COULD AI HAVE USEFUL APPLICATIONS FOR RULINGS IN TOURNAMENTS, SUCH AS WHERE TO TAKE DROPS?
ther than we used to. There certainly aren’t many Miller Barber swings left on tour – or Miller Barber bodies, for that matter. Does that mean golf, in sum and for each of us, is better than it was 30 years ago? Is golf something we love or a maths problem to be solved? Or is it a combination of two dissimilar things that can live in harmony? I want to shoot lower scores, but I love my an- nual golf trip with my buddies. I want to hit longer drives, but I love parsing out different ways of playing 60-yard bump-and-run shots. I want to play better tournament golf, but I loved playing with my dad when I was a kid and neither of us were that good. I use the latest drivers and play with top-end golf balls. I have taken lessons in which AI tools identified swing flaws that were corrected and made me better. I enjoy watching Trackman Rory duke it out with AI Bryson. But better equip- ment, better teaching, better swing analysis and better pros have not made me love golf more than I did when I was 18 years old. Should I be lucky enough to have grandchildren one day, they will prob- ably be golfing with AI tools we can’t even dream of, or, more likely, tools that AI itself has generated. In every sector in which AI is impacting how we play the game – in strategy, in the mental game, in swing analysis – ex- perts felt AI would slot in as a comple- mentary technology, not one designed to replace humans. Though how can any of us know for certain? In the end, your most important re- lationship to the game won’t be about whether you use AI or don’t use AI. It’ll be about remembering where the soul of golf resides, no matter what tools you’re using. Here’s a hint: It’s not in the data.
style. It will use its own predictive technology in a way that’s significantly better. It will be teaching and helping people in a progressive, bespoke manner.” The most exciting developments, Harrison says, will come when AI can look at the sum of your data and deliver a com- plete, ongoing and continuously adjustable plan in conversa- tion. Too much of what we’re seeing right now, he says, still boils down to having enough computing power to analyse the data. “No one has yet built a model I’ve seen using small language models,” he says. A large language model (LLM) scans the en- tire internet universe when asked a question, whereas a small language model (SLM) is a simulated conversation operating exclusively from the knowledge base of a highly specific sec- tor or process, such as golf. “My guess is that companies with significant golf products are starting to experiment with small models. But you haven’t quite seen an example yet of a pure language model providing teaching or guidance that’s going to help you play better golf.” In other words, one day soon, you should be able to open your SLM caddie/swing instructor/mental coach app, upload video, get swing analysis, review strategy, assess your mental and physiological state, all geared towards you alone, and it will all unfold conversationally through a wearable device. Still, AI is ultimately going to be just another tool golfers have at their disposal. If you shoot in the 80s, never practice, have erratic focus and down a couple of beers before the turn, AI is not going to transform you into a 2-handicap. Although if you are this person, I’m pretty sure I’d enjoy play- ing golf with you. Part of golf’s allure, of course, is that it’s impossible to master. Perhaps AI will sand away some of our inconsistencies, even if it’s those inconsistencies that make us human. Regardless, AI is coming, hard, whether the sport is ready or not. I reached out to the Rules Committees of both the USGA and the R&A. I was curious about the kinds of conversations they are hav- ing around AI usage in competition and training. How might it be restricted with juniors? Could AI have useful applications for rulings in tournaments, such as where to take drops? Both organisations declined comment. When I left the Bay Area, I passed the same AI Country bill- board on my way to the airport. Heading south, the other side of the billboard said, simply, “Make something people love.” Naturally, it made me think about what we love about golf. In that context, perhaps it’s helpful to think of other big changes the game has gone through, with equipment advances and video teaching analysis arguably two of the more conse- quential in the past few decades. Most of us hit the ball fur-
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