Get ready for BagCam.
NBC Sports is slated to debut a camera from within a player’s golf bag during Friday’s second-round coverage of the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship at the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida.
“BagCam” will sit within Justin Thomas’ golf bag during holes 17-18 on Golf Channel and Peacock, bringing viewers closer to the action than ever before.
BagCam has the ability to provide a 360-degree perspective as the audience joins Thomas and caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay for a variety of moments and interactions within the round, whether it’s on the tee, walking from shot-to-shot or a decision on what club to hit for an approach shot.
“We are always exploring ways to innovate within our golf coverage while not disrupting or interfering with what’s happening on the course,” said Tommy Roy, lead producer for NBC Sports’ golf coverage, in a statement.
BagCam, which weighs no more than a pound, received a test-run with Bones carrying it in Thomas’s bag at the PNC Championship in December. Mackay was a logical choice to be the guinea pig for the camera, which provides a viewpoint as if it were a drone sitting right above a player’s clubs. Mackay spent 25 years as Phil Mickelson’s caddie before transitioning to an on-course commentator role with NBC Sports/Golf Channel in 2017. He returned to caddying last year with Thomas, who won the PGA Championship in May.
BagCam is the latest effort to bring the viewer closer to the action and should be a welcome addition to the broadcast.
