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Web3 golf company, Play Today, has attracted some of the leading golf equipment brands to its world-first golf metaverse as it launches to a global audience, beginning with the livestream of the NSW Open Golf Championships held at the Rich River Golf Club in Moama NSW, from 16th to 19th March.

The launch is in partnership with Golf NSW and Australia's biggest golf retailer, Drummond Golf.

Alongside Drummond Golf, other high profile brands attracted to the golf metaverse include Bushnell, Tour Edge, Callaway and Adidas Golf as the golf industry demonstrates steadily rising interest in the next generation of interactive and immersive digital experiences.

Clive Mayhew, Play Today Chief Executive recently invested $1.2 million to launch Play Today and enable approximately70 million golf players globally to score, experience, and connect online through their favourite game.

According to Play Today, the golf metaverse itself and the livestream of a professional golf event within a metaverse opens new possibilities and avenues for how golf, and sports as a whole, will be consumed, merchandised, and innovated in the future.

Mayhew shares "the incursion of digital technologies into sport is giving us a glimpse of an exciting new sporting future in which geographies are transcended. In this future, fans shift beyond their televisions and can instead immerse themselves fully into the game, engage with other fans, and explore merchandising brands in a far more experiential manner.

"What's amazing is that the industry itself is so open to this new wave of sports innovation. For Play Today, this is an affirmation of the work we do to reimagine how we interact with and consume sports entertainment."

Companies will be launching innovative new interactive brand experiences in the metaverse during the NSW Open - an event which is predicted to bring in over 20,000 viewers a day (or 80,000 over the course of the four-day tournament), but given the unique virtual delivery of the tournament, could attract far higher numbers of younger and overseas Players to join in the livestream.

The 'Play Today Metaverse' is an interactive 3D virtual world built by golf players for golf players, allowing participants or 'players' from across the world to connect with each other and experience new and exciting ways to explore the world of golf.

Play Today will launch the world's first golf innovation centre inside a metaverse, called the 'Drummond Golf Innovation Centre', within which players can enter the innovation centre and use augmented reality to virtually view innovative new golfing products from leading golf brands.

Inside the metaverse, players can:

• Showcase their digital golf collectibles, or NFTs, which they can obtain through the Play Today scoring app or purchase from the Play Today marketplace,
• Visit virtual replications or "digital twins" of over 40,000 physical golf courses from around the world as a flyover experience,
• Connect with fellow golfers from across the globe either by walking around in standalone mode, or by interacting with other Players in the Play Today clubhouse,
• Replay a physical round of golf on the same course in the virtual world,
• Watch live-streaming of professional golf tournaments from around the world, interactively controlling the broadcast to follow their player of choice and view live scores.

Ravi Abeyaratne, Marketing Director of Drummond Golf notes "Drummond Golf prides itself on being at the forefront of innovation in golf for almost 50 years, and we are incredibly excited to partner with Play Today on the Drummond Golf Innovation Centre. This will enable us to engage with customers during live events in a way that is not possible with traditional TV advertising. The Play Today Metaverse is absolutely the future of sports events, and we are proud to be part of this exciting new world."

Mayhew adds "the experience of watching golf events on TV hasn't changed much over the last fifty years. It's not very exciting for the younger player, and doesn't provide any opportunities for interaction, personalisation, or any form of immersion in the world of golf - for players, fans, and golf retailers alike.

"By livestreaming the NSW Golf Open Championship within our metaverse, while offering immersive experiences such as the Drummond Golf Innovation Centre, we are creating a new and exciting way for enthusiasts from across the globe to experience professional golf. And golf is just the beginning - this is just a small taste of what the future of interactive sports broadcasting will become."

Stuart Fraser, Chief Executive of Golf NSW adds "The Play Today Metaverse is a visionary concept for golf. Aligning Australia's greatest State Open Championship with an interactive experience as engaging as the Play Today Metaverse will ensure fans of the sport, not just in our great state, but globally, get a taste for the future of our great game."

Matt Meredith, Managing Director Callaway Golf Australia enthused "we are excited to join this world-first golf metaverse with Play Today, and bring our Industry leading products to a new audience through ground breaking technology. We see experiences like this as a truly innovative new channel which truly aligns with Callaway and our Modern Golf strategy."

The NSW Open Golf Championship to be held at the Rich River Golf Club, Moama NSW 16th-19th March. The "Play Today NSW Open Golf Championship" will showcase Australasia's best golfers including Blake Windred and existing NSW Open Champion, Harrison Crowe.

Play Today, the web3 golf company, has developed a consumer digital wallet integrated into a golf scoring app, a golf NFT Marketplace, and a golf metaverse, which is a world's first use of web3 technology connecting the physical game of golf with digital wallets and an immersive online community experience.

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