Golf is a game built on tradition, but one that continually strives to better itself through innovation and technological advancements.
Callaway Golf’s latest original series, Forefront, explores some of the revolutionary trends in golf that are driving the future of the game – ranging from the use of Artificial Intelligence in equipment to golf course architecture and even interactive screen golf, which has taken South Korea’s golf landscape by storm.
See below for each episode in Callaway’s newest three-part series as well as more information on each episode.
Callaway Golf
Callaway was the first manufacturer to make the prolific leap from persimmon wood to metal driver heads with the launch of the legendary Big Bertha. Now at the “magical” hands and mind of Dr. Alan Hocknell and his R&D team comes the extraordinary leap from human only to A.I designed club heads.
Callaway engineers use Artificial Intelligence to exponentially speed up innovation by programming their desired results into the supercomputer system using precise aerospace-born measurement instruments, golfer swing data, and specific material specs. They then use machine learning to optimize every variation of construction thousands of times to reach the optimal design. The drivers are then tested in real life by golfers and that data is sent back into the system to refine the design even further.
In this episode of Forefront, Dr. Hocknell, head of research and development, is your guide into the halls of Callaway Golf where the next generation of golf equipment is being invented.
Bobby Jones
Eight tees for every hole? Two holes on every green? When Marty Elgison and course designer, Bobby Cupp, revitalized one of the oldest public golf course in Atlanta, they created one of the most revolutionary and innovative layouts golf has ever seen … reversible golf course.
Bobby Jones Golf Course in Atlanta, Georgia, is innovating course design for the future of golf in urban areas. To build and maintain a reversible course designed with two tracks for a total of 18 holes using only nine greens takes genius engineering, creative problem solving, and a team of experts in every area of course management. Not only did they create 18 holes in the footprint of nine but designed eight tee boxes for each hole so golfers of every skill level can tee off in the best position to maintain pace of play and hedge scoring for each player making it fun for adults to play with kids or scratch golfers with high handicapped players.
In this episode of Forefront, Bobby Jones Foundation president Elgison is our guide into the aforementioned design of the course, it’s history, and the team that keeps is going.
Screen Golf
South Korea has become the first country where more rounds of “screen golf” are played annually than on-course. For a nation passionate about the sport, but with limited access to courses, screen golf has emerged as a cultural phenomenon and a way of life.
“Screen Golf” is so pervasive in South Korea that it’s application is being used for training players to go pro, for friendly outings (weekly and daily), as well as an employee satisfaction tool after being installed in the workplace to keep them happy and recharged. As with any technological advancement for the future of golf, engineers and data scientists are consistently iterating functionality to keep the experience accurate, useful, and most importantly fun.
In this episode of Forefront, a cast of interesting characters are your guide through the Screen Golf revolution happening in South Korea.
