Cool New Web App for Getting PGA Scores: Live Interactive Course Map

February 7, 2013 by Paul Kapustka 2 Comments

There’s a cool new way to get live scores from PGA Tournament events, which uses live data superimposed on a Google map to give you a graphic way to see who is playing on which hole, and what their current score is.

Built by a company called Earthvisionz from my old stomping grounds of Boulder, Colo., the app is already live on the web — go take a look at livemaps.pgatour.com to see how it works, since you will be able to figure it out faster than I can tell you about it. Basically, it’s a Google map of the course with live data that shows who is playing the hole, how far they’ve hit their shots, how far to the hole, etc. From what we can tell, it’s the PGA’s Shot Link info but put into a form that’s cooler to use than looking up and down a graphical list.

The only quibble I have right now is that you have to click on the bubble twice to get the full shot info like distance and score. (See screenshot below) But according to the press release from Earthvisionz the app is designed to do a lot more, including being able to see where you are on a course, and where important “amenities” like bathrooms and beer tents are located. (This would have been a great app to have at last year’s U.S. Open!) Since this looks like a web app it should be available to any device… let us know if you can’t see it on a particular device. Looks great from our desktop connection, I wonder how well it works on cellular. Anyone at the tourney this week, please let us know!

We will circle back next week with an interview with the Earthvisionz folks as time allows… but for now take a look and let us know what you think of the new app.

(Click on the image to the left to see what the app does when you click through the scoring bubbles)

Filed Under: Apps, Golf, PGA Tagged With: Apps, Golf, live scoring, Mobile Sports Report, Paul Kapustka, Pebble Beach, PGA

Bogey Play: PGA Threatens to Ban Reporters Who Tweet Results

January 24, 2013 by Paul Kapustka 4 Comments

Apparently, the PGA Tour is still struggling to figure out this whole digital-media thing. According to golf reporters at the tour’s Farmers Insurance Open Thursday, the PGA sent an email threatening to pull credentials from reporters who were sending live result Tweets from the course.

Stephanie Wei, a freelance golf writer who does work for Sports Illustrated Golf+ (and is likely to have an expanded role in the golf media world after some promising video-reporting segments over the past year), shared the PGA’s warning email on her golf blog. Wei, one of the more prolific tweeters in the golf media who regularly follow the tour, did a bunch of shot-by-shot tweets while following Tiger Woods’ round Thursday at Torrey Pines.

In the days of yore, the Tour’s inclination to “prohibit the use of real-time, play-by-play transmission in digital outlets” might have been understandable. But as the Tour itself promotes on-course fan phone use and social media interaction, where does it draw the line between reporters and fans? Will the Tour hunt down and expel fans who are tweeting results they see happening in front of their eyes?

At last year’s U.S. Open, as well as other Tour stops, the supposed rule cited by the Tour was violated by numerous media, with many even posting pictures via Twitter as they followed golfers around the course. As an avid golf fan who can’t always be in front of a TV, the multiple tweets were a great way to stay in touch, and added flavor as a “second screen” option while watching live coverage on TV. If anything the Tour should be trying to get more people to tweet, not less.

Why the Tour is choosing now to enforce its Twitter ban is a mystery, especially when you consider how, on other fronts, the Tour is opening up and expanding its digital media presence, including having more live video available online.

Is the Tour really worried about tweeting reporters stealing fans’ eyeballs from its licensed (and expensive to rights-purchasers) content? Instead of banning it (and potentially pissing off fans who like following different Twitter streams for the commentary and take from the individuals they follow) why doesn’t the Tour do the simple and powerful thing of simply retweeting the reporters’ efforts, thereby increasing the Tour’s reach and publicity — for free? Aren’t you more likely to go turn on the TV if you see some tweets telling you that Tiger or Phil or Rory is on a hot streak?

To me, the Tour’s new enforcement of its no-tweet policy seems like a millionaire griping about losing a quarter in the parking meter. And we know how well those arguments go over, don’t we? Here’s our no-charge advice, PGA: Let the tweets run free.

Filed Under: Golf, PGA, Twitter Tagged With: Golf, Mobile Sports Report, Paul Kapustka, PGA, Phil Mickelson, Stephanie Wei, Twitter

Watching Golf this Week: Get up Early for the CIMB Classic in Malaysia

October 25, 2012 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

Quick, turn the channel on now! If you are up way late or up really early there is a chance you may catch live golf this week — including Tiger Woods and Jason Dufner — at the CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (I was wondering why big media hitters like Alan Shipnuck were in China this week.) It might not be an official season event (it is sanctioned) but with a $6.1 million purse and $1.3 million to the winner, yeah you’ll get a lot of guys on long plane rides. And the Tour gets exposure in China, where as you can expect there is a lot of golf gear to sell. Win-win. So who will win? Who knows, here’s a link to the field. And remember, it’s live on the Golf Channel every day this weekend from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. Eastern. Think I’ll go catch up on Tiger’s short game before I turn in here on the West Coast, Wednesday evening.

CIMB CLASSIC

(all times Eastern)
TV COVERAGE

Thursday, Oct. 25 — Golf Channel, 1 a.m. — 4 a.m.
Friday, Oct. 26 — Golf Channel, 1 a.m. — 4 a.m.
Saturday, Oct. 27 — Golf Channel, 1 a.m. — 4 a.m.
Sunday, Oct. 28 — Golf Channel, 1 a.m. — 4 a.m.

FACEBOOK PAGE
CIMB Classic is on Facebook.

TOP TWITTER FEEDS TO FOLLOW

Geoff Shackelford — well known golf writer. If you’re not following Geoff you are missing the online boat.
Golf Channel — official Golf Channel feed
@PGATOUR — official PGA Twitter feed
@StephanieWei — great golf writer who is a Twitter fiend.
Doug Ferguson is the lead golf writer for AP. Good Twitter insights that often aren’t part of your wire-service lead.

WHAT’S THE COURSE LIKE?
Here’s the deets on the The Mines Resort & Golf Club.

WHO WON THIS THING LAST TIME?
Bo Van Pelt.

Filed Under: Golf, Golf Channel, PGA, Tiger Woods Tagged With: CIMB Classic, Golf, Jason Dufner, Mobile Sports Report, Paul Kapustka, PGA, PGA Tour, Tiger Woods

Latest SensoGlove Seeks to fix Golf’s Deathgrip Issue

October 18, 2012 by Greg Quick Leave a Comment

Sensosolutions has released an advanced version of its SensoGlove a sports glove that is designed to help golfers improve their game by providing them with digital feedback that they can use to make alterations that will improve their game and score.

While the golfing season is sadly coming to a close, at least here in the Northern Hemisphere, that does not mean that you cannot go to the driving range and work on issues that plagued during your stint on the course this year.

The SensoGlove includes a 1.2-inch LED digital monitor that analyzes the pressure of the swing through highly responsive sensors placed throughout the glove. On each swing of a golf club the can provide real-time audio and visual feedback at 80 times per second informing you if you have exceed your target level of grip pressure. One feature shows you which fingers are gripping too tightly, so you can adjust your grip accordingly.

Much of the feedback is used with a new feature, the “Automatic Sensitivity Selection” button. When pressed the button seeks to find the perfect recommended setting based on the maximum grip pressure history of the user.

The $89 glove is designed to be a personal trainer for golfers by providing feedback not just on the grip pressure but also on how to hold the clubs properly for each swing and is available for both right handed and left handed golfers and comes with models for both sexes as well.

While there are a number of sports watches that are designed to be personal trainers and even a number of watches that are designed specifically for golf I believe that this is the only glove that is so designed for a specific sport. I wonder how well it does and if anybody uses one please let us know what you think.

Filed Under: Golf Tagged With: Golf, SensoGlove, Sensosolutions

Professional Disc Golf? It's Growing

August 14, 2012 by Greg Quick

PDGA

It was pointed out to me that, duh, there is a difference between the Ultimate Disc League, which plays a version of football with discs, and the Professional Disc Golf Association, which plays a version of golf while also using discs.

While the PDGA season has been ongoing for sometime, there are still a number of major and minor tournaments on the board, both for pro and amateur players including the European Championships that start Wed. Aug 15 and run through the weekend. They are being held in Colchester, United Kingdom and currently there are 195 players registered for the event.

A quick look at the sport first. Disc golf was formalized in the 1970s, but its roots go back decades earlier and there has even been at least one attempt to create a commercialized league in the 19

60s. By the 1970s there was groups forming leagues, Wham-O, the inventor of the Frisbee was behind disc golf while others codifying rules and they eventually settled on a set of rules and from this the PDGA eventually emerged.

Disc golf has much the same goal as traditional golf, completing a course with the lowest score, in this case that means the fewest throws. A player covers the course and each new throw is from the landing spot of the previous one. The hole is usually an elevated basket called a Pole Hole.

I have to say that I was truly amazed at the breadth and scope of the leagues that are available for the average and pro player. There appears to be a high degree of organization that is often difficult with an endeavor that is so wide spread but that does appear to be present here.

One thing that really appeals to me is that the courses can have a great deal of quirky features. At the 10-hole course near my house there is a bus stop on the course along with a flagpole, a sculpture and a balcony shot from the 10th hole. The fact that they brew beer on the premises and it is in wine country is just two extra bonuses!

Filed Under: Contests, Golf, Outdoor Activities, Professional Disc Golf Association Tagged With: Disc Golf, Golf

ESPN’s British Open Coverage Scores on Cable, Internet, Mobile

July 24, 2012 by Paul Kapustka 2 Comments

There must be an algorithm somewhere to write the inevitable press releases for broadcasters after any big event now, that begins with “record viewership” and then plugs in the terms online and mobile. ESPN’s coverage of the British Open last week and weekend certainly fits in, with big gains in just about every measurement category, including a 140 percent growth in the amount of live coverage watched on ESPN’s mobile and online platforms.

But — it could have been a lot bigger. Remember, ESPN limits its mobile access to people who pay for cable plans from Verizon FiOS, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, and Comcast. How much bigger could the audience be if ESPN allowed non-cable subscribers the right to see things with a one-time fee? (Right now, the WWL’s answer to that is it’s not gonna happen.)

One guess is that since ESPN added Comcast to its list of approved cable-contract partners whose customers get access to all WatchESPN and ESPN3 content, the jump in online viewership was probably a given since the Comcast deal added about 40 million potential new viewers to the number that could see ESPN’s online streams. Even without any new partnerships that number should easily grow again next year, when ESPN should have support for Comcast customers with Android platforms, who were shut out this year.

I still think that ESPN could vastly improve its online coverage of big events, especially golf, by mimicing the excellent presentation done by the folks at the Masters. Right now the event coverage like the British Open is lumped in next to every other thing that ESPN covers, which as you know is quite a lot, so the experience dims. It would also be great to have an integrated chat/social experience on the same screen, so you could perhaps talk golf smack to friends and other fans without having to switch between multiple screens. I’d add in a window to keep track of the excellent ESPN Majors fantasy game, and my online golf experience would be complete. Well, we’d need the TigerCam too. But I’m not greedy.

ESPN Press release on its awesome British Open numbers.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, British Open, ESPN, ESPN3, Golf, PGA, The Masters, Tiger Woods Tagged With: British Open, ESPN, Golf, Mobile Sports Report, Paul Kapustka, Tiger Woods, WatchESPN