By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director, Sports Video Group
Friday, July 18, 2025 – 4:46 am
The 153rd Open Championship marks the 15th 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.”
SMT is operating out of three cabins located behind the grandstands at the 1st hole, with a team managing the applications that set up the draw, pull in scoring information from scoring devices in the field, and drive the LED displays around the course as well as those who change the scores for the iconic yellow manual scoreboard on the 18th hole (the R&A brings out high-school students and their teachers from local schools in order to give the local community a chance to get more involved with the event).
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.
“With the 3D rendering we can track the balls coming through the air and then take all the data we’re capturing to make all kinds of graphical statistics, graphs, and other things,” adds Ballard. “And for those fans in the Spectator Village they can get more immersed as they will have the NTT Data feed on one screen and then the live coverage on the other. It provides a better fan experience.”
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.”
With 15 years under the belt SMT is always looking at ways to improve the work they do at golf tournaments like the Open.
“We’re looking ahead at other things to support the R&A and enhancements for the fan experience like the on-site presentation with some of the digital boards,” adds McDonald.