Golf and AI
No, this isn't about club selection...
Much has been made this year of AI - its pervasive appearance on all social media platforms, the backlash generated by huge data centers, and of course the fear that AI will destroy all of humanity in the next ten years.
I remember the first time I saw the movie " Polar Express", and was awestruck at just how good computer graphics had gotten. Then I saw the live-action version of "The Lion King" with photo-realistic animation.
Then I saw "Call of the Wild" which had an AI generated dog intermixed with real live actors. Then a Hollywood agent announced the availability of Tilly Norwood, a completely AI-generated actress that's available for use in movies.
And of course artists are having a field day with AI-generated pinups. To top it all off, you can find infomercials narrated by Bill Gates or Elon Musk on a miraculous new Alzheimer's cure. Their images, voices and mannerisms are spot on.
As you might expect, golf is no exception. Meet Gus the Caddy. Gus has been on the bag for 40 years. The character, featured widely across Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, explicitly states in his social media biographies that he is "An AI caddie."
The profile - which shares traditional golf wisdom, relatable humor, and course tips - is a clever marketing concept used to promote Fairway Field Guide, a website that provides golf trip cost estimators and travel planning tools. While the voice, scripts, and imagery are generated or enhanced using artificial intelligence, the platform uses the "Gus" persona to drive traffic to its trip-planning software.
What does Gus have to say? Exactly what you might expect from a guy that's been on the bag for 40 years.
- "Nobody has ever been dropped for shooting 95. Only if he took 5 hours to do it."
- "Don't bore everyone with how you won the C flight in 1994."
- "You don't expect to make a putt from 40 feet. You're just trying to get close."
- "Settle your bets cheerfully and move on."
- "Don't expect to carry the water from 230 yards. Lay up to 100, wedge on and two putt."
There's more - see for yourself on Facebook
Now, if only Gus could hit my ball... | 