Golf itself is a sport that is made for 3D: the swing plane for a driver is described as a volume, as the club moves through space. Training videos often focus on multiple views to help golfers align their body correctly for various shots, and motion-capture technology is often used in the higher end training centers. Getting the angles correct is crucial—and can make the difference between landing on the green or shanking somewhere into the woods.

We learned quite a bit from this project. Windows 8 had been released the prior year, and touch based interaction in tablet and laptop computers was still relatively novel (the iPad was introduced in 2010). Introducing video that you could touch, and change the view, was an exciting design opportunity. The challenge is in creating an experience that can be experienced passively, but also one that invites viewers to engage. This must be done without information overload, or introducing needless friction (e.g., hiding interaction information in drop down menus).

Quality has come a long way over a decade of development, but the core value of golf as a scenario remains. Sky Sports in the UK for instance has used the Microsoft volumetric technology to capture pro golfers appearing at the British Open as regular feature of their broadcasts.