PGA Tour Introduces Drone AR Smart Tracing, Reflects on 2025 Sports Emmys Win
SVG Rewind
•
17m
During the 2025 RBC Canadian Open at TPC Toronto, the PGA Tour debuted a new wrinkle to their drone AR activations. Built upon their proprietary moving drone technology, Smart tracing allows fans to see where a tee shot will land in relation to the fairway based on the ball trail's color. Nearly a second after the ball is struck, real-time probabilities are calculated and delivered every 100 milliseconds until landing on the ground via a cloud-based physics engine. Smart tracing will also be available during this weekend's Travelers Championship, Rocket Classic (June 26-29), and all three FedExCup Playoffs events.
In this edition of SVG Rewind, PGA Tour's SVP, Media Broadcasting, Jon Freedman, and VP, Production Technology & Analytics, Alex Turnbull, detail why this iteration of their drone tracing technology was needed, the technology and challenges that come with this innovation, how their broadcast partners are implementing it, and how their work with drones and augmented reality led to winning the George Wensel Technical Achievement Award at 46th annual 2025 Sports Emmys.
Up Next in SVG Rewind
-
Behind the Scenes of Producing Totten...
Seventeen years since their last trophy. 41 years since their last taste of glory on the European stage. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club has endured heartbreak after heartbreak, but after defeating Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League Final on May 21, the wait was finally over and the club...
-
NFL's Tim Tubito on Elevating Super B...
The in-stadium experience of Super Bowl LIX was a complex undertaking. From a live performance from notable New Orleans-based musicians and high-intensity team introductions during pregame and a full-team presentation of the Lombardi Trophy to the victorious Philadelphia Eagles, the National Foot...
-
PWHL Takeover Tour's Record-Setting D...
In its second season, the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) is taking its show on the road. In a series of nine games hosted in "neutral site" cities, the PWHL Takeover Tour is designed to expand the new league's reach and grow the game of women's hockey.
On January 12, a game between th...