Golf in 3-D Could Mean Big Green for the Sport

Sports fans are staying home more than ever. According to Nielsen, ratings for major sporting events have been strong this year, including the record set for the most-watched Super Bowl ever. Events such as the NBA Finals, he Stanley Cup Finals, and World Cup have all drawn record TV audiences this year as both the slumping economy and HDTVs have given fans reason to stay at home.

Even if the economy improves, however, expect this trend to continue. Why battle the prices and the crowds when you can sit peacefully and conveniently on your couch, cocktail in hand, alongside friends and family? According to a Nielsen study done in April, an estimated 52 percent of American homes had HDTVs and were actively using them. That compares with 33 percent a year earlier and 17 percent in 2008. And as John Rowady pointed out in a recent MediaPost article, hardcore sports fans are already hungry for the next level – 3D.

"3D is all about improving the consumer experience at home. And like all things in sports, advancements in technology are welcome only if they look and feel authentic. While there's a lot of room to grow, there's no doubt that 3D makes the experience of watching an event more realistic."

Of all sports, golf and its hardcore fans have arguably the most to gain from 3-D technology.

Given the "touring" nature of the sport, most golf fans catch the action at home. And so the sport relies heavily on its network broadcasts to bring the tour to its fans. Alongside HD, networks have recently invested in new technologies like swingvision and shot-tracking technology to keep fans engaged. And it’s been great. But 3-D is positioned to revolutionize how we experience golf.

The importance of understanding a distance or a slope can’t be emphasized enough, and the extra depth afforded by 3-D imagery takes this understanding right to your la-z-boy. A course’s natural, rolling landscapes - filled with trees, sand traps and lakes positioned at various depths - are visually conducive to a 3-D broadcast. In addition to medicinal marijuana patients, this experience should be highly appreciated by golf fans and wildly entertaining to non/prospective fans.

We’re obviously not there yet, but it’s only a matter of time until the technology is perfected and the cost to advertise in 3-D becomes worth it. A recent WallStreet Journal article suggested that the cost to advertize in 3-D is 30-40% more than a traditional tv ad. But if the growth of HDTVs is any indicator, it shouldn’t take long for manufacturers and consumers to catch up. If they aren't already, executives at CBS, NBC, the Golf Channel and the Back 9 Network should be all over this.