PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLA.—The island green of the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass is one of the most famous holes in golf, and now fans can get a new look at it through virtual reality. The PGA Tour and The Players Championship will present live 360 video and virtual reality of the 17th during the entire Players Championship, which runs from May 11-14.
The live VR experience will be available on Samsung Gear VR headsets through the PGA Tour VR Live app, which is available on the Oculus store. Intel is producing the VR coverage with Intel True VR technology. This will include three concurrent VR camera positions on the 17th tee, on the walkway from the tee box to the green and a camera mounted in the water next to the island green.
Fans without a VR headset can watch the 360 video on Twitter and Periscope through their smartphones.
According to the PGA Tour Chief Media Officer Rick Anderson, this is the first PGA Tour’s live virtual reality production. This will also be the first time Twitter has distributed live 360 video for a major sports event, per the PGA’s press release.
