on a flat surface. The idea behind the AR work for PGA TOUR LIVE was…to show how the 12th hole is completely different. We wanted to do it in a way that was highly creative and really let people see the hole as opposed to showing them a flat 2D screen.
“What you saw the other day was hopefully the beginning of doing more of those. We had really great reactions to it from fans and staff.”
Through working with media and technology agency Black Helicopter Creative, the PGA TOUR could bring the 12th hole to life in a way not seen before by fans.
In the two-minute pre-recorded video, a framed course map picture transforms into an augmented illustration. Swantek and Kratzert can first be seen explaining how the hole looked in 2016 versus earlier this month.
Kratzert then analyzes the entire hole, from how golfers could effectively drive the green on the Par 4 or lay up on the approach to how the water hazard could be dangerous for anyone who misses the back-left hole location.
When the TOUR shot the footage, there was a paper layout of the hole on the table, which was eventually replaced during post-production with the augmented images. To the common golf viewer, though, it looked as if the two commentators had the 3D visual in front of them the entire time.
The TOUR’s Gutterman explained that for the past few years, PGA TOUR LIVE has served as a “proving ground to see whether technologies work or don’t work and how we would implement them.” He said that the next step with AR would be to continue to experiment with the technology, glean feedback from television partners and ultimately, see if there’s a way to integrate it into the linear broadcast.
“They saw it and found it fascinating. They just have to figure out how it would fit into the telecast at some point,” added Gutterman of the TOUR’s media partners after seeing the initial use case.
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In addition to the AR experiences designed to enhance the broadcast, the PGA TOUR is also experimenting with different proof of concepts that leverages the technology for fans on-site as well.
“You’d use your smartphone to help you get around the course just by aiming your camera. ‘This concession stand is over here, the restrooms are over there. This is where hole No. 10 is.’ Hopefully one of the things we’ll be able to do because we have ShotLink, which tracks where all of the groups are across the course,” Gutterman explained, “is if you hold up your phone and pan it across the course and we know your favorite player is Dustin Johnson, it’ll come up with a marker that says, ‘Dustin Johnson is over here on hole No. 8.’ We’re not only looking at linear but also fan engagement.”
It’s a matter of figuring out the right user experience, according to Gutterman. One of the technical hurdles the PGA TOUR is working through is connecting the ShotLink coordinates to the GPS coordinates on a smartphone so fans can determine where golfers are situated on the course. If all goes to plan, the use of augmented reality with a smartphone could be made available to fans later this year or in 2018.