On TV now they frequently give the length of a putt being attempted; often to the nearest inch even when many 10’s of feet away.
How do the do that?
I can think of several reasons why GPS probably wouldn’t work. Do they have surveyor’s instruments perched around the greens? Some hi-techy laser thing?They even do it when the golfer is putting or chipping fron off the fringe.
And part 2 - how about the 1-yard accuracy of shots to te green? Maybe GPS would work for that?
They did it for years before GPS (I remember it from watching golf in the 1960s), and if you look, you can’t see surveyor’s instruments anywhere.
For a putt, the number is an estimate, not an accurate number. But the spotters have checked out the greens beforehand and, since they’ve estimated thousands of shots, they know roughly how long a putt is. Pro golfers and caddies learn this skill as part of their learning the sport.
I don’t know, man. I’m no expert on electronics or anything, but would it be too much trouble to simply send the digitized vid through a computer, place markers on the ball and hole and have it calculate a pretty precise distance?
There are those surveyors instruments on every green and I believe every fairway at all the PGA tournaments I’ve been to. Sight the ball, zap a laser, and the computer spits out the length of the drive or the distance to the hole.
When you hear an announcer say the putt is 13 feet 8 inches, you can guarantee that the distance is from one of those measurements.
Yes, I was thinking it had to be something like this, rather than just people eye-balling it. For years the commentors would say “about four feet” or other approximations, now in the last coupl;e years they’re calling it to the inch.
I don’t recall noticing any such equipment but will try looking for it.
They have a specific term for that system, and I can’t for the life of me remember what it is. I want to say “skycam”, but that’s not it…
Shot Link.
Yes. I knew it was two syllables!
You can find all of the details you want at Shotlink’s website.