Sheffield technology keeps Open on track

TECHNOLOGY developed in Sheffield is helping to keep putts on track at golf’s Open Championship this week.

The device is being used at the home of golf St Andrews, which is hosting this year’s event, to measure the smoothness of the greens.

Known as the STRI Truenesss Meter, the device was developed based on research by the Sports Engineering Research Group based at Sheffield Hallam University.

Nick Hamilton, a senior sports lecturer at Sheffield Hallam, said: “SERG has been working alongside STRI in the development of their Trueness Meter for the past four years and has produced several prototypes.

“It is great to see the technology being put to use across all the greens at St Andrews, giving them an accurate indication of the performance of their playing surfaces. The technology is also capable of measuring surfaces across other sports, further helping to improve better playing surfaces.”

The Open Championship, marking its 150th anniversary, began at St Andrews yesterday and will reach its climax on Sunday evening.

Richard Windows, STRI’s turfgrass agronomist, said: “The technology within STRI’s Trueness Meter allows greenkeepers to forensically analyse the greens during a major tournament, refine their operations and help them produce 18 greens of the highest quality throughout the event.”