Technology To Help Boost Aussie Open

Aussie golf fans may want to take their Palm Pilots when they travel to the Australian Open in Sydney this December.

Organisers of Australia’s premier event is trying to ramp up the entertainment and information factor for golf fans so that they can receive as much details about the tournament on the course as they could if they were watching on television.

Using communication devices such as Palm Pilots and other gadgets, golf fans can tune into the tournament live as they are walking the course. They can find out information such as yardage, wind direction and other details die-hard golf fans want to know about a player’s shot.

In addition, they would be able to see a live leaderboard on their machines so they can decide in an instant what is the best hole to watch at any given time.

This is the vision of tournament director Paul McNamee, whose initiative helped to give last year’s Australian Open a party atmosphere with live music, fashion shows, big-screen TVs and allowing spectators on to the fairways.

McNamee was quoted in the Brisbane Times as saying:

“We’ve got to keep improving the experience for spectators and part of that will be giving them as much information as we can while they’re out walking the course. That’s the only advantage you get from watching golf at home – the information. We need to be able to get the info to the fans quickly so there’s no doubt that watching golf is a better experience live.”

Golf in Australiasia has been keeping a low profile in recent years with the emergence of the Asian Tour. McNamee, however, says he has no plans to make the Australia Open the world’s “fifth major”. His simply hopes that the tournament can become the leading event within the Asia-Pacific region.


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