In the past couple of years, coverage of professional golf - particularly major championships - has been transformed by the advent of online technologies.  The Masters and the US Open have been stellar in using streaming online video for the past several years to deliver extra or targeted coverage to fans online.  The Monday coverage of last year's US Open practically broke the Internet.

So far this year, the evolution of golf coverage has continued to show signs of positive growth. 

First, the iPhone and the profileration of other smartphones has made staying current with golf tournaments much easier.  Both the Masters and the USGA came out with applications for the iPhone in time for their majors.  They streamed video from the tournament and provided users with access to live leaderboards.  Even if a smartphone user did not have an iPhone, they had mobile sites which had live leaderboards and summary content to get fans attached on the go.

Then, we had blogging.  The concept has finally taken off for golf.  Geoff Shackelford, myself, Devil Ball Golf, and Fanhouse were all represented in the media center and were filing constant reports.  Geoff pulled double duty with his entries at Golf Digest's website.  But, a number of traditional media also pulled the opposite assignment - filing regular stories with blog posts to fill time.  All of the majors did a good job in making very respected voices a part of their blog coverage of the event.

Finally - the 800 pound gorilla in the press tent - was Twitter.  Look, Twitter has a ton of detractors.  Many journalists and fans are reluctant to embrace it.  But, a good number did an excellent job with it.  Golf Channel was out in front.  The SI Golf Group did a nice job as well.  The USGA had a Twitter account that was well updated.  Dan Jenkins was a one-liner king on Twitter. 

Many posted photos (only we did video, I think) and live updates from around the course.  Ian Poulter actually became the first golfer to Tweet during the round (soft of) - and he included a picture of his muddy ball from the 10th fairway.  The USGA investigated the legality of the message in the context of the rules of golf.  There was nothing they could do - not that they were disappointed with the additional excitement.

As it turns out, Ian Poulter silenced the debate about Twittering in round.  Fans seems enthralled with Poulter's messages all week long.  He even gave away US Open tickets through his account.  The guy was a one stop shop for insider access to his US Open experience.  It probably helped that he was +7 entering the final round and relegated to the 10th to start the final day.

In sum, all of the coverage really helped provide the fan with a sense of the atmosphere at Bethpage, even if they weren't there.

Did you enjoy the coverage of the US Open?  What did you like best?  Did  you like what I did here at Waggle Room?