How to watch: VR experience at the TOUR Championship

For the final FedExCup Playoffs event of the 2017-18 season, the PGA TOUR is giving fans one more opportunity to immerse themselves in the coverage in a fun, new way.

Three holes of the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club will be broadcast in virtual reality. In addition fans will be able to watch some of the top 30 in the FedExCup standings warm up on the driving range.

PGA TOUR fans can watch coverage of East Lake’s par-3 9th, par-3 15th, and the par-5 18th closing hole in virtual reality. The iconic closing hole also will be showcased in augmented reality.

The coverage will be available on four different platforms:

• Twitter via @PGATOUR

• Periscope via @PGATOUR

• The PGA TOUR mobile app


• Samsung Gear VR via PGA TOUR VR Live Oculus app

This will be the fourth time this year that fans can experience this groundbreaking way to watch PGA TOUR action.

The TOUR previously provided virtual reality coverage of some of the most iconic holes on the PGA TOUR -- the par-3 16th hole at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the par-3 17th at THE PLAYERS Championship, and the par-3 12th at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide.

Scott Gutterman, the vice president of digital operations for the PGA TOUR, says it’s been “a really good year.”

“I think fans have been very receptive to it,” Gutterman added. “Overall it’s been a great experience. I think we’ve seen it be way for fans to get inside the ropes and close to the players like we haven’t really seen.”

The PGA TOUR and Intel announced its exclusive relationship to produce and globally distribute live virtual reality coverage in late 2017. The first event for the partnership was last season’s TOUR Championship.

“We continue to work really well with Intel on it. They have continued to improve their camera technology, which has only made the experience better for our fans,” Gutterman said. “We’re pretty excited – we’re talking about what’s going to happen next year. We’ll hopefully have those plans soon.”

With a smaller field this week at East Lake, Gutterman says the PGA TOUR will be able to provide fans with some more engaging content, and will have talent (experienced broadcaster Guy Haberman) that is specific to the broadcast, helping fans understand what the advantage is virtual reality and what they’re going to be able to see.

“It’s been fun,” Gutterman said. “It’s fun for our fans and fun for us to execute – we try to make it a little different every time based on what we learned, and I think that’s the thing we do well.”

PGA TOUR fans can watch VR Live this week at the following times (all times Eastern):

• Thursday: 1 p.m. – 6 p.m. (5 hours)

• Friday: 1 p.m. – 6 p.m. (5 hours)

• Saturday: 1 p.m. – 6 p.m. (5 hours)

• Sunday: 1 p.m. – 6 p.m. (5 hours)

HOW TO WATCH: VIRTUAL REALITY

Step-by-step on the PGA TOUR mobile App

1. Download the PGA TOUR app from the App Store or the Google Play Store.

2. Open the app and follow the prompts for camera/location/etc.

3. Click the hamburger menu in the top right.

4. Select either Leaderboard (if live) or Video (if not live).

5. If Leaderboard is selected, a red banner will appear with a VR icon on the right. Tap on the VR icon, then tap a video to watch. Choose Cardboard or Panoramic. If Cardboard, load phone into Cardboard device and use the Gaze Controls by focusing the cursor/dot on the desired menu object. If Panoramic, pan phone or swipe left/right to see content.

6. If Video is selected, a VR tab will appear at the top of the screen. Click Live VR (if live – notated by red color) or click On Demand VR (notated by blue color). Tap on a video to watch. If Cardboard, load phone into Cardboard device and use the Gaze Controls by focusing the cursor/dot on the desired menu object. If Panoramic, pan phone or swipe left/right to see content.

HOW TO WATCH: TWITTER

1. Open the Twitter app and login.

2. Tap the “Search” magnifying glass icon in the bottom navigation of the app.

3. Type “@PGATOUR” or “#PGATOUR360” into the “Search” bar to see the latest live stream post.

4. Select the live 360 stream to watch.

5. You can hold your phone horizontally or vertically and use your fingers to swipe up/down/left/right or simply move your phone in any direction to see more.

HOW TO WATCH: PERISCOPE

1. Open the Periscope app and login.

2. Tap to the “People” tab in the bottom right corner.

3. Tap the “Search” magnifying glass at the top of the left corner and type in “PGATOUR” to see the latest live stream.

4. Select the live 360 stream to watch.

5. You can hold your phone horizontally or vertically and use your fingers to swipe up/down/left/right or simply move your phone in any direction to see more.

HOW TO GET THE APP: AUGMENTED REALITY

Step-by-step on how to download the PGA TOUR App

1. Open the App Store on your iPhone or iPad by tapping on the App Store icon

2. Type "PGA TOUR AR" into the search bar and tap on the blue "Search" button in the keyboard.

3. When the PGA TOUR AR app appears in the search results, tap on the "GET" button

4. Once the app has finished downloading, tap the app icon to launch the app

5. When the app opens, a series of screens and dialog boxes will appear. When the dialog boxes pop up, tap "OK" to allow the PGA TOUR AR app to access your camera and location.

HOW TO USE THE APP: AUGMENTED REALITY

1. After allowing the PGA TOUR AR app to access your camera and location, a screen that explains how to interact with the hole models will appear. Tap on the blue "CONTINUE" button at the bottom of the screen.

2. Find a flat, horizontal surface to view the hole models in the app.

3. When the blue box appears, tap the screen to lock the blue box in place on the horizontal surface. The hole models will appear in the area marked by the blue box. To choose a new area for the hole models, tap the white circular arrow in the top right corner to restart the surface detection process.

4. A hole model selection slider menu will appear. To view the available holes, swipe your finger left or right. When you find a hole model you want to view, tap the white arrow on the hole model.

5. Once the hole model has finished downloading, it will appear in full color. Tap the hole to place it on the horizontal surface.

6. When the hole model loads, tap the arrow on the "SELECTED PLAYERS" navigation on the bottom left side of the screen. Tap the name of the players you want to view. Their shot trails will appear on the hole model. To turn off a player's shot trails, tap on the player in the "SELECTED PLAYERS" area of the screen. The model will default to Round 1 but another round may be selected by tapping on the round number.

7. To view a different hole model, simply tap on "Hole Selector" in the top left corner of the screen and choose a new hole model to view. Some holes have unique changes in elevation and the hole models allow you to see them more clearly.

8. If an app rating dialog box pops up, feel free to give it 5 stars.