By the time Scottie Scheffler hoisted the Claret Jug at Royal Portrush on Sunday evening, most fans watching at home had already clocked the breakout star of the week. Suspended high above the 18th green, a four-cable rig known as Spidercam delivered sweeping, cinematic views more familiar to Premier League fans than golf traditionalists. For the first time in the history of The Open, golf had gone airborne.
This was no gimmick. The £300,000 installation was a year in the making and required complex engineering to make it compatible with a links course. Unlike most Open venues, Portrush lacks a traditional clubhouse behind the 18th, meaning the camera could be mounted without obstructing player movement or crowd flow. The result was a visual feast, drawing comparisons to Netflix documentaries and video game realism.
“We are getting incredible shots with it,” said Hamish Greig, Director of Golf Operations at EMG, the broadcast team behind the setup. “We now have the kind of versatility on the 18th hole that we have never had before.”
The camera is not new to sport. Spidercam is a regular feature at football matches, rugby finals and even the Olympics. But for golf, a sport bound by etiquette and often wary of distraction, it represents a cultural shift. When it swung over Tom McKibbin as he lined up his final putt, it did not go unnoticed.
“It’s pretty cool the way it can move and do all those swings,” said McKibbin. “I had never seen it before.”
At a glance, it may seem like a modest technical upgrade. But Spidercam brings more than angles. It changes the way stories are told. From tracking a ball flight from bunker to pin, to capturing the emotional walk up the 18th in full cinematic scope, it invites fans into the moment. For the R&A, it is part of a broader mission to modernise the game.
Neil Armit, Chief Commercial Officer at the R&A, said: “The Open stands among the world’s greatest sporting occasions, an event that calls for the highest standards in live television production to ensure that millions of viewers worldwide can witness every moment, every detail of play and every chapter in the unfolding story of this historic Championship.”
That mission is increasingly urgent. With average golf viewership ageing and younger audiences drifting towards faster, more visual formats, the sport faces a crossroads. Spidercam, in that sense, is more than tech. It is theatre. A moving stage light following the action. A chance to make a quiet game feel dramatic, emotional and alive.
Richard Bunn, Chief Content and Revenue Officer at the European Tour Group, said: “European Tour Productions has a long track record of producing coverage for many of golf’s biggest tournaments. With new innovations such as Spidercam being rolled out this year, The 153rd Open will get fans closer to the action than ever before.”
Some purists have raised concerns. In other sports, Spidercam has occasionally interfered with play. A rugby ball clipped the wires during a Six Nations match in 2022. In cricket, one episode halted play during a World Cup fixture. The R&A have insisted their use is cautious. At Portrush, the system was programmed to lift out of view when players were over their ball.
For now, the experiment appears to have paid off. Viewer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with fans praising the added perspective and broadcasters calling it a game-changer. The real test will come in 2026, when The Open returns to Royal Birkdale. Will Spidercam return? Will it expand beyond the 18th? Could we one day see it following an entire final group, from tee to green?
It is too soon to say. But one thing is clear. Golf, for all its history and heritage, is beginning to understand the value of looking different. Not just in format. In feel. In tone. In the way it shows itself to the world.
And for a few hours each day last weekend, golf looked every bit the part of a streaming-era sport. Sweeping. Sharp. Cinematic. The kind of game you lean into, not just tune into.
