GOLF+ with PGA TOUR named ‘Best in Extended Reality’ at Sports Business Journal Awards: Tech

In an increasingly connected digital world, GOLF+ allows fans to compare their games against PGA TOUR pros in a real-time, mixed-reality setting. The greater sports world has taken notice.

GOLF+ with PGA TOUR, available on Meta Quest, earned “Best In Extended Reality” at this year’s Sports Business Journal Awards: Tech, which represent the greatest technological impact on the sports industry in 2023.

Category winners, announced Tuesday, also include MLS x Apple (Technology Collaboration of the Year) and WSC Sports (Best in AI) among others. Winners in each category will compete for the award of Best in Sports Technology, to be announced at the Sports Business Awards ceremony on May 22 in New York City.

In the two years following the GOLF+ launch in fall 2021, over 1 million unique players have hit over 1.5 billion shots. Unique challenges in 2023 included a “Beat the Pro” competition at the WM Phoenix Open, with gamers paired against pros in real-time, and the VR FedExCup Playoffs, allowing gamers to test their form at TPC Southwind, Olympia Fields Country Club and East Lake Golf Club in a progressive elimination format.

The PGA TOUR/GOLF+ partnership, announced in December 2022, was the first skill-based gaming product to incorporate data, video, and competitive field-of-play into a live professional sporting event. The TOUR provides 3D mapping data, with courses recreated by the GOLF+ team in virtual reality, which bridges video-game golf and simulator golf (gamers can swing with a golf club attachment).

After five TOUR courses were integrated into GOLF+ in 2023, there are plans for 12 courses to be featured this season. For gamers and TOUR superfans, the possibilities might be just beginning.