"Mitsubishi At The Masters?"

Thanks to reader Nick for this unbylined Sports Business Journal note on Augusta National polling fans last month about their interest in LED video displays being erected on the course.

Glenn Greenspan, Augusta’s spokesman, said last week that the private club is compiling the data and has made no decision as to whether to set up video boards for 2009.
The inquiry was among several questions fans answered at 30 kiosks set up throughout the course, where they were asked about the event experience.

“It’s a question that needed to be asked,” Greenspan said. “We’ve seen them evident at other tournaments.”

Mitsubishi Electric signed a three-year marketing deal with the PGA Tour in 2007 that allows the vendor to install 11 high-definition video screens at several tournaments. (The Masters is not part of the PGA Tour.) Thirty-seven PGA Tour events have used them since the boards made their debut at last year’s Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. At that event in May, 90 percent of the fans polled by the PGA approved of the boards’ content, said tour spokesman Chris Smith.

I know. I just loved seeing the FedEx Cup points list. Made my Northern Trust Open week one to remember.

“Otherwise, primary feedback has been more anecdotal,” Smith said. In addition to action highlights, the screens show up-to-date information on players and their individual scores, and are a tremendous upgrade over previous video boards the PGA Tour deployed, Smith said.