Why the official Masters app was hailed in tech circles

The 2023 Master has been and gone. It’s the nature of the golf world that we won’t be thinking about Augusta until next spring. But while the legacy of the 2023 tournament will likely be centered on Jon Rahm’s Green Jacket, there was another big winner at this year’s event – the official Masters App. Hailed as one of the best sports apps ever created, it was a big win for Augusta National and its partner IBM in terms of business marketing, and the buzz created on social media by the app helped raise the profile of golf in general, reaching audiences that usually don’t pay much attention to the sport.

So why all the fuss? The app was a technical triumph, sure, and we will explain a little bit about that later. However, the first thing that golf fans noticed was the live-streaming coverage. It was comprehensive to say the least, offering several camera angles, player trackers, and so on. As some users on Twitter pointed out, it was also a second or two ahead of the CBS network broadcast. Much of this is down to Augusta National, which retains responsibility for its broadcast, and, unlike many other golf events, it is not beholden to any broadcast partners.

Live data was on point

The data feeds used in the app were excellent too. Most fans who use golf apps to follow the Majors want reliable and fast updates. It could be simply that they are tracking their favorite players, or they might be using online betting platforms to bet on the event live. Regardless, you could get live updates of all your tracked players in real-time.

One of the more interesting things that was added to the app this year was AI commentary. If you follow golf events on television, you’ll know that they usually track a group of players, allowing the commentators to have a manageable workload. Through its partnership with IBM, the Masters app was able to use AI to deliver commentary for every shot, every hole, and every player. It offered an incredible insight into the future of sports broadcasting, focusing on comprehensive coverage in every sense.

Jon Rahm winning The Masters. Image by Rolex / Augusta National 2023

AI followed all the action

AI was also used for tracking shots. Of course, network broadcasts do a good job of providing awesome camera angles. But the AI, while still in its infancy, can make quicker decisions than a human camera operator. Moreover, it can predict where the ball will land rather than waiting for the action to unfold. We won’t say that the AI tracking was perfect, but it gives us an idea of where this technology will go in the future.

From a UX (user experience) standpoint, the app was pretty much perfect. If you want to make an appealing app, it needs to be easy to use (it should be easy for a non-tech-savvy person to use) while not compromising on its features. It achieved that, using smart compartmentalization to organize everything so as not to overwhelm the user.

Finally, let’s talk about the irony of creating such an application from a business perspective. The app itself only really has a shelf-life of a week. Indeed, there was something of a running joke on Twitter with users saying they would be deleting it until “next year”. In an era where everything is about making money in sports, this was a completely free app that had no intrusive adverts and was only really useful for the duration of the tournament. In a sense, it was about Augusta National flexing its muscles. The tournament’s slogan – a tradition unlike any other – well, this is an app unlike any other. A triumph.