The ShotLink System has produced a wealth of data on every stroke taken in PGA TOUR competition over the past 10 years, data that has produced hundreds of new statistical categories and a much more detailed look at the skill level of players individually and collectively on the PGA TOUR.

In 2005, the PGA TOUR established a formal process for professors and students (primarily at the graduate level) from academic institutions to enter into a license agreement to gain not-for-profit access to the ShotLink System data for experimentation. The data set is attractive because it is clean, structured, of significant sample size and in the uniquely appealing category of professional sports and entertainment. The program has grown substantially from those beginnings and since has become known as ShotLink Intelligence Powered by CDW.

The primary objective of this program is to foster meaningful coverage of the TOUR outside the core golf media -- to reach new markets and audiences not traditionally associated with the sport. These include academic journals, business publications, teaching curriculum and others. Additionally, engaging with the academic community provides the PGA TOUR relationships to leverage for special projects and consultation.

To date, ShotLink System data has been provided to faculty and other participants from more than 65 institutions, and that number continues to grow. A sampling of institutions represented includes: Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia University, Georgia Tech, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina, University of Pennsylvania and Yale University.