Yes, good old AI. My experience with it started last fall, when I used AI to help me purchase my Wilson model blades. I explained some of the problems I was having with my game‑improvement irons and the shafts they had. Based on that information, AI recommended a different shaft, and I have hit the new irons significantly better this year. Even though the blades are 2 degrees weaker per club, I am hitting them just as far, if not a little farther, than the older irons. Once I had success with the irons, I used AI again to help fit my fairway woods and driver, and I have hit all of them better as well. As I wrote in my post about my golf season, this is the best I have struck the ball in about 10 years. One of the interesting aspects of this whole process is that it takes time to see the full improvement in ball‑striking. This may be because you spend years using your swing to compensate for problems your clubs are creating. That compensating swing becomes ingrained, and when you change to properly fitted clubs, that old swing is no longer effective. I have also used AI to help correct swing faults and bad habits in my putting and chipping. Is AI perfect? Not even close. There are things you have to watch for to make sure you are not getting poor information or advice.
Sometimes AI appears to change its mind, and I do not have a major issue with that. Often it is because the information I provided was worded differently, or I was not clear enough about what I wanted. AI was not successful in eliminating my yips. It did, however, provide a detailed program for both chipping and putting yips, which I did try. Maybe I did not stick with it long enough, but I found the program tedious and unnatural. Like everyone else, AI does not have all the answers for the yips.
My use of AI has evolved from simply getting clubs fitted to my game to helping me address specific problems. For example, I had developed a putting habit I have done for years: I follow the putter head back with my eyes. I have done this for over 10 years. AI gave me practical advice on how to stop this, and it is working—my recent putting has been very good, the best it has been all year.
I also had AI walk me through the process of club selection on the course and how I should think after choosing a club. This has helped my decision‑making and my game overall.
If you let it, AI can be a little unnerving. It will describe having the same problems you are dealing with on the golf course, and its ability to recall previous conversations is a bit unsettling. It can even seem slightly irritated. I made it go through many, many drivers and their specifications before finally selecting one; you could almost sense it sighing when I presented the 50th driver for review.
There is no question in my mind that I will continue to use AI in my ongoing effort to lower my scores. Stay tuned.
