Enhancements announced for LPGA

Yesterday, I received a press release from the LPGA titled:

“LPGA announces technology enhancements for telecasts”

Now, I have to admit that I tend to skim the hundreds of press releases I receive each month, and I simply pass most of them along to our own WorldGolfWire.com.

For this reason, my eyes just jumped right over the word “technology.”

And for a brief, incredulous moment, I thought that LPGA Commissioner Carolyn Bivens figured out a sure-fire (albeit exploitative and offensive) way to market her players. I just couldn’t for the life of me figure out how she had convinced the players to agree to the scheme.

I figured that the enhancements were apparently temporary, or removable, given that they were described as “for telecasts.”

By this time, even a careful re-reading and notice of the word “technology” couldn’t save my comprehension. Visions of Inspector Gadget-inspired “enhancements” started ricocheting around my fetid imagination.

It was then that it dawned on me that perhaps I had misunderstood, and that reading further might just be useful.

And indeed it was. Turns out the LPGA has signed on with Skycaddie, maker of handheld GPS devices that players will carry with them. The devices will allow commentators and viewers alike to see real-time stats and course management information.

In the words of the LPGA, the benefits for TV viewers will be: “Viewers will be given comprehensive information, including players’ driving distances and positioning, such as distances needed to clear or lay up in front of fairway hazards.”

Obviously, this is completely different from what I first understood. I don’t know if the actual enhancements will attract more viewers, though. I hope so, because LPGA players are truly great golfers and very fun to watch as is.

But if not, Ms Bivens might want to give me a call. I have an idea…