This year, we are celebrating The Open's 150th year, marking an extraordinary occasion for golf fans across the globe. In commemoration, The R&A, utilising NTT DATA's leading-edge Digital Twin technology, will be unveiling ShotView, an innovative ball-tracking technology that will revolutionise the fan experience at The Open. This will allow fans to see live ball positions and route to hole for every stroke of the Championship mapped on a virtual representation of the iconic St Andrews Old Course.
This innovative project will revolutionise golf for players, fans, and other areas such as broadcasters; in fact, everyone involved in any aspect of sports and entertainment.
ShotView: An overview of how it works
For the first time ever, The Open Championship will have full shot-by-shot data available for The 150th Open. ShotView is a real-time ball data collection project that allows individuals to experience every shot from every player on every hole at The 150th Open. Moreover, while similar tracking technologies have been used at the other majors, our partnership with NTT DATA has allowed us to use leading-edge technologies to create an entirely new, interactive and 100% data-driven immersive experience. This can be viewed as us dipping our toes into the incredibly intriguing world of the Metaverse.
ShotView recorders will be posted on every hole, at the tee box, the midpoint of the fairway, and the green. These individuals will each be using a handheld device to accurately pick up where the ball has landed and its trajectory following the player's next shot. This detailed information will feed our data-fuelled digital twin. These data and insights are used in everything from 'what-if' future predictions, head-to-head player comparisons and displaying those stand-out moments on the NTT DATA Wall, a 20x10m installation that has become a trademark of NTT DATA's golf partnerships. Fans will also be able to engage in our exciting new features on theopen.com and The Open app where you can filter through each hole in the current round, as well as looking back through previous days.
As a fan of golf, you will have the ability to watch every single chip, drive, putt, slice, birdie, eagle and bogey of your favourite golfer, with realistic real-time animations of everything happening around that golfer and across all 7,313 yards, 18 holes, four days and 156 players of the entire championship.
The role of Digital Twin technology
Digital twin technology plays a crucial role in bringing 'ShotView’ to fans: in allowing the incredibly detailed comparative and predictive statistics to be displayed alongside a grass blade for grass blade, 3D, animated model of St Andrews Old Course. This will allow fans across the globe to be fully immersed in the golf from the first swing on day one, almost being able to feel the wind gust around the course.
The Digital Twin system also means includes the NTT DATA ClipTag system, which will create fully animated vignettes of player shots and flight trajectories made available in easily accessible media libraries and with full integration into theopen.com live blog allowing fans, broadcasters, commentators and players to relive the drama of those key moments – with data-driven visuals of every one of 35,000 shots that will be taken during the championship.
Driving golf further
With so much data and statistics becoming more readily available, golf fans will be able to utilise their very own Metaverse-like experience to become fully immersed in The 150th Open, wherever they are. Despite the complexity of the data collection and processing, the end result is a simple, accessible and beautiful design which allows new fans and old, experienced golfers and newbies to watch, understand and enjoy this most elegant of sports at this, the most exciting, historic and iconic golf Championship in the world.
Delivering this 2nd screen experience with NTT DATA becomes about more than just putting on a show for fans or commercial opportunities. It is about spreading the thrill of golf and letting everyone share in the excitement of The Open Championship’s return to the home of Golf for the 150th playing.
Read more about ShotView.
The Open will be played from 10-17 July. Be sure to visit TheOpen.com or access all the action through the official Open app, and to follow NTT DATA’s social channels to get all the latest developments from the home of golf - Old Course, St Andrews.