High-tech rules reviews arrive on the PGA Tour with a new replay booth

The PGA Tour is implementing a replay feature for the 2023 season to allow players to navigate and speed up rules that arise during play.

b Golf Digest Reportedly, the tour is experimenting with a video review system that will allow officials to review rules questions and render decisions in real time – expanding the tour’s video review capabilities.

This is the latest move to modernize the tourism law system, where players often have to wait for an official’s help before continuing to play. Some critics have called the legal reviews for taking too long and slowing down the tour’s slower pace of play, while other observers argue that the frenetic nature of course reviews has led to erroneous decisions.

Several American sports leagues — including the NFL, NBA and NHL — have experimented with similar video replay measures in recent years, each touted as an effort to improve refereeing and competition efficiency. As video replay grows in popularity, so does league investment. To date, the NFL, NBA and NHL each have “control centers” located in the New York City-area for video review purposes.

As of 2011 Golf Digest Reportedly, the PGA Tour will have a mobile evaluation center in 2023, with officials operating from a booth in the production area at each tournament in addition to those around the course. At the PGA Tour headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Construction of the assessment center will be completed by 2025.

The tour’s new replay system is similar to the system introduced during NFL scrimmages this year, with a “sky referee” assisting officials on the ground with rules and speeding up situations involving clear calls. The visiting “Sky Judge” will have access to the “Hawkeye” system normally used by TV replay operators to sort any footage.

In previous years, law enforcement officers working in conjunction with broadcast teams had access to video footage, but were limited by the technological capabilities of their environment in making video-assisted decisions. Under the new system, 28 events will have a single video review unit where officials can access replays and make decisions for players and officials on the course. Like the NFL, NBA and NHL, which use video review as a supplement to full-time referees, the tour will maintain the traditional roving review protocol in addition to a new video-assisted division.

The changes mark tourism’s latest move to streamline its entertainment offerings in the new year. At the beginning of this month Sports Business Journal Turu reported that he spent the offseason working with his broadcast partners to improve the consistency of television broadcasts and eliminate interruptions.

James Colgan

Golf.com editor

James Colgan is an assistant editor at GOLF, contributing stories to the website and magazine. He writes Hot Mic, GOLF’s weekly media column and leverages his broadcast experience on the brand’s social media and video platforms. A 2019 graduate of Syracuse University, James — and apparently his golf game — is still chilling after four years in the snow. Before joining GOLF, James was a scholarship recipient (and avid looper) on Long Island, where he hails from. He can be reached at james.colgan@golf.com.