AWS and the TOUR want to transform the way golf content is created, distributed, and experienced, bringing fans closer to the action on the course while helping streamline media operations.

The TOUR will use AWS machine learning, storage, compute, analytics, database, and media services to process and distribute video footage from each golf tournament, while also developing new ways to engage with TOUR content. The TOUR captures hundreds of hours of raw footage at each tournament and will leverage AWS to transform this content into what it calls new digital experiences that exploit advanced display features, such as Extended Reality.

There will also be enhanced personalization with features such as Every Shot Live, enabled by AWS, giving viewers live access to every shot from every player in a tournament. During a tournament like THE PLAYERS Championship, fans will have access to more than 32,000 shots from a starting field of 144 golfers.

The fans can choose to follow any player in real time and stream each shot. AWS will also deliver TOURCast, an evolution of the TOUR leaderboard giving fans video game-like control of the golf viewing experience. This will allow them to change their viewing perspective with alternative camera angles, navigate around the course, view speed rounds, as well as display player and shot stats on demand.

The TOUR will build a data lake for real-time and historic multimedia content on Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3). The TOUR will migrate nearly 100 years of media content to AWS, including video, audio, and images dating back to the 1928 Los Angeles Open. It will also stream live footage from future tournaments into the data lake.

The TOUR will then use Amazon Rekognition, AWS’s deep learning service for adding image and video analysis to applications, to tag content automatically with specific metadata like player names and sponsor logos. This will help the TOUR and its content partners search, review, annotate, and package new content, as well as give them instant access to key moments from throughout the TOUR’s history to aid commentary and add depth to event coverage.

“Growing and diversifying our fan base is a top priority for us, and thanks to the collaboration and innovation from AWS, we are creating more ways to experience the game of golf, while personalizing our content to enable fans to engage with the tournaments and players they support,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan.