Live From the 151st Open Championship: ACS Leads Specialty-Camera Charge; Car Cam Debuts Two drones, one focused on the controversial Hole 17, are being deployed By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Friday, July 21, 2023 - 7:14 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Every Open Championship provides its own opportunities for new ways for EMG and ACS to use specialty cameras, and Royal Liverpool Golf Club this year has been no exception. The biggest on-air addition is the Car Cam, an ATOM One Dream Chip camera that has been mounted inside the courtesy car that drives the players and others from the driving range to the course. It is positioned in the front of the car to capture a wide shot, without audio, of whoever is being transported to the course.
That's the newest innovation, and the shot is so good, especially if you have three people in the front seat and two in the back seat, says Hamish Greig, director, golf operations, EMG. You have a nice full shot. We've had flag cams, hole cams, post cams, and all those kinds of things but never a Car Cam. I think it has been such a success that we'll keep it.
Royal Liverpool provides the perfect opportunity for that sort of camera because the driving range is more than a mile from the course.
It's a three-minute drive, and, other than a couple of little gaps where you lose it for five seconds, it has worked really well, says Greig. Along with that, we have the UHD and HD drones, bunker cams, and high-frame-rate cameras on the 17th hole, which I think is where this tournament is going to be won or lost.
ACS's David Whitlock inside the ACS technical cabin at the 2023 Open Championship
ACS Operations Director David Whitlock and his team of about 20 are overseeing operations of many of the other specialty cameras, including two drones because the aircraft that usually captures aerials is grounded by a technical issue with the engine.
The plan for the second drone came about last Friday, he explains. That was difficult to pull together because of all the paperwork associated with it, but, thankfully, we had done most of it already for the other drone, and that helped us tick a lot of the health and safety boxes.
The two drones have been dubbed Lennon and McCartney. The latter will focus on the famed 17th par-3. The former will be on the other side of the course covering Holes 9, 10, 11, and 12.
Those holes are out of the way and have a great background of the beach, and it's a pretty shot, says Whitlock. Flight time is still limited to around 15 minutes depending on weather conditions; if it's windy, they will have to work harder. Their flight path is fairly constrained, but they still have some movement, and the McCartney drone can go out over the water and fly in to reveal the 17th and surrounding holes.
A wire-cam system, about 120 meters long, is in place on the 18th hole, capturing shots of the 18th green. Because of space limitations, the system is built into the infrastructure surrounding the grandstand, and Whitlock expects it to capture some great shots of the green.
We just have to move very slowly and carefully because we're quite close to play, he says. It has a GSS gimbal on it with a wide-angle lens and enough zoom so we can push in on the players and spectators for color shots.
New this year are three small Camball PTZ cameras that have been buried in the turf on the practice range. Located just in front of the hitting area, they provide shots of all the hitting bays. The guys on the Live From the Range show can pick shots of the players they want to show, says Whitlock.
The 17th hole is the centerpiece of this year's Open and, besides the drone, is covered by three bunker cameras, including a high-frame-rate version.
We had that type of camera in a bunker for the first time last year in the Road Hole bunker at St. Andrews, says Whitlock. We replicated that this year in the rear bunker on 17 to give a high-speed replay.
ACS is also supporting NBC and Golf Channel with a bunker cam on the practice-green chipping area (Sky Sports has one in a bunker on the practice range) and four SMARThead3 robotic camera heads with large lenses positioned on various towers located across the course.
We also are providing the standard bridge cameras for the players coming on and off the course, adds Whitlock, as well as some POV SMARThead cameras on the back of the first tee and on the 18th grandstand.
It is a busy summer for ACS. The team just finished Wimbledon and had to quickly get kit from AELTC up to Liverpool following last weekend's Finals. After the Open, it's straight into the EPL football season and, at the end of September, back to golf for the 2023 Ryder Cup, which will be played in Rome.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
IPC Expands Brazilian Presence with New Channel Partner CCATech
Industry veterans Carlos Abrah o and Bruno Lopes strengthen local support and expand IPCs prese...
20/08/2026
Zixi Enters Mauritius Market Through Strategic Deployment with MTC Jockey Club
Worlds Oldest Horse Racing Club in the Southern Hemisphere Selects Zixis Softwar...
20/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Scripps Research assistant professor Tiantian Liu has received a five-year NIAID DP2 award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Di...
20/08/2026
Audiences reveal appetite for multicultural Australia on-screen 20 August 2026
Dr Georgie McClean, Dr Rebecca Huntley (L-R)
By Dr Georgie McClean and Dr Rebec...
20/08/2026
How Mavis Studio Is Expanding Live Production Teaching at Sussex
Brie Clayton August 19, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image displays a student about to mix be...
20/08/2026
Vertical Unscripted Series Legal Queens Captured with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton August 19, 2026
0 Comments
Reality TV veteran Eric Gardner create...
19/08/2026
As the cost of IP nears price parity with traditional SDI, Reynolds argues that ...
19/08/2026
A private 5G bubble was chosen instead of traditional broadcast RF for the race ...
19/08/2026
(L-R) Rafael Manuel and Isabel Sicat attend the Filipi ana premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 23, 2026, in Park Cit...
19/08/2026
Studio owners invited to have their say on rates cuts
The Music Producers Guild (MPG) are inviting UK-based studios to take part in an in-depth survey that ...
19/08/2026
Vintage-inspired desktop interface revealed
Harrison's latest hardware offering sees them head into the world of audio interfaces, delivering a 10-in/12...
19/08/2026
Granular effect remains locked to scale and tempo
Described as your dream granular effect , Minimal Audio's latest creation is capable of turning any s...
19/08/2026
First polyphonic SWAM instrument incoming
Audio Modeling's latest physical-modelling orchestral instrument is just around the corner, and is now availab...
19/08/2026
World Cup Games Generate 84 Billion Minutes Across FOX, Fox Sports 1 and NBCU...
19/08/2026
July brought typical peak-holiday drops in viewership, driven primarily by viewers stepping away from screens and a visible decline in reach across both traditi...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Henry joins BCE as the company accelerates its commercial strategy and expands its international presence across the media, broadcast and technology markets. He...
19/08/2026
iWedia, a leading provider of software solutions for connected TV devices, today announced a major milestone in Android platform optimization with the successfu...
19/08/2026
NTP Technology announces that ST 2110-30 audio-over-IP connectivity with AES67 and RAVENNA capabilities is now available for the brand's world-class audio i...
19/08/2026
Net Insight has been selected to provide its Nimbra platform by the service provider Big Blue Marble, formerly ORS Group, as the core media transport solution f...
19/08/2026
LiveU has supported Coventry City FC and several other top-flight UK football clubs through one of their most demanding live production challenges of the year, ...
19/08/2026
Nature Seekers Documentary Shot with Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF
Brie Clayton August 18, 2026
0 Comments
Filming endangered turtles required camera...
19/08/2026
Neyrinck Brings D-Control Consoles Back to Life on Apple Silicon with D-Control ...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Australia, implemented a comprehensive communications infrastructure that brin...
19/08/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will spotlight a major leap forward in remote guest con...
19/08/2026
Integrated platform melds media asset management, playout automation and newsroom workflows
EMAM, PlayBox Neo and SNEWS have officially launched Nuvex, a conne...
19/08/2026
Screen Australia releases the Private Investment Toolkit to strengthen screen in...
19/08/2026
Do Aussies truly value local content? Unpacking Screen Currency 2026 with Deirdr...
19/08/2026
There's an early Christmas gift for Bookish fans, as UKTV confirms the re-commission of the hit U&alibi drama, created by and starring Mark Gatiss. Viewers ...
19/08/2026
Wednesday 19 August 2026
Sky gives sports fans the chance to watch multiple liv...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
18/08/2026
SportStream 2026, a free three-day virtual event, will take place September 15-17. One registration provides access to all three days of live programming and on...
18/08/2026
BeckTV will introduce BeckFlow to the European market at IBC2026, demonstrated on the Providius stand (10.F53).
BeckFlow is a web-based schematic documentation...
18/08/2026
Boland Communications will introduce a SMPTE ST 2110 input option for its 4K monitors at IBC2026, along with a new 55-inch super-narrow bezel display for video ...
18/08/2026
Dolby Laboratories and the Seattle Seahawks have announced a partnership integrating Dolby OptiView into the Seahawks' live streaming coverage, making the S...
18/08/2026
For BMG Executive Producer of Sports Production, Graham Taylor, producing live s...
18/08/2026
TMRW Sports has appointed Rufus Hack as President of Golf, a newly created role in which he will lead the company's golf businesses including TGL presented ...
Live From the 151st Open Championship: ACS Leads Specialty-Camera Charge; Car Cam Debuts Two drones, one focused on the controversial Hole 17, are being deployed By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
