(Editor’s note: CBS Sports coverage of the PGA Championship began May 15 and wraps up May 18. Interviews for this story were conducted on-site May 14.)

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—To fans and golfers at the 14th hole here at Quail Hollow, nothing appears to be out of the ordinary for one of the four majors.

Not so for the viewers at home enjoying CBS Sports coverage of the PGA Championship.

The broadcaster, working with a handful of technology vendors, has created “an immersive tee box of the future,” leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR) graphics, 5G wireless connectivity, a remotely controlled robotic camera and tracking data system, Jason Cohen, senior vice president of remote technical operations for CBS Sports and CBS Sports Network, said.

“We are bringing the tee box to life in a more immersive virtual manner so we can show headshots of the group that’s about to hit,” Cohen said. “We can do a virtual display of the hole with a trail of the ball in this virtual map, and we can use the shot link data to create other metrics and information about how the golfer has been playing that course or how the hole has been played in general by other golfers in the field.”

The immersive tee box isn’t the only innovative technology the broadcaster is bringing to the tournament. Ball tracing from drones, first deployed last summer, is making its PGA Championship debut. Two new miniature POV 4K cameras embedded in the bunker at the 18th hole will enable CBS to zoom in to capture “nice, tight shots” showing the grains of sand as the ball is being hit without losing any resolution for the 1080p HDR production, Cohen said.

Other familiar technologies, including three FlyCams suspended overhead from two wires over different parts of the course and practice range, two drones, the blimp and the jibs, are contributing their unique perspectives to the overall production. “These other camera technologies are not just eye candy,” he said. “They really help with coverage.”

AR Deep Dive
What set the immersive tee box in motion was a desire to use all available data in a new, more effective way. “There’s a lot of information, a lot of data and a lot of analytics at our disposal that always don’t make the screen at the same time,” Cohen said.

Forming a technology partnership with T-Mobile, Cohen’s team began to reimagine coverage from the tee box that would be more futuristic and innovative.

The setup relies on a combination of technologies from a variety of vendors. All video and tracking data for the immersive experience is being transported via a T-Mobile 5G wireless network, which “goes into the private network cores located on premise,” said Scott Jacka, senior director of technology development strategy at T-Mobile. From the core, a fiber connection transmits the video and data to the CBS broadcast compound.

“The signal is lightning-quick,” Cohen said. “It’s almost as fast as the fiber, which is almost mathematically hard to believe.”

High above the tee box in a trace tower, a Robovision robotic camera, with a Mo-Sys Sony P50 robotic camera alongside it, is capturing the video and tracking data needed for the virtual presentation. Alston Elliot (AE) Live, which acquired Silver Spoon Animation in 2023, is providing the augmented reality engine, including hardware, software and personnel, in the broadcast compound.

Finally, a virtual window adjacent to the golfer in the tee box is displaying a virtual representation of the 14th hole created by Animation Research Labs (ARL) to show viewers how that golfer is playing that hole as he tees off.

CBS is deploying a roaming Steadicam-mounted Sony camera tech stack, including the Sony PDT-FP1 portable data transmitter, which transmits footage of the golfers as they leave the 13th hole and enter the 14th. T-Mobile 5G is used to transport the HEVC-encoded video from the rig at 25Mbps.

“It’s a full end-to-end 5G experience from the moment the golfers release 13 to the moment that ball lands wherever the drivable ball goes on the 14th hole,” Cohen said.

When not capturing players leaving the 13th on their way to the 14th hole, the roaming camera is also being used for “a walk and talk” with players as they walk from the 14th to the 18th holes, Grant Castle, senior vice president of systems realization at T-Mobile, said.

Size, Scope and Storms
The PGA Championship is a massive remote production. CBS has assembled 24 mobile production trucks, including units from NEP, Game Creek and F&F Productions, six trucks playing supporting roles and some 700 technicians and engineers, production personnel, managers and vendor partners for its coverage.

More than 125 cameras are strategically placed to capture every shot over the four-day tournament. “We try to anticipate and think about what the course is offering us that’s unique from year to year because we’re going to a different location each year.

“We take every hole and dissect it from the tee to the green, thinking about which angle we can shoot from and what different types of camera technologies allow us to capture all those unique angles,” Cohen said.

He points to the FlyCams as an example. One travels along the two-wire system across the large lake on the back nine from the 14th green to nearly the 18th green. “That’s an exciting camera technology,” Cohen said. “It’s got a fluctuating line where it can dip down to almost skim the water and then come back up.”

Another, the Sparrow FlyCam, is a miniature version that travels on the wire system from a tower on the 18th through a grandstand window. “These are not just bells and whistles,” he said. “They really help out with our coverage as players tap out on those various greens.”

Setup for the coverage began in mid-April with early work on the broadcast compound. Production trucks were on-site and parked by May 7. In the days leading up to the championship, severe thunderstorms struck the Charlotte area.

“A lot of the cameras were bagged and covered,” Cohen said. “A lot of them were not even deployed. But that schedule that we built takes into account an unforeseen situation. It allows us to still be in a position where today, which is an enormous day before air, we are doing a full rehearsal of every camera and every technology. The production teams are in their trucks right now getting set for the first golfers from tomorrow morning.”

T-Mobile announced today that it is deploying its 5G Advanced Network Solutions (ANS) to enhance the fan experience as well as CBS Sports’ live coverage of the PGA Championship taking place at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., May 15–19. The carrier is partnering with PGA of America to deploy what it tags “golf’s FIRST 5G private network in the U.S.” to enable operational efficiencies during the broadcasts.   

For the first time in golf, 5G will be implemented into a live broadcast with CBS Sports using 5G-connected cameras connected via a T-Mobile 5G private network for new angles of the iconic Hole 13, and cinematic quality footage, giving fans more hero shots of their favorite players at Valhalla.

Fans will also be able to watch brand-new pre-championship coverage live on PGA digital and social channels. T-Mobile’s 5G private network and 5G POV cameras will bring fans an exclusive, up-close look at the action on the practice range while PGA coaches and expert commentators provide valuable insights and analysis on the players’ warm-up sessions. Fans will also get detailed stats, including ball speed, apex, curve, distance and more.

"Sports organizations typically come to T-Mobile to see if 5G can help them enhance operations, the fan experience, or the event broadcast, and we’re delivering all of the above and more at the PGA Championship," said Callie Field, President, T-Mobile Business Group. "5G firsts are always exciting, but it’s so rewarding to see how our T-Mobile for Business solutions are making a tangible difference—from making it easier for producers to capture and create amazing new broadcast moments to helping fans experience even more action.”

T-Mobile says bringing more wireless cameras will declutter the golf course during live broadcasts, freeing up thousands of feet of wiring and cabling, resulting in faster setup and teardown, and saving money. Plus, the private network is portable and can be deployed without a major installation effort and also adds capacity to make other systems—like security cameras or ticketing—wireless as well, the company said.

Up until recently, wireless cameras have also been limited to HD, instead of 4K resolution, but T-Mobile says it has partnered with Sony to use Sony’s PDT-FP1 portable data transmitters combined with Sony’s ultra-low latency encoders/decoders to lower the latency to less than 100 milliseconds, which can open capacity to support more wireless cameras and give production teams creative freedom to provide new angles all around the course.

In addition, by carving out a dedicated channel within the broader 5G macro network, a network slice can help optimize performance and increase the reliability of the concession payment terminals as well as ticketing scanners and ensuring that they run smoothly and deliver peak performance and customer experiences, all while the fans onsite at the tournament use their phones without any interruptions, T-Mobile said.

"We’re thrilled to introduce groundbreaking technology to one of golf’s most significant events through this partnership with T-Mobile,” said Jeff Price, Chief Commercial Officer of the PGA of America. “T-Mobile has paved the way for unprecedented innovation that will continue to thrill our fans. And this is just the beginning.”

BRISTOL, Conn.—Following its success with alternative broadcasts of Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli Manning, ESPN is planning to offer an alternative telecast of the PGA Championship. 

The alternative telecast will air four hours per day on all four days of PGA Championship from May 19 to 22. It will be produced by ESPN in collaboration with Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions. 

Hosted by Joe Buck, who recently joined ESPN to anchor Monday Night Football next season, and ESPN senior golf analyst Michael Collins, the host of the ESPN+ program America’s Caddie, the telecast will feature an array of guests to offer running commentary and conversation during live play.

Peyton and Eli Manning will be among the guests on the telecast during the tournament. Other guests who will appear across the four days of coverage will include Troy Aikman, Josh Allen, Charles Barkley, Fred Couples, Jon Hamm and ESPN’s Doris Burke with more guests to be announced later.

“Working with Omaha Productions, we are producing a telecast that is designed to reach a new and different audience and elevate the appeal of the PGA Championship even more,” said Lee Fitting, ESPN senior vice president, production. “We feel that this will ultimately help grow our viewership and provide fans with another fun and creative way that they can enjoy sports.”

“We loved doing Monday Night Football with ESPN and the entire Omaha team has been looking forward to producing alternate telecasts that celebrate other sports,” said Peyton Manning. “As one of golf’s majors, the PGA Championship is a perfect place to do our first one for golf and we look forward to working with Joe, Michael and everyone in ESPN’s golf team.”

During the first and second rounds on Thursday and Friday, May 19-20, the telecast will air on ESPN from 1-2 p.m. ET during the final hour of live tournament coverage on ESPN+ and then move to ESPN2 from 2-5 p.m. while tournament play is airing on ESPN.

During the third and final rounds on Saturday and Sunday, May 21-22, the telecast will air on ESPN from 9-10 a.m. while live play is airing on ESPN+ and then it will switch to ESPN+ from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. while live play is airing on ESPN.

Earlier this year, ESPN and The Walt Disney Company announced an expanded agreement with Peyton Manning and his Omaha Productions company, a relationship that launched Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli. 

The extension added a fourth year (through 2024 season) for Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli, featuring a 10-game annual slate of alternative productions to ESPN’s traditional Monday Night Football telecast. Additionally, the agreement calls for alternative presentations (with other hosts) for UFC, college football and golf to be produced by Omaha Productions in collaboration with ESPN.

In addition to the alternative telecast, ESPN will offer full coverage of the first and second rounds from Tulsa’s Southern Hills and a variety of other coverage on its networks and digital platforms. 

Overall, there will be more than 230 hours of live play across ESPN and ESPN+ during the four days of the championship and the ESPN+ streaming service will offer more than 200 combined hours of traditional play, featured groups, featured holes over all four days and practice round shows on Tuesday May 17 and Weds May 18 as the pros prepare for the event. 

NEW YORK—The second major of the year for golf, the PGA Championship, will feature some new technology from CBS Sports to bring enhanced coverage to viewers. Motion capture and aerial tracing technology will now be added to the broadcast alongside improved technology elements used during previous tournaments.

First introduced during the coverage of the Masters Tournament in April, CBS has partnered with SIMI for motion capture technology to explore human body analytics during a golf swing. During the PGA Championship, eight high-end industrial cameras will be set up on the 11th tee box to capture golfer’s swings and full body analytics, from hip and shoulder rotation to arm and knee contortion angles.

Being used for the first time during any golf broadcast, according to CBS, is the aerial tracing technology. Using live video captured from a blimp and Toptracer technology, CBS will provide complete shot trajectory from tee to green via aerial views from the blimp.

A number of other technologies present in past CBS broadcasts of golf tournaments are also set for this year’s PGA Championship. In addition to aerial tracing, CBS will feature other Toptracer technology, including Toptracer RF for shot tracing from the fairway on any hole and ARL Virtual Eye.

CBS is bringing back its use of 4D technology, this year on the 15th hole tee box and doubling the amount from last year’s coverage to 90 cameras for 180-degrees of video display. On the greens, CBS will provide Hawk-Eye Green Technology, including Putt Predictor and Undulation Grid.

Additional technology set to assist the broadcast includes SmartCart, SwingVision, aerial drone coverage, full course wind metering and, on the final three holes, 4K HDR.

The 101st PGA Championship is taking place at Bethpage State Park, Black Course in Farmingdale, N.Y. Across the course, CBS will have nearly 200 cameras, 175 microphones and 41 miles of multi-strand fiber.

The PGA Championship will be held May 16-19.