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The game of golf has been around for thousands of years, and some of the major golf tournaments are well over 100 years old.
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Well the sport of golf hasn't changed much through history, but technology surrounding the way we watch the sport has advanced dramatically.
From drones.
Oh!
[LAUGH] The golf course mapping technology.
The game of golf has evolved into a high tech high stakes game where every shot is tracked and uploaded to the mother ship known as the server track.
We went to the world golf championship in Harding Park in San Francisco over the weekend, Got a firsthand look at how the PGA Tour uses a laser system to map tee shots and putts which is then uploaded to the commentators, television viewers and the masses following the tournament online.
ShotLink is a comprehensive scoring system which uses lasers to survey and map the distance of a golf shot on a mapped grid of a golf course.
Once a golfer hits a shot, a PGA Tour volunteer then uses the laser range finder to measure the distance of the ball from the tee.
This distance will then provide the distance to the pin for the next shot.
The technology is also used on the putting green.
When a shot comes into the green from the fairway PGA volunteers quickly laser the ball, and give a measurement of the distance between the ball and the cup.
This data is then input into a small keypad computer system that's sent to the server truck.
And in almost realtime, shows up on the television screen and any device that a user may be following the tournament The ShotLink data has proven to be a vital part of the PGA tour.
It not only helps viewers at home gain an understanding of how the golfers are doing, but themselves use the ShotLink data to better their performance.
ShotLink plays a vital role in the game of golf today and will continue for a long time to come.
As the game of golf continues to grow, so will its presence online.
And the data will continue to be an integral part of how we interact with and consume the sport of golf.
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