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USA Today via Reuters

USA Today via Reuters

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  Debate

Debate

Is technology enhancing golf, or is it stripping away the human touch we love?

We all have seen a fair share of jobs getting taken over by modern technology and AI. From writers to voice artists and now even greenskeepers, it is always sad to watch as people lose their jobs to something they built themselves. While a lot of you may have thought that sports are something artificial intelligence can never take over, a similar case of this was seen at the Black Dessert Championship in Utah.

Fans are excited to see what this championship will bring to them and who will emerge victorious. A lot of top golfers like Kevin Streelman, Matt McCarty, and Sam Ryder are battling it out on the greens of Black Dessert Golf Course to take home the coveted title. And while everyone is indeed waiting for the moment, they can’t help but be shocked by what the PGA Tour has done.

In the latest post by the PGA Tour on X, the fans witnessed the advanced technology the Tour is using at the BDC Championship to ensure proper maintenance of the greens. Four automatic lawnmowers cut 51 acres every night from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m.; “Robot agronomy?! The future is now 🤖 Four self-driven mowers are deployed from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. to mow 51 acres of land @BDChampionship”, read the caption.

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And like many things in life, there are cons to this as well. A lot of greenskeepers have lost their jobs due to this innovation the tour has brought to the greens, and you bet the fans are angry. However, can we blame them?

Netizens are bashing the PGA Tour for taking away people’s jobs

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What’s your perspective on:

Is technology enhancing golf, or is it stripping away the human touch we love?

Have an interesting take?

While golf fans can be notorious for being angry about literally everything, they might be on to something here. Almost every comment on the latest PGA Tour post bashed them because of their latest move. “And now greenskeepers have no job! Great work team,” said one fan taking a facetious jab at the PGA Tour, while another fan said, “Taking jobs away from people, real  cool.” While the fans are not wrong here, this is not the first time something like this has happened in the golf industry.

Recently, the golf community saw something so shocking it left everyone speechless, AI Caddies! Yeah, no, we’re not making this up. These new electronic assistants were introduced to the game to help golfers play better by providing exact distances, analyzing swings, and offering personalized advice. But who uses them anyway? Well, quite a lot of golfers. Even top golfers like Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy use AI to perfect their game as they are like personal coaches to them. Reflecting on exactly that, this one fan said, “Not a fan of taking jobs away from man to machines.”

Golfers have been using AI in more things than you can imagine for instance their equipment! AI is used to enhance the club’s fitting and design and club fitters use AI to analyze swings and recommend personalized clubs and it’s working out quite well. You will be surprised to know that with just a few swings AI identifies the best clubs based on ball flight, spin rate, and clubhead speed. To add to that, AI also helps with designs like Callaway’s Epic Flash drivers. These innovations are only taking their jobs away from people, which is exactly what the fans are worried about.

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“Just another way to cut out jobs”, said one fan while another said, “Nah. Let people do the job.” And while the fans may be right here, it just isn’t that easy. With the technology going over the board these days, these are inevitable.

So what are your thoughts on the matter? Let us know in the comment section below!

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