In the digital age, instant scoring updates and a constant stream of information are par for the course when it comes to sporting events. The Champions Tour has stayed at the top of the statistical game with the ShotLink system.
“We give tours from time to time and the one common comment we get is people saying ‘I didn’t know it took this much work to run a golf tournament,’” said Keith Newton, director of tournament operations for the Champions Tour.
The “Big Brother” of golf, ShotLink has been around nearly a decade and has revolutionized golf statistics, scrutinizing every shot taken. The information gathered gives the PGA, golfers and fans a mountain of data ranging from percentage of putts made from various distances, average distance from the hole on approach shots from various yardage, and tendencies the players themselves might not even be familiar with.
Newton and his team operate from a trailer filled with wires and screens, making sure everything runs smoothly.
“We have got it down to a point where everything flows in here,” Newton said. “Sometimes we may run into an equipment issue, but we dispatch people and get it taken care of quickly.”
While those in the trailer crunch the numbers, the system flourishes with the help of volunteer walking scorers — 65 of them are helping with this year’s Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai.
“It’s an important job, so I have a policy that the volunteers have to work the Pro-Am before doing the weekend,” said Bill Jaeger, who is in charge of coordinating the walking scorers at the event.
Each scorer is equipped with a handheld device — similar to a PalmPilot but much larger — and follows a designated group on the course. Volunteers input every shot taken during the round, and that information is instantly sent through radio frequency to the multiple scoreboards across the course, Newton’s crew in the trailer and into the homes of fans following the event worldwide.
“We couldn’t do it without the volunteers,” Newton said. “ At every tournament on the tour, the volunteers are the reason this can run so smoothly.”
Volunteer Nancy McHenry-Siegel has been a walking scorer with the tournament for the past six years.
“I talked to someone involved with the tournament a while back and they told me about the opportunity and I jumped at it,” McHenry-Siegel said. “I love to see good golf, and I love for people to do well. You feel like part of the group”
The job is no walk in the park though. McHenry-Siegel wore a FitBit device during Thursday’s Pro-Am and measured that she walked 4.5 miles on the course following her group.
“The players are always very appreciative and welcoming, so it makes the job easy,” McHenry-Siegel said.
ShotLink has changed the way golf is watched. No longer are there estimations — only data. And none of it would be possible without the sturdy backbone of hard-working volunteers inside the ropes.