British technology firm Zen Golf has launched its fourth Famous Putts Challenge at this week’s AIG Women’s Open 2024, at St Andrews, in its first celebration of women’s tournament golf.
Crucial putts by Annika Sörenstam, Juli Inkster, Inbee Park, Suzann Pettersen and Lorena Ochoa have been recreated on the adjustable Zen Green Stage in the St Andrews Golf Company store, just a few seconds’ walk from the 18th green on The Old Course.
The Famous Putts Challenge is free of charge and open to all players, spectators and officials attending this week’s tournament, with up to four people at a time filling in specially-printed scorecards which contain clues as to how each putt ‘breaks’.
Previous Zen Famous Putts Challenges were created for this year’s Staysure Seniors PGA Championship hosted by Colin Montgomerie at Trump International Golf Links, for the World Scientific Congress of Golf 2024 at Loughborough University, and for the 150th Open Championship in St Andrews in 2022. Zen will also be running a Famous Putts Challenge at its third-successive Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, which is back in St Andrews in October 2024.
“After these highly successful trials, the Zen Green Stage is now set to become part of the spectator experience at more Tour events in the future” said Zen founder Nick Middleton. “And it is not just about recreating history: while competitors are out there hitting putts in the tournament, you can be in the tented village hitting the same putts on the same day.”
Fast becoming known as the Spotify or Apple Music of putting, the Zen Green Stage enables golfers to create and Save their own unlimited Playlists of putts, whether from Majors, Ryder Cups and Tour events, or from their own golf course.
The putts are then saved as Presets on the Green Stage, which moves to create the exact contours of each putt via instant touchscreen control. This functionality is also set to revolutionise putting lessons, with golf instructors able to preset putting drills and challenges during coaching and custom-fitting sessions.
Middleton continued: “It is a lot of fun, and unique to the Zen, to have this level of reality – these breaking putts create real pressure – so we hope to see some of this week’s LET competitors taking the Challenge with their caddies and friends, as well as members of the public here for the final women’s Major of the year!
“By recreating these iconic putts we have not only provided a way to celebrate some of the historic moments in the women’s game, but we have also created a world-class adjustable green for golfers to refine their putting skills – and to experience what their golfing heroes felt when faced with these exact putts.”
“We are thrilled to offer this unique opportunity to all who are attending this week’s AIG Women’s Open 2024”
The Zen Green Stage Experience location, the St Andrews Golf Company, is home to the world’s oldest golf clubmaker, with roots going back to 1881. It is situated where Old Tom Morris’s pro shop used to be, and the Green Stage itself is located on the exact site of the 22nd and final hole of the original golf course in St Andrews.
- LOCATION: St Andrews Golf Company, 8 Golf Place, St Andrews KY16 9JA
- DATES: Wednesday 21 to Sunday 25 August 2024
- OPENING TIMES: 9am to 6pm (evening sessions can also be booked)
The Zen Green Stage is the world’s leading adjustable putting green, and is now used in 25 countries by Tour players and their coaches, PGAs and national teams, Major venues, universities, golf coaches and private golfers to improve their putting.
Its sister product, the Zen Swing Stage, recreates realistic sloping fairway lies using the same advanced digital technology as the Green Stage.
Zen Golf will shortly announce a series of integrations between its moving floors and other leading indoor golf technologies, which are set to transform thousands of indoor golf venues around the world.
For all information see www.zen.golf or call +44 (0)1226 781000.
