AI in Golf: The Future of Smart Play

AI is currently re-shaping every facet of golf, from player technique and equipment design to in-game decision-making and fan engagement. Data, sensors, and machine learning are now integral to how golfers train, play, and even watch the game. And while AI has been used in most big sports, it’s interesting to see even a discipline as bent on tradition and precision as golf undergoing a digital shift.

Working with numerous projects tied to AI in the sports industry, we couldn't help but highlight the latest solutions and mechanics behind artificial intelligence in golf. Let’s take a look.

How Is AI Used in Golf Clubs and Balls?

Golf has been receiving numerous intelligent implementations lately, and we expect more to come. Today’s leading golf gear brands are using various golf AI models to calibrate, optimize, and perfect their gear.

In fact, AI is now used at each stage of the gear’s “life” — design, development, production, and use:

• Manufacturers use AI simulations of on-field activities to achieve perfect weight distribution and aerodynamics in golf clubs and balls before building practical prototypes (saving tons of money in the process);

• Golf clubs and balls are produced with built-in AI firmware, which is tied to an app or cloud to control and manage smart features remotely;

• The AI-powered gear can react in real-time to a variety of factors, slightly adjust automatically, and provide feedback, reports, and analytics on the use, player performance, and other statistics.

We must point out, however, that not everything here rests on AI alone. There is a range of technologies used at the foundation of smart golf gear:

Now, let’s take a look at all this tech and its implementations for smart golf gear in more detail.

AI Golf Clubs

The latest AI clubs can understand space and read motion, recognize incoming objects, and automate their tilt. The clubs’ facing sides are becoming heavily equipped with computer vision and sensors that can analyze near-field objects at high speeds with precision. But there’s more than that:

Pre-prototype calibration

Thanks to the fruits of automated smart testing, club manufacturers can set up custom simulations and try out thousands of swing combinations to optimize their gear accordingly.

For instance, the machine learning model for Callaway’s smart irons is trained on over 250,000 swings to provide perfect real-time shot calibrations.

Sensors and motion tracking

Embedded accelerometers and gyroscopes measure club head speed, attack angle, face angle, and swing path in real time, with internal precision.

The IMU sensor fusion approach allows combining data from accelerometers, gyros, and other sensors to provide precise, multi-dimensional swing insights.

On-device AI and feedback

Some clubs integrate AI chips directly in the shaft to process swing data and outline a range of statistics, metrics, and other details that you can see in, say, a paired app.

The integrated chips help make sure that AI reads and analyzes very individual parameters, from grip strength and swing direction to swing speed and tempo to slicing accuracy.

Adaptive weighting

Some of the top-line AI‑optimized clubs use adaptive internal weighting in order to adjust a swing distribution and reduce slices or hooks by mid-swing.

Sensor fusion

The principle of fused data delivery from multiple different sensors at once enables clubs to synchronize data with smart balls, sensor-enabled grips (to monitor hand position and pressure), and other devices.

Among other things, the sensor fusion also enables the use of readymade devices that are equipped with their own sensors, like Apple Watch or systems like HackMotion (discussed below).

CV and analytics

Golf club-embedded computer vision enables frame-by-frame swing capture and analysis. There are even pose estimation algorithms to correct one’s posture and spot skill deviations.

As such, your golf club can give you info on better angles for your joints, ball’s follow-through mechanics, and desirable body posture.

Real-world examples

Callaway Paradym AI Smoke clubs

Callaway’s experimental “Paradym AI Smoke” irons are among the first practical AI-designed golf clubs. The clubs’ AI helps:

• Optimize sweet-spot stability for mis-hits

• Maximize swing forgiveness and sweet spot coverage

• Handle off-center hits with less difficulty

The built-in AI Smart Face feature tilts and adjusts the club’s face automatically to drive the ball most efficiently every time.

PING G430 clubs

PING offers a line of G430 AI-enabled drivers, highly forgiving clubs designed using advanced AI technologies like Variable Face Technology. These innovations not only make it easier to drive the ball but also help boost shot speed.

TaylorMade Qi10 and Titleist TSR clubs

TaylorMade’s Qi10 and Titleist’s TSR have similar features, with the first offering 10K MOI for ultimate shot forgiveness, and the latter the Variable Face Thickness feature for adjusting the ball speed and influencing the shot’s trajectory.

AI Golf Balls

AI golf balls are made smart and space-aware, similarly to their club counterparts. Smart golf balls can autonomously track and collect spin, launch, and flight readings. All thanks to embedded mini-sensors and advanced construction. The core tech in AI-enabled golf balls includes the following.

MEMS (embedded inertial sensors)

Smart balls that feature MEMS are equipped with miniaturized gyroscopes and accelerometers, which allow instant measurement of the ball’s spin rate, axis, speed, and impact dynamics.

Beyond individual use, such statistics and measurements are crucial for pro-grade launch monitors relying on precise ball flight footage.

Wireless communication

Being a little more disparate and remote than clubs, smart balls use wireless tech like Bluetooth, GPS, and RFID to sync up with apps and other devices.

In particular, they use:

• Bluetooth for instant data transfer to a smartphone (and equally instant analytics);

• GPS for terrain tracking and location of the ball on the course (even in rough patches);

• RFID chips are usually used by golfing facilities to track the ball’s distance and identity (e.g., for game scoring).

AI-based analytics

Similarly to AI clubs, smart golf balls sync up with a connected app or cloud, enabling algorithms that do the swing and shot breakdown, formulate feedback, and provide performance recommendations that evolve.

For this, AI models for the balls are first trained on huge datasets of backspin variants, launch angles, roll scenarios, and other parameters.

Real-world examples

Titleist Pro V1 RCT

Titleist’s latest Pro V1 RCT golf ball uses radar-based launch monitors, which allow gathering data on trajectories and in-space locations after indoor training or playing sessions.

OnCore Genius Ball

OnCore’s The Genius Ball comes with a Bluetooth smart sensor, MEMS, launch monitoring, 9-point data transfer, cloud-based reporting, and wireless charging ability.

AI-Powered Swing Analysis and Enhancement

Thanks to AI and ML, improving one’s swing has never been more digitally precise. Today’s AI-powered apps, platforms, and systems use a combination of video capture and biomechanics analysis to assess a player’s tempo, club path, and face angle.

But the most standout capacities of golf-dedicated AI platforms include:

Omnichannel shot tracking

A shot-tracking platform pairs club-mounted sensors with a mobile app (or Apple Watch) to automatically map each shot’s distance, accuracy, and performance context.

Example: Arccos platform leverages the built-in AI Caddie that recommends club choices and strategy using insights gained from strokes.

GPS scoring systems

A GPS-enabled scoring system can use clip-on GPS sensors paired with the app or watch to track shots, record distances, and calculate analytics based on the terrain.

Example: Shot Scope allows combining the terrain outlook and analysis with stroke-based metrics and other individual stats.

3D swing coaching

A regular smartphone can be used to capture one’s motions and evaluate biomechanical parameters such as swing tempo, club path, and wrist movement.

Example: The HackMotion system evaluates up to seventeen biomechanical parameters. And the club-mounted SMARTGOLF AIX delivers real-time feedback right during practice.

Virtual Coaches and Personalized Feedback

AI is finally making digital coaching a thing. We know from firsthand experience that sports coaching requires very precise analysis and individualized solutions. AI-driven virtual instructors deliver that precision and individual dedication by digging into your swing data, pinpointing weaknesses, and suggesting custom training routines.

But there’s more:

• The synced up AI can generate step-by-step improvement tips based on swing pattern recognition, for example, “shift weight earlier” or “flatten swing arc”, etc;

• Smart features for caddies help analyze course data, swing stats, and environmental conditions for the best club selection and further strategizing;

• Integration with wearables, like smartwatches, allows for the most sensitive, precise analysis of the player’s performance by a live coach who can simply gather stats in a dashboard.

The brightest real-world example of the coaching AI is Golf.AI — an intelligent smartphone coach that uses your phone’s camera to capture a swing, analyze it via 3D motion models, and deliver an instant action plan of tailored drills and tips.

More than that, there is a full digital coaching suite consisting of several AI golf solutions:

• AI Caddie for shot strategy,
• AI Scorecard for performance tracking,
• What’s in My Bag for club optimization.

AI in Golf Strategy and In-Game Decisions

On the course, all the above-discussed AI goodies provide a wealth of precious data for players, caddies, and coaches. When we build sports software at Requestum, most of our cases are centered around analytics.

In golf, a convenient collection of stats on wind speed, terrain elevation, and turf conditions allows caddies to recommend better-fitting clubs and players to pick more favorable shot types and positions.

This is mostly enabled by two technologies:

• GPS: GPS modules embedded in golf clubs, balls, or a caddie’s smartphone app can suggest precise yardages to hazards. And due to sensor fusion and combined analysis of wind, slope, and weather, GPS-equipped gear can even recommend elevation-adjusted shots;

• Augmented reality: With a smartphone in hand and a special app installed, a golf player or caddie can analyze the field and terrain in 3D, getting a detailed view with augmented filters, like heatmaps for green zones, elevation indications, and hole dissection.

Let’s take a look at some real-world examples:

18Birdies is a GPS rangefinder and digital caddie app that outlines hazards, potential shot distances, and efficient plays on one dashboard. It also gathers tons of useful play statistics.

GolfLogix offers 3D virtual views of each hole, elevation-adjusted GPS, scorecard and stats, 3D flyovers, putt break visuals, and more.

Enhancing the Fan Experience with AI

Last but not least, fans are also benefiting from the rise of AI golf. Augmented and virtual reality platforms already allow immersing fans in replays, visualizing real-time stats, and indulging in interactive shot tracking. We already have big public examples to inspect:

• At the 2025 U.S. Open, the USGA piloted an AI-powered rules assistant, a digital avatar capable of answering complex rules questions (even about alligators in bunkers) in multiple languages;

• The PGA TOUR also uses AI in its TOURCast system, which now features real-time AI-generated commentary for every shot and round. The AI commentator leverages decades of historical data to add context and personalize the viewing experience.

We expect more fan solutions to come out on the market soon.

Challenges and Ethical Concerns of AI in Golf

As we can see, golf AI solutions are becoming more widespread and adopted by the day. Certain downsides and challenges are holding the smart tech back from even faster, more mass adoption.

These include:

• Risk of tech over-reliance: Could obsession with AI undermine instinct, rhythm, or natural flow?

• Skill gap: Access to AI could widen the gap between tech-equipped players and more traditional ones.

• Coaching ethics: Will human coaches become redundant? Balancing AI and human mentorship is critical.

• Privacy concerns: Sensitive biometric, location, and performance data pose ethical and regulatory questions.

The Future: Where AI is Taking Golf Next Years

Despite the above challenges, looking ahead, sports organizations expect even deeper integration of smart solutions with golf mechanics, tools, and principles of playing. Based on what we see today, we can make a couple of predictions as to the development of AI in golf:

• Adaptive smart clubs that adjust shaft flex or weight dynamically;

• AR-enabled eyewear displaying optimal shot lines and real-time analytics;

• Holographic coaches that demonstrate swing mechanics mid-range;

• Emotion-aware AI systems that tailor training based on stress, fatigue, or confidence levels.

Seeing how things are moving, the golf course of the 2030s may be as much a digital arena as a physical one.

Bottom Line

AI is already boosting golf equipment design, enhancing swing mechanics, and enabling a new level of both in-game and spectator golfing experiences. Players at every level can track performance and improve personally. Coaches can tap into pro-grade insights and optimize training. And golf fans and enthusiasts get entire dashboards of in-game analytics.

Right now, we expect most golfers to embrace a hybrid approach - a blend of AI for analysis with traditional coaching to retain feel and strategy. Are you interested in leveraging AI-driven coaching, gear analysis, or custom training solutions? Contact Requestum to enable your smart play via tailored AI solutions.