This new technology was announced by Wilson in January of this year.
BELOIT (WREX) – We've seen athletes continue to evolve their training in their respective sports as more technology becomes available, and golf is no exception. Ironworks Golf Academy in Beloit recently introduced a new AI golf club fitting system. This made the club fitting process faster and more personalized.
Through a complex system of overhead cameras and in-club chips, clubfitters can receive a rating from the system in just five swings.
“You get over 12,000 different swing points,” said club fitter Gordie Johnson. “It has a swing algorithm built in across the board. Every time someone enters more information, their portfolio grows.”
A typical club fitting process involves a golfer swinging the club countless times. It becomes difficult to maintain the consistency needed to get a precise fit when swinging.
“It really narrows it down a little bit more,” Johnson said. “That makes that suspicion even more remote.”
While analytics and AI often have the misconception of replacing the human element, their primary purpose is to provide clubfitters with all possible information before making their final evaluation.
“It's just like anything else we use,” Johnson said. “We can use simulators and we have technology like this. There have been other products in the past that bring you into the real world. They reduce the numbers and reduce the margin of error. This product is a little better in terms of narrowing the fit, but ultimately it's up to the fitter.”
This complex system has been in development with Wilson since 2002, but it could be just the beginning of how technology will continue to change many aspects of the sport.
“AI is exploding everywhere,” Johnson said. “Now it's getting into the golf business. It's going to give people better products and better fits so they can get out and play more. This technology It's kind of cool to see how it's really exploding in the industry.”
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