EVENT SPOTLIGHT: THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

Immersive data visualization wall and new digital tools on tap at The Open

Thanks to Ryan McDonald, VP and GM, Golf, for contributing to this report and for the images and clip. 

SMT is once again at the heart of The Open Championship, delivering a powerful suite of scoring, data, and visualization technologies for golf’s oldest major—this year hosted at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. While many of our services are long-standing staples of the event, several exciting new offerings are also debuting.

PLAYER PRACTICE ROUND BOOKING: New for 2025 is a Player Practice Round Booking Portal, replacing the old process of players scheduling practice rounds in person in the locker room. Now, qualified players receive a custom invitation to log into a private online portal—available weeks in advance—to book tee times and prepare for the Championship on their own schedule. It’s a simple innovation with a big impact on player experience.

NTT DATA WALL: In collaboration with ENP Media, we’re also proud to support NTT DATA and their Data Wall activation for the first time at The Open. Our team built a high-fidelity Unreal Engine model of Royal Portrush, integrated with SMT’s GolfX scoring system. Through this, we’re powering real-time displays of shot trails, hole stats, player locators, drive distance visualizations and flyover animations. We also created a custom leaderboard that shows projected cut lines, scoring info, and weather-based updates.

Along with these new developments, our team continues to deliver the core services we’ve become known for, including:

• Official scoring and data collection across all 18 holes
• Handheld devices for on-course scoring and drive distance collection
• On-course and Media Centre LED boards, including our "Moments Ago" highlights, created and distributed live throughout the Championship
• CIS support, Pace of Play tracking, walking scorer tools and training, media reports, live wind feeds

Our 15-person team manages everything from scoreboard production to player logistics to broadcast-ready data. 

Jesse Richardson, right, works with ENP staff in the NTT DATA Wall control room.

IN THE NEWS: SPORTS VIDEO GROUP

SMT’s Ryan McDonald (left) and Matt Ballard have worked closely with the R&A on 15 Open Championships.

Live from the 153rd Open Championship: SMT Enhances Video Board Experience; Enables Practice Scheduling for Players

By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director, SVG
Friday, July 18, 2025

The 153^rd Open Championship marks the 15^th Open Championship where SMT has had a presence and the services and offerings SMT has brought to the table continues to expand. New this year? Driving a new video feed at the Spectator Village that puts tracking data and graphics front and center as well as a new application that allows players to book their practice sessions without having to be at the course (a first).

“It’s great being here from a client relationship standpoint as many of the original folks that we worked with at the R&A are still here,” says McDonald of working with the R&A on 15 Open Championships. “Our project manager this year, Matt Ballard, is still the original project manager from 15 years ago.”

Adds Ballard: “This is one of those things you hope you’re here 15 years later and the R&A has just been great to work with. They’re fantastic people and they just want the game to get better, and they’ve embraced some of the technology that we’ve been able to bring to them, like the LED boards on course which began as a test in 2014 with just four boards and today has boards on 17 holes plus the driving range.”

The big advance this year is the NTT Data Wall which is located on a massive scoreboard at the Spectator Village. SMT in conjunction with the R&A and NTT Data to use LIDAR to build out a model of the golf course down to the centimeter using Unreal Engine. SMT then has a team of creatives that include Jesse Richardson, creative technical manager; Timothy Henry, real-time 3D generalist; Emily Marcelis, creative intern; Kim Timbone, 3D Artist; and Larry Bodiford, software engineer.

The other big advance is something that doesn’t directly impact fans but does make for happier players which can often lead to better play and, thus, happier fans. What is it? A software application that allows players to schedule their practice rounds without having to physically be on site.

“Previously players would fly in the week before, go to the locker room, and pick their times every day,” says Ryan McDonald, SMT, VP of Business Development. “We developed an online application that allows them to sign into the site, see available times, book their practice times, and even see who else they will be practicing with. It’s a huge advancement for something that seems so simple.”

BROADCAST SPOTLIGHT: AMERICAN CENTURY CELEBRITY CHAMPIONSHIP

SMT helps celebrity golf event rack up highest viewership since '09

Thanks to Media Production Manager Peter Frank and Marketing Intern Alessia Iacono for contributing to this report. Thanks to Video Editor Shaun Bales for the highlight reel.

Stephen Curry. Travis and Jason Kelce. Aaron Rodgers. Tony Romo. Charles Barkley.

What began as a filler celebrity golf championship when NBC lost its MLB media rights in 1990 has become one of NBC’s signature golf events. The three-day 2025 American Century Celebrity Championship, held July 11 to 13 at Edgewood Golf Course in South Lake Tahoe, averaged 963,000 viewers across NBC, GOLF Channel, and Peacock, the best since 2009. Friday's opening round viewership was the best ever for that stage of the tournament with 211,000 viewers.

Led by Peter Frank, Media Production Manager for SMT’s Operations team, the event showcased the continued evolution of SMT’s virtual sponsorship technology that enhances the broadcast experience. With support from utility crew member Susana Martinez, the team was on-site to oversee operations for virtual ads on holes 17 and 18.

SMT has supported this tournament since 2006, and its role has become more essential with each passing year. Virtual advertising uses graphics that blend naturally into live broadcasts without disrupting the look of the course. This year marked the second time SMT provided sponsorship on the 18th hole, expanding brand visibility beyond placement on 17. The new ad location in the pond near the 18th green caught the attention of NBC Tech Manager Bob Hess, who praised its realistic appearance and effective placement.

Behind the scenes, SMT’s work begins well before the broadcast goes live. Each hole is carefully surveyed to capture its exact contours and dimensions, ensuring the virtual graphics appear as naturally as possible. The team arrived early to avoid peak course traffic and completed the setup in advance.

INTERNSHIP SPOTLIGHT: LUNCH & LEARN

Intern Lunch & Learn spotlights baseball analytics, 6th Tool and career tips

Thanks to Recruiter Kenny Bores for providing this report and the associated materials.

As part of SMT’s ongoing Lunch and Learn series for summer interns, this week’s session featured insights from Meredith Wills, Billy Fryer, and Andrew Steenkamer, who shared their work in baseball analytics, our 6th Tool tracking technology, SMT-U, and the SMT Data Challenge. They also offered valuable advice on transitioning from intern to full-time team member, drawing from their own experiences. Want to connect with the speakers? Reach out via Teams or email: Meredith (m.wills@smt.com), Billy (b.fryer@smt.com), Andrew (a.steenkamer@smt.com).

For those who missed the session—or anyone interested in a deeper dive into these topics—you can view the recording. They also highlighted last year’s winning Data Challenge project, the Snell Tool.

SMT hires part-time operators to work with our 6th Tool system during fall ball and the regular season. If you're interested in this opportunity, reach out to be notified when hiring begins. In the meantime, try your hand at the dexterity training game designed to mimic the same key combinations used in the FIELDf/x Resolver application. This is the same exercise candidates are required to complete to gauge how effective they are in using hot keys to enter data.

INTERNS!  SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES!

We'd love to hear about the work you're doing this summer in your department.
Send your article to be featured in Oculus to c.jenkins@SMT.com.

Events and Remote Teams

We are staffing 15 events this week. Safe travels to all!

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