Live from the 153rd Open Championship: SMT Enhances Video Board Experience; Enables Practice Scheduling for Players By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Friday, July 18, 2025 - 4:46 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
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).
SMT's Ryan McDonald (left) and Matt Ballard have worked closely with the R&A on 15 Open Championships.
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.
SMT is powering a new scoreboard experience at the Open Championship in Portrush, Northern Ireland.
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.
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
Live from the 153rd Open Championship: SMT Enhances Video Board Experience; Enables Practice Scheduling for Players By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
