Driving a hole-in-one fan experience with augmented reality

Since 2019, Deloitte Digital has worked with the United States Golf Association (USGA) to develop innovative augmented reality (AR) experiences that enable fans to watch near real-time player shots in 3D during the U.S. Open Championships and enjoy other experiences, including player shot comparison, iconic Championship shots, and 360^o club tours. In 2021, for the first time ever, fans could experience every moment of the U.S. Women’s Open using the U.S. Open AR app. We wanted to help create lean-in opportunities for at-home and on-site fans to get closer to the action and experience a new 3D play perspective they couldn’t get anywhere else. We set out to enhance fans’ viewing experience with complimentary data and created a range of other immersive experiences tied to the Championships, prior Championships at the courses, and the golf clubs hosting the events.

Working in collaboration with the USGA, we developed an innovative AR experience through the U.S. Open AR app, which allows fans anywhere to immerse themselves in near real-time play and engage more deeply with the U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Open. We enabled this experience via surface recognition and 3D mode options on all 18 holes for both Championships. Additionally, we included behind-the-scenes 360^o views of the clubhouses and exciting playoffs from previous, iconic Championships.

To date, the U.S. Open AR app has been downloaded nearly 200,000 times. The Live Play, Pick Your Players, and Find a Player features were well received by fans yearning for a virtual and ancillary application to enhance their Championship viewing. This was apparent through the app being a top-10 app in Apple Sports App Store, in addition to it being viewed from locations around the world.