It was slightly chilly on the final day of the 2025 PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open in La Jolla, a suburb of San Diego, CA. A light wind blew off the Pacific Ocean as former University of Georgia golfer Harris English won his second consecutive championship, beating Sam Stevens by one shot. The tournament has been held annually at the world-renowned Torrey Pines Golf Course since 1968. Each year, thousands of spectators and media representatives descend on the town of La Jolla for the event. Maintaining the safety of everyone at the event is the top priority, said Andrew Harmatys, the Chief Operating Officer for the Farmers Insurance Open.

As drone popularity continues to rise, Andrew and the tour’s planners have had to consider new safety measures. People flying drones over the course to capture the tournament present several negative implications. The primary concern is that these unauthorized drones pose safety risks to players, spectators, and staff. Drones can also be very distracting to players, contributing to poor performance. Additionally, unauthorized drones present a financial burden on the tour. The tour generates revenue from ticket sales and authorized media outlets.

With a drone, a spectator can easily watch the tour without purchasing a ticket to enter the course. Media outlets must pay a significant sum to air any footage captured within the course. Many of these outlets use drones to enhance the footage they broadcast, but these drones are authorized and restricted to safe usage. If an unauthorized drone is used to air footage of the tour, it compromises the funds appropriately spent by these media outlets. In an effort to tackle this issue, Andrew and his team have once again contracted San Diego-based company SkySafe to protect all aspects of the tour from unauthorized drone use.

SkySafe was founded in 2015 by MIT graduate and former Air Force Research Center specialist Grant Jordan. Grant’s area of expertise is in the development of hardware programs that can identify objects such as IEDs or drones. At SkySafe, Grant has applied this knowledge to design a commercial program that allows clients to identify and locate drones, whether they are authorized or not. Andrew explained that the first step in implementing the SkySafe system was to coordinate with media outlets using approved drones for broadcasting.

Working with media companies and the Federal Aviation Administration, Andrew and the tour’s Unified Command team had these drones officially registered. Once registered, the SkySafe system would be able to automatically differentiate the approved drones from any illegally flown drones within the GPS-marked boundaries of the golf course. SkySafe’s technology instantly detects when a drone is launched within a designated vicinity. The company’s website goes on to explain, “SkySafe’s core technology is built on a deep understanding of drone communication protocols. We don’t just identify targets, we collect critical metadata to enhance threat analysis and assessment too. Beyond threats, we work to enable the safe deployment of commercial drones through proprietary technology, paving the way for a better future.”

Once an unauthorized drone is identified, the SkySafe system tracks it in real-time, gathering data on speed, altitude, flight history, location of the operator, and exact current position. Andrew went on to say that the information is then passed on to the Unified Command team, which can then work with local law enforcement to confiscate the drone and apprehend the operator. He mentioned that at last year’s tournament, the SkySafe system enabled the Unified Command team and law enforcement officers to engage with 9 out of 12 unauthorized drone sightings. The operators of the remaining 3 drones were able to retrieve their drones before officers arrived.

Andrew said that the collaboration with SkySafe is one they hope to continue for the coming years, as it provides the extra level of security needed to protect everyone at the Farmers Insurance Open. Drones have a place at sporting events like PGA tours, but only for those authorized to be there. SkySafe is ensuring that those respecting the proper use of drones in such situations can safely utilize the technology. As Grant said, “Drones present as much opportunity as risk, and we’ve made it our job to help clients safely manage both.”

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