Wednesday

Sinister Steampunk Flying Machine Is Actually a Golf Channel Camera

Flying Machine Stamp ....  via Stampers Best
Nineteenth century French writer Jules Verne didn't play golf.

After all, he was nearing middle age by the time the first course came to France, and I'm guessing he was too busy building his "Father of Science Fiction" legacy, writing the retro-futuristic tales of space travel, submarines and sea monsters we all read growing up.

Out of his fantastic imagination came giant dirigibles, soaring, steam-powered clipper ships and idiosyncratic ornithopters with flapping wings.

But Monsieur Verne passed away in 1905, about the same time the Wright Brothers took the twelve second flight that ushered in the era of modern aviation and streamlined aircraft.

So... not surprisingly... the appearance of a malevolent-looking, multi-propellered flying machine hovering over PGA Tour golfer Scott Stallings as he practiced at Bay Hill last week turned quite a few heads; the tech press was buzzing about it... so were the sports blogs.  As it turns out, the aeronautic arthropod was simply a camera-carrying drone to be deployed by the Golf Channel to capture a player's eye view of the action on-course.  ~ In our era of fragmented audiences and increased competition, innovation is increasingly important even when it appears to come from the mind of a nineteenth century Frenchman.



Callaway's @HashtagChad tweeted about the awesomeness and included a vine video.


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4 comments:

  1. SteveO3/20/2013 1:18 PM

    So let me get this straight, cell phone cameras are not allowed at tournaments because they might disturb the players, but this thing is going hover around over their heads and not disturb them. Really?

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  2. thegolfshark3/20/2013 8:25 PM

    Me thinks a North Korean spy has infiltrated the Golf Channel's engineering department.

    ReplyDelete
  3. LisaS3/21/2013 2:16 AM

    Oh my....will this make the Met Life blimp obsolete? Poor Snoopy.

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  4. Anonymous3/21/2013 2:09 PM

    UPDATE.this just in...........first flight of consequence, yes even BEFORE the wright brothers in north carolina, happened in BRIDGEPORT CT !

    seems a remote-controlled camera mounted atop the crane you see out on the course will be sufficient to continue to deliver excellent viewing as well as operate in extreme weather conditions including high winds and heavy rains (think BRITISH open golf coverage)

    bring this hover thing over there in FULL conditions and they will be fishing it out of the firth of fourth, or beyond, two dayz later

    just sayin

    frankDftliquordalesoFLA33316

    ReplyDelete

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