![]() ![]() He also placed microphones around the course to capture comments and conversations from the players.Ĭameras were also put in tall trees, towers, and even on blimps to get shots of the ball in flight and the course that had not been seen on TV before.Ĭhirkinian’s innovative approach interested CBS, and he spent the next 37 years with them and made golf far more enjoyable to watch for TV viewers. He changed how live golf was filmed for TV by showing as many shots as possible and cutting from player to player as they played. ![]() This concept goes back to the late 1950s when Frank Chirkinian, the man known as ‘The Father Of Televised Golf,’ directed the shooting of the 1958 US Open. While Toptracer is the system that provides the ball-tracking graphics, there are other systems in place that also track the golf ball for TV, and those require the skills of camera operators positioned on the course. Related: What Is Smash Factor In Golf? What Other Golf Ball Tracking Methods Are Used? The same technology that shows those amazing ball flight graphics and club information on TV is the same as the tech used when testing new clubs or coaching using ball tracking radar. These create additional parameters such as attack angles, clubface path, speed, clubface angles at impact, and more that are used for coaching and club fitting purposes. The spin-off from this has been products like TrackMan that read the reflections of microwave frequencies emitted from the golf ball. Elements like clubhead speed, launch angle, and ball spin are just a few of the additional features that Toptracer has brought us. Over time, the technology evolved and developed more features, and many of those are now seen on TV when you watch major golf tournaments. The technology in Toptracer can be moved all over the course to provide additional graphics and data for players, commentators, and viewers alike. The camera is stationary and usually positioned behind the golfer for optimum data capture. As the golf ball moves through the 3D space, the computer can identify the ball in each image and then create a real-time tracking image of the flight path and deliver that to the TV screens. The CMOS sensors are linked to a computer, and it is here that the magic happens. When the golf ball travels through that space, the sensors track it in real time. Toptracer uses CMOS sensors (CMOS stands for Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor), the same found in modern DSLR cameras, to create 3D space. How Does Toptracer Track Golf Balls For TV? In 2006, the same year that Hawkeye made its debut at the US Open Tennis Tournament, Protracer was born, and it had such an impact over the next ten years that Topgolf bought it in 2016 and rebranded it Toptracer. Aside from the TV aspect, it has become one of the most widely used technologies for coaching and assessing swing and ball stats for golfers at any skill level. The result was Protracer, and it revolutionized the world of golf not only for TV viewers but for millions of golfers and coaches around the world. ![]() The story of Toptracer goes back to 1998 when Swedish entrepreneur and golf enthusiast Daniel Forsgren looked for a way to track golf balls in flight and plot their trajectory. Let’s tee off! The History Of Golf Ball Tracking So, if you want to know more about how golf balls are tracked on TV, you’ve come to the right place. How Toptracer tracks golf balls for TV.Toptracer users CMOS sensors in special cameras that follow and track the ball in flight and convert that data into the flight graphics that you see on your TV. Golf balls are tracked on TV using a technology called Toptracer, which was originally Protracer until Topgolf was acquired in 2016. If you watch golf on TV and see those real-time ball-tracking graphics displayed for drives and approach shots, did you ever wonder how they do that? I mean, it’s pretty amazing stuff! ![]()
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