PGA TOUR and PAM partner to provide interactive Smart Maps at TOUR events #news #press

PGA TOUR also makes an investment in PAM to enhance onsite experience for fans and partners

LOS ANGELES and PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – The PGA TOUR and PAM, the world-leading Smart Navigation platform specializing in digital interactive mapping and signage, today announced a new strategic investment and multi-year marketing partnership designating PAM as the Official Smart Map and the Official Smart Map Technology of the PGA TOUR.

The agreement, through 2030, will see PAM transform PGA TOUR tournament venues into familiar places for event attendees, personalizing locations and turning visitors into fans. The company will use multiple digital touch points including maps, phones, websites and digital signage to elevate the onsite fan experience and increase efficiency with operational aspects including routing, ridesharing and security. It will also allow for a more effective onsite workforce management system with tournament vendors and volunteers.

The Official Marketing Partnership, which kicks off this week at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, will utilize a brand awareness campaign through direct-to-consumer reach via the PGA TOUR app, as well as provide enhanced business-to-business value through sponsorships of digital maps and at-a-glance 3D renderings onsite at tournaments.

The new Smart Map debuted on-site as a test run during last season’s TOUR Championship, helping fans navigate all on-course experiences and amenities at East Lake Golf Club. Spectators were able to scan a QR code to gain access to a 3D modeled map, which included wayfinding features that offered a variety of onsite information, from fan activations to golf and player data. The program garnered positive reviews, with more than 40 percent of tournament attendees engaging with the interactive maps.

“We are excited to partner with PAM to better connect our PGA TOUR fans with the events and communities in which we play, ensuring they have access and familiarity to each and every corner of the property,” said John Norris, PGA TOUR Senior Vice President, Events.

The enhancements provide further affirmation of the PGA TOUR’s commitment to its ongoing Fan Forward initiative, launched in 2024 to better understand and adapt to fan priorities and habits. With feedback from more than 50,000 fans, representing core, casual and non-golf sports fans, the initiative is helping the TOUR innovate and create the most engaging and compelling fan experience in sports.

“PGA TOUR events bring together the best players in the world, along with hundreds of thousands of fans in some of the most iconic sporting environments anywhere,” said Stephen Minning, PAM CEO. “Our role is to make those environments feel intuitive. When fans can easily find players, activations and amenities, they stay longer, engage more deeply and create greater value for the entire tournament.”

Additionally, as part of the partnership, the PGA TOUR is making a strategic equity investment in PAM to accelerate its growth beyond golf. The TOUR will receive two board seats in the agreement and contribute toward a PAM case study on how fans using the tools move more efficiently across TOUR venues.

“An international leader in smart navigation, the PGA TOUR is proud to invest in PAM’s rapid growth as they create new, high-quality digital and interactive features that further improve the spectator experience,” said Lance Stover, PGA TOUR Senior Vice President, New Ventures and PAM Board member.

PAM Smart Navigation was first introduced in 2016, early in the build concept process of Hollywood Park and SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, as an efficient way to help manage the traffic patterns and crowds. Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, and Los Angeles, California, PAM prides itself on being the first completely digital wayfinding system to seamlessly integrate the operational, environmental and experiential across any environment.