Below the Hole

Think there might be a hacking opportunity here?

The no-tolerance policy fits Augusta National's image. The club fancies itself as the most tradition-bound of golf bodies, one that prohibits anything high-tech from disturbing the peace on its grounds. The scoreboards for the Masters are all manually operated. The only prominent clock at Augusta National is a sundial dedicated to Bobby Jones. Blimps are forbidden in the skies overhead. Even electric vacuum cleaners are taboo in the clubhouse.

All of this makes for great theater, as golfers, visitors, and TV viewers are transported back to a world free of Jumbotrons and Gnarls Barkley ringtones. But while the Masters brass has carefully cultivated a technology-hating image, all this Luddism is a façade. Beneath the club's manicured greenery lies an arsenal of technological wonders that keeps the course looking timeless and pristine. Indeed, take a deep enough divot at Augusta National and you'll unearth the most technologically advanced setup in golf.

The greens, for one, are state-of-the-art. Beneath each putting surface is a latticework of pipes, pressurized valves, electric motors, and radio controls.

I asked exactly what he was up to, all he would say was, "data collection." The club's PR department wouldn't elaborate.

Full story here.