ESPN's rotating announcer booth
BRISTOL, CONN. – This year’s Open Championship was a new experience for most as its final round concluded on a Monday, but ESPN brought another new perspective to golf’s oldest major championship. The sports network has added a rotating main announcer booth to offer a multitude of views of the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland for at home viewers.
The booth is located on an elevate platform adjacent to the 18th fairway. The default view is of No. 18 fairway and green, but it is able to rotate for a view of the 1st green, the 18th tee and all of the 17th hole, which is known as the “Road Hole.”
The anchor controls the booth’s movement with a joystick. The structure also houses a studio that ESPN uses for “SportsCenter” updates and an annex containing commentary positions for ESPN3’s “Road Hole” feed. The booth was developed by Mike McQuade, ESPN vice president of production, Bill Lacy, senior vice president of production for IMG Productions, and Dirk Jager, principal of Tall Order Structures.
See the rotating booth in action in the video below.
