Bryson DeChambeau turning to artificial intelligence to figure out his golf swing is somehow both the strangest and most obvious story of the week. The LIV Golf star revealed after shooting a final round 65 at LIV Golf Korea that he had been consulting an AI chatbot to work through physics principles related to his swing.
DeChambeau's AI Consultation
“I was talking to AI quite a bit last night trying to go through some different physics principles that makes the club turn over, having some alpha torque and gamma torque put in there,” DeChambeau said. “I was like, ‘what makes that possibly do that,’ and was talking about just grip pressure and tension.”
DeChambeau’s AI brand of choice was Gemini, which is produced by Google, a major sponsor of his. This blend of genuine quirkiness and devoted pitchmanship makes it hard to decipher what is genuine with the golfer.
The Appeal of AI Chatbots
One thing about popular chatbots is they have a knack for making users feel smart in a positivity loop that invites endless conversation. For example, the author recounts how an AI chatbot praised his plant care instincts, even when problems arose. With AI, you are always on the right track and the answer is just around the corner — music to every golfer’s ears.
DeChambeau has access to the greatest living coaches and players, but he has been his own closed loop since coming on tour a decade ago. Much like AI, he moves past mistakes with a lack of self-reflection. This approach has brought him incredible heights, but it may also put a ceiling on his greatness.
Other Golf News
Mackenzie Hughes had a good week at Colonial, finishing T10 at nine-under par. The Canadian is now 116th in the FedEx Cup standings and needs to get inside the Top 100 to retain his PGA Tour status. Hughes criticized the switch from top-125 to top-100 cut-off, saying it makes a tough job even tougher.
Russell Henley notched his first win in over a year, the sixth of his career. A notable stat: Henley made a double bogey on Saturday, his first in 349 holes. Eric Cole ended a 316-hole streak without a double or worse. Jordan Spieth holds the all-time record with 412 holes without a double or worse.
Scottie Scheffler currently sits first in the FedEx Cup standings, despite many questioning what’s wrong with him this year — a testament to his greatness.
