Augusta National may have a reputation for its age-old traditions, but when it comes to embracing technology, it would be hard to find better than what is on offer at The Masters each year.
For example, the official app was one of the best around already, with features including the ability to watch every shot of any of the players during the tournament. Now, that’s been expanded to include tracking of every shot hit on the driving range - along with all the stats you could need for analysis.
Monday’s time at Augusta National was cut short for patrons and players alike due to bad weather, so we only got a small feel of the new feature’s potential, but there were no such issues on Tuesday, with many of the field heading to the range.
A quick glance at Tuesday’s stats also shows us who really got to work at the range, and one player stands out for the sheer number of shots he took. Max Homa amassed 201 during his session, surely at least partly as a reaction to some poor form of late.
The six-time PGA Tour winner was in the world’s top 10 as recently as last June, but he’s now down to 81st in the rankings and headed to Augusta National off the back of five missed cuts in a row. Even Homa’s decision to split with his caddie Joe Greiner failed to arrest the slide at last week’s Valero Texas Open, when he was one of the big names to miss out on the weekend at TPC San Antonio.
He’ll be hoping the extra time on the range will finally help see a change of fortunes once the main action gets underway at Augusta National on Thursday.
Others who put in plenty of work at the range on Tuesday included JT Poston, with 183 shots, and famed perfectionist Bryson DeChambeau with just one fewer. The LIV Golfer spoke to the media following his session, where he asked about the workload of his practice sessions.
He said: “It's planned. It's strategic. So I know what I'm going to do during the week based on where I need certain things to be. I'm testing some drivers right now to find the best thing that I can use for me this week. It's not the full answer, but we're getting really close. I'm excited about that.”
Thanks to Augusta National’s continuing embrace of technology, golf fans can get a fascinating glimpse into his, and anyone else's, process as they prepare for arguably the biggest test of the year.
