Case Study - Zen Green Stage (Zen)

Zen Green Stage (Zen), based in Sheffield, designs and manufactures patented active terrain technology, ‘smart floors’ that automatically shift shape to recreate real-world golf course contours.

Founded by inventor and engineer Nick Middleton, the business has spent more than a decade developing technology that combines mechanical engineering, learning science and immersive experiences to make golf more engaging and accessible within the rapidly growing indoor golf market.

Having successfully commercialised the Green Stage platform, Zen identified an opportunity to enhance it through augmented reality, computer vision and advanced ball tracking, creating a more immersive user experience and a scalable platform for future growth.

However, developing these capabilities required specialist expertise that was not available in-house. The business needed support to explore the technical requirements, map future workflows and create a roadmap for the next stage of innovation.

Zen engaged with Made Smarter Yorkshire and completed a Digital Roadmap to assess the company's people, processes and technology.

The review highlighted the potential to combine the company's engineering expertise with emerging digital technologies to create a more immersive and engaging user experience.

To accelerate development, Zen secured a £5,500 grant towards an £11,000 Intensive Technical Support (ITS) project.

Dom O'Connor, Made Smarter Advisor and the team at RTC North facilitated the business receiving specialist consultancy through Made Smarter to explore how augmented reality and computer vision could be integrated into the Green Stage platform and how digital workflow and customer communication systems could support future growth and product innovation.

A specialist consultant worked with the team to map processes, define technical requirements and develop a blueprint for a scalable digital platform to support future product development and international expansion.

The work laid the foundations for Zen Eye, an augmented reality platform that combines moving surfaces, computer vision and advanced ball tracking to create immersive golf experiences. The platform provides real-time feedback, interactive visualisations and data-driven insights for players, while supporting innovative features such as Famous Putts, which allows users to recreate iconic moments from professional golf.

The support accelerated the development of software models and digital capabilities that Zen would have struggled to build in-house, helping the business bring a working prototype to market in time for the PGA Show in Orlando, the world's largest golf industry exhibition.

The launch generated significant interest across the golf sector and quickly led to commercial opportunities. The technology was adopted by a corporate hospitality business for use at The Players Championship, where professional golfer Justin Rose demonstrated the platform to guests and participants. The success of the activation led to a further showcase at The Masters, helping raise the company's profile among major golf organisations, tournament operators and industry stakeholders.

The project also enabled the development of Play Live Golf, an immersive experience that allows users to recreate famous putts from professional tournaments, or even attempt the same putt being played live on a golf course. By combining surface movement, ball tracking and augmented reality, the platform turns spectators into participants and creates a more engaging learning experience.

The company is now in discussions with major golf organisations, tours and governing bodies, including the R&A, which is exploring new ways to increase participation and make the sport more accessible.

The project has helped Zen evolve from a specialist engineering business into a technology-enabled company. The integration of augmented reality, computer vision and digital workflows has created a roadmap for future product development, enabling the company to innovate more quickly, make better-informed decisions and bring new digital experiences to market.

“I believe the potential extends beyond golf,” Nick said. “Technologies such as Zen Eye can help encourage greater participation in physical activity, social interaction and healthy ageing through engaging, game-based experiences.”

Zen plans to build on the success of Zen Eye and continue developing new ways to engage people with golf through technology.

By combining gamification, data and immersive technology, Zen believes more people, particularly children, beginners and underrepresented groups, can be introduced to the sport in a way that is enjoyable, intuitive and easy to access.

The company also sees opportunities to bring golf beyond traditional courses and clubs to schools, workplaces, hospitality venues and community spaces.

At the same time, Zen continues to develop its longer-term vision through initiatives such as Play Live Golf and Deep Green. Building on the foundations created through the Made Smarter project, these concepts will combine augmented reality, data capture and behavioural insights to create increasingly immersive experiences while generating a deeper understanding of how people learn, move and interact with their environment.

Nick said: “The Green Stage was never just about moving the floor. It was about creating a better way for people to learn, engage and participate.

“My motto has always been that you build a tool set around a philosophy, not the other way around.”