Technology has been encroaching on the golf world for years. Even two of the oldest and most revered courses in the world have been impacted by the digital age.
At least that was the case on Thursday at the 2026 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, the annual DP World Tour event played at the Old Course at St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns.
It was at Carnoustie, host of eight Open Championships, that one widespread piece of modern technology ticked off one of the top pro golfers in the world.
The technological device in question was a TV drone, and the golfer in question was Scotland’s own Robert MacIntyre.
After the two-time PGA Tour winner had at least two conflicts with TV drones in Thursday’s opening round, he went off on their impact in an interview with BBC Sport.
Robert MacIntyre bemoans TV drones at Carnoustie: ‘It’s like a revving of a car’
Modern drone technology has transformed many industries, and golf-course photography and pro golf television coverage can be counted among them.
Golf fans watching tournaments at home now get frequent, dramatic aerial views of their favorite pros in action on historic golf courses any time they tune in. While in the past networks relied on zoomed-out video feeds from blimps flying far overhead, with drones TV producers can get up close and personal with players quickly at a much lower cost.
Though fans have reaped rewards from TV drones at pro golf events, the pro golfers themselves are a different story.
When a pro is trying to maintain vigilant focus on the shot at hand, a drone loudly buzzing around them can be a major distraction.
Just ask MacIntyre.
Following an opening-round 71 at Carnoustie, MacIntyre stood for a few questions with BBC Sport, during which he vented about drones that had distracted him during his round.
According to MacIntyre, on two different occasions TV drones buzzing nearby forced him to step off his shots. And in one of those instances, MacIntyre blamed a “bad shot” on an encroaching drone.
“I asked him twice previous to the shot on the 8th about the drone, and then I step off the shot on 8. Before I hit the shot I give the guy the nod, I can hear it still, like it’s too close. I step off the shot, not fully committed because I’m just thinking about the drone, and then, yeah, I hit a bad shot,” MacIntyre told BBC Sport on Thursday. “Then I stepped off my putt at 18 because there’s a drone there.”
MacIntyre went on to acknowledge the importance of television in the pro game, but then argued that the TV drones should not have to fly as close to players as they did to him in Round 1.
“I get that TV is everything, money, everything. But they don’t need to be so close,” MacIntyre said, before quipping, “My camera’s got enough zoom from how close they were to be able to see the golf shot.”
He also said the drones drive him “insane” but explained that the real issue was not just the drones, but how the drones behave during high wind conditions like they had on Thursday at Carnoustie.
“It drives me insane. I’ve had previous for it. The problem is, when they’re staying stable it’s fine, it’s more, it’s obviously buffeting from the wind, and it’s trying to stay in position, it’s like a revving of a car right where you’re trying to hit,” MacIntyre explained. “When they’re too close in these conditions I struggle with it.”
This isn’t the first time MacIntyre has had an issue with drones at pro golf tournaments. Back at the 2024 RBC Canadian Open, MacIntyre repeatedly complained about CBS’s TV drones on the course during the final round. CBS agreed to ground the drone, and MacIntyre went on to capture his first PGA Tour victory.
Fortunately, MacIntyre doesn’t seem to have let his anger over the TV drones continue to bother him on Friday at the Dunhill Links. Playing Kingsbarns, MacIntyre opened Round 2 with four early birdies to slide up the leaderboard and into contention.
