WEEKLY WHEATIES #2419
Tech in Golf, AI, Google, Abandonded Films
In this newsletter:
Post: From Tee to Green: Tracking the Tech of Professional Golf
In Case You Missed It: AI Updates
In Case You Missed It: Google Updates
Pick of the Week: Abandoned Films on YouTube
From Tee to Green: Tracking the Tech of Professional Golf
Last weekend I was able to volunteer at the TPC Zurich Classic here in New Orleans, LA. My position was called a Walking Scorer, where I literally walked all 18 holes with a group of 4 professionals to keep their score, along with other statistics and useful information for the networks. For a sport dating back to the 19th century, the technology used at these events today is wild! The game has grown to help the player and the spectator alike.
In general, every hole typically has the same setup. At the tee box (where the golfers take their first shot), there is a Trackman, wireless routers, cameras, and other electronic boxes I couldn’t quite make out. I can guess, but it won’t matter for the purposes of what I’m explaining.
The Trackman works just like the systems in place at TopGolf and other similar places work. It essentially can double as a simulator effect, tracking the golf ball in flight. These systems read the ball spin, angle of trajectory, speed, and more to determine ball flight, distance, and final location. More importantly, it can tell information on the club, too: swing speed, angle of attack, face angle at impact, location on the face of the club where the ball made impact, and much, much more. Believe it or not, in a split second of the golf ball taking off from the tee, the system already knows where it will land.
It’s important to note that these devices are extremely accurate. Let’s say around a 5 ft diameter at 300 yards. And even smaller the shorter the shot. Obviously, there is some dispersion for the longer shots, and environmental effects can cause incorrect readings (rain and wind for example). But believe it or not, they’re getting good at accounting for that, too. Something else they may not always account for is the exact distance of roll-out. Especially based on the type of ground the ball hits first (concrete vs. dirt vs. sand). Either way, this is the industry standard for a very good reason - it has a high probability of accuracy.
You’ve probably seen many examples of this if ever seeing someone hit a golf shot. The ball will typically have a white, yellow, or red line being drawn on the screen following it as it flies through the air. However, landing is only the first piece of the puzzle. How do the golfers know where their ball lands? Because they seem to always walk right to it, it seems.
Well, for starters, they are such a machine at hitting the golf ball, they know if it was a good or bad shot. Meaning, they also know in the general area it went, about how far it went, and are so good at watching, they saw the bounce (or lack of bounce) once it came down.
Then, other PGA volunteers located close to the typical landing zone use a telescope type of device to zoom in on the golf ball's final resting place after it rolls out. This can have a wild range of conclusions based on where the ball lands as mentioned above but is helpful for the viewing audience. If the golf ball goes out of bounds, the volunteers stationed in these locations will place a white flag near the spot, so the golfer can find it quickly.
Once the players hit again, and upon reaching the green (the putting surface where the hole is located), there is other technology to help here, too. Including more cameras, potentially a Trackman, and sometimes even surveying type equipment to measure the undulations of the green. This helps show all the hills and breaks of the green as they are never a flat surface. You’ve probably even seen examples of putted balls with the lines following them, I’m sure, too.
If you’ve watched enough golf, the commentators are amazing in and of themselves. They know the game really well and are typically great past players who have since retired or are out because of injury. They know the way the course plays as well as how the balls fall on the greens. In many cases, they will be considered experts of the local courses where they’re reporting on.
But if they didn’t, the equipment mentioned can literally show them a map of the entire hole, the greens, where the ball is located, and where the hole is located. By looking at this, they will know what type of shot a player has in front of them, how far they are from the hole, and even if the putt will fall one way or the other with fairly decent accuracy.
For pros, caddies, or amateur players like me, there are other ways to help with this. In a PGA Tour, personal technology is not allowed, but physical books and notes are allowed. For personal non-tournament use, there are tons of apps available on the market for Android and iOS. I’ve covered some of them in a YouTube Video I posted a while back about this subject that may be helpful. For now, most popular courses offer green readings and other helpful course distances via a book by Stracka or the Swing U mobile app.
Now, let’s go back to the tee box for a minute. There is a phone dedicated to one app developed solely for the PGA Tour. In this app, the Walking Scorer (the position I had) tracks the scores of the individuals of the group for the day’s round. The app also tracks each club used off the tee, penalty shots, the locations of where all shots are taken, and more.
Another really cool part of the app is how it connects to other pieces of technology across the course. For example, the Walking Scorer indicates in the app the exact timing the golfer hits the ball. Allowing the back end systems to connect the shot on the course digitally with the shot on the Trackman. Then, allowing the networks to watch the shot in real time, or play back the correct shot during replay.
The multiple cameras at each tee box serve different functions. First, a license plate reader-type of camera is set up to zoom in directly on the ball for each tee shot. Another camera shows a wide-angle view. Around the fairways, there are multiple other wide-angle cameras, and on the green, there are typically two or more cameras available. These wide shots are also mounted on a pole and fairly high out of the way of interference with the tournament or spectators.
When all the cameras, Trackman devices, and volunteers team up, it’s easy to tell how there are so many statistics available, how every shot can be watched back, and no ball gets lost. If you want to see what this technology looked like 8 years ago, GeekWire has a great blog post. Overall, I was very impressed and wowed by how some of the technology was being utilized. There were also backup plans in place should something not function correctly, so I felt right at home.
Is there anything you found interesting about how technology is used for non-technological events?
ICYMI: AI Updates
First up, OpenAI’s ChatGPT can now remember the preferences of subscribers. While this may not seem like that big of a deal, privacy issues have always been brought up around storing info. The same is true here, by giving away a little security (in personal details that are relevant), the user has a much better experience moving forward. Let this be another caution to be careful with details you do decide to provide.
Anthropic’s ClaudeAI released a chatbot iOS app. We’ve seen others become available over the last few months (including OpenAI, Google Gemini, and Microsoft’s Copilot), but this is great as it keeps competition going and gives users more to choose from! Pro licenses are similar in cost, but there is a free plan available, so check it out.
Lastly, with Apple’s WWDC coming up in early June, it appears they are getting serious with an AI of their own. Mark Gurman reported they are in talks with OpenAI and Google to see about powering a possible new version of Siri in iOS 18 coming this fall. I’m sure you’ll hear more about this from me in the coming months…
ICYMI: Google Updates
Google had a few headlines in the last couple of weeks that may be of importance in the coming months. First, an update to Google Chrome now includes a built-in AI as part of the address bar - Gemini. I haven’t had the chance to tinker with it just yet, but a new app called Vids, is an AI-powered video creation app for work. It doesn’t appear to help make movies, only helpful walkthroughs and how-tos.
Google reported paid Apple $20 Billion in 2022 to Be Default Safari Search Engine. I’m sure this continued in 2023/2024 and will continue in the immediate future. I’m not sure Apple could build a search engine half as good for that price, unless Google has some crazy privacy issues Apple can’t stomach.
Lastly, Google merged their Android, Chrome, and hardware divisions. I’m sure this isn’t anything more than an org chart switch, but with AI becoming more integrated across the stack of hardware and software, it does make sense. Being able to have more of a handle on the entire process and knowing what and why something is changed will help.
POTW: Abandoned Films on YouTube
With May the 4th passing by, I would first like to share a really cool YouTube video a coworker sent out - Star Wars in 1950's Super Panavision, by Abandoned Films. This creator has a ton of other AI videos based on other movies. I’m an adult in the 2020’s and think this is cool! I can’t even imagine how cool this would have looked as a kid in the 1950’s. It just goes to show how much AI - especially video - has changed in the last year alone. Next year, I would guess we’ll be even further. Especially based on what we’ve seen from Open AI’s Sora, and their Chinese rival - Vidu.
