 |
|
|
|||||
Artificial intelligence is infiltrating every corner of professional sports, from scouting and injury prevention to scheduling. Now, it looks like golf has its most sophisticated AI adoption yet, and it’s happening in the bag of Bryson DeChambeau, the sport’s most notorious tinkerer. “We’re building an AI golf coach,” DeChambeau says. “Essentially, it will be a golf coach that, based on data, will be able to tell you exactly what you’re doing, how to practice, and how to improve your game. We can take a golf swing, compile the information, upload it, and within a minute, it will give me what’s different from my gold standard set of swings.” The setup is deceptively simple: a smartphone on a tripod gathering data via video, paired with Google’s Gemini AI to interpret said data. Combined, they create a swing coach so intuitive that DeChambeau uses it even moments before teeing off in a tournament. The mental game is something I’ve always struggled with, he says. But whenever I become a little more confident and comfortable with my feel, my mental game goes extremely positive. And this assistant has helped me become a lot more confident with my golf swing. AI + AI = Coach DeChambeau’s coaching system starts with SportsBox, an AI-powered 3D biomechanical analysis app that analyzes over 30 key points on the body, club, and ball per golf swing. It measures everything from rotational range of motion to kinematic sequencingthe precise order in which different body parts accelerate and decelerate through the swing. This data is then processed by Gemini AI to turn those measurements into actionable coaching insights. Think of SportsBox as the measuring tool, Gemini as the AI coach agent, and Google Cloud as the platform hosting it all. The system starts by building and maintaining a database of DeChambeaus optimal swings from recent years to create his gold standard set. So, when he hits a poor shot, the AI immediately measures that shot against his gold standard set and ranks the factors most likely contributing to the miss. “We can take a golf swing, then upload it, and within a minute, it will give me what’s different from my gold standard set of swings,” he says. It will give me a rundown list of the top [deviations] that are correlating to whatevers causing me to miss. According to Granville Valentine, managing director of AI go-to-market at Google Cloud, its Gemini’s multimodal capabilities that bring the SportsBox data to life, creating the interactive coaching agent. “Gemini is very differentiated on multimodalitythe ability to ingest the combination of video, audio, text, and voice, and even livestreaming some of those capabilities into the model, he says. The combination of really deep video understanding plus core reasoning comes out in differentiated coaching guidance.” The devil’s in the details The granular nature of DeChambeau’s AI coaching reveals just how sophisticated modern sports analytics has become. The system uses Z-scoresstatistical measurements showing how many standard deviations a movement is from the mean of a data setto identify exactly where problems occur. Previously, DeChambeau would capture swing data but wait hours or days for analysis. With this technology, he gets feedback within a minute, allowing for real-time adjustments before a round. We were going through [the data] by hand in an Excel spreadsheet, he says. It was a manual process, very difficult. So youre talking about months and months of trying to study the golf swing, now done in minutes. The data is also surprisingly precise. Let’s say it’s a radial deviation at P6, DeChambeau says. That’s too much, meaning I’ve got too much wrist hinge, which makes the club come more outside in. So it’s very specific. For us non-DeChambeaus who got lost at radial deviation and checked out at P6, thats where Gemini comes to the rescue. The AI’s ability to adapt its communication style allows users to train it to explain complex biomechanical concepts in terms appropriate for any skill level. Like other large language models, you can ask it questions, such as what specific terms mean, and as your understanding grows, it will adapt to give you more granular, technical data, meeting each golfer where he or she is at. Old dog, new tricks When he began using this technology earlier this year, DeChambeau found one of his fundamental beliefs about his swing challenged. For years, he says, he thought he needed to stay more centered over the ballmore on top of itwhen hitting his driver. The AI consistently told him otherwise, saying he was too on top of the ball. It told me to keep swaying my chest just a bit back on the backstroke to get my center mass more behind the golf ball so I can allow the club to release through the impact more, he says. So that just blew my mind at how precise this assistant is. It was kind of a kick-in-the-butt moment of, wait, you gotta start trusting this thing. Eventually, he realized the AI’s objectivity as its strength. Its unbiased, he says. It doesnt tell you what it thinks you should do. Its literally based on what you do when youre doing your best, and keeps you in check with that. Democratizing elite-level instruction The rapid evolution of AI coaching technology suggests we’re witnessing the early stages of a broader transformation in sports training. Valentine points to each new release of Gemini, which shows consistent step-function improvements in spatial awareness and reasoning capabilities. “With each subsequent release, breakthroughs are happening,” he says, comparing Geminis current moment to the early days of Waymo self-driving cars, which needed time to become trustworthy enough for widespread adoption. That level of trustthat level of breakthrough in the model itselfis now kicking over to a place where humans have the confidence to rely on this as a coach relative to a human coach. Still, Valentine says, the ultimate goal is not to replace human coaches, but to democratize access to elite-level instruction. I don’t think the objective is to get rid of coaches, he says. I think its to deliver access to those folks who don’t have access to coaches. There are lots of folks in the world who would probably be very well served to have access to coaching, it just hasnt been available to them.” At the PGA Tour level, DeChambeau believes there are further use cases for the tool, and that widespread adoption is inevitable once other players experience the results hes seen. When these [other golfers] see what the capabilities are, they’ll immediately latch onto it, hesays. Because it’s not about some theoretical idea. It’s about what works best for them as an individual. I cant wait for a day when its a full-on coach, club fitter, you name it. Were just at the beginning.
Category:
E-Commerce
Its Sunday night. Before kids, this was the time to nurse a mimosa hangover and zone out to The Sopranos. Now? Its a very different playbook. Sunday evenings feel less like a gentle exhale from the weekend and more like staging a Broadway play with a cast that hasnt rehearsed and refuses to put on pants. You are simultaneously the chef, chauffeur, hairdresser, homework coach, and emotional support animal. For parents, the Sunday Scaries dont whisper your inbox is waiting. They shout: Did you wash the soccer uniform? Are there enough snacks for afterschool? Is the social studies project due tomorrow or Wednesday? Ugh! Did I RSVP for that birthday party? The stress creeps up way before the Monday morning alarm. Workweek Ericka already has 15 Google Meets scheduled, but Mom Ericka must also make sure small humans leave the house with a full water bottle, completed homework, and hair appears combed. And unlike our carefree twenties, we cant just order Pad Thai at 10 p.m. and call it dinner for two days. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2015\/08\/erikaaslogo.png","headline":"Girl, Listen: A Guide to What Really Matters","description":"Ericka dives into the heat of modern motherhood, challenging the notion that personal identity must be sacrificed at the altar of parenting. ","substackDomain":"https:\/\/erickasouter.substack.com\/","colorTheme":"blue","redirectUrl":""}} The case for Sunday systems Heres the encouraging news: you dont have to live in perpetual scramble mode. Research consistently shows that people who plan and structure their weeks report lower stress and greater well-being. Weekly planning reduces rumination. In a field experiment, people who sketched out their week in advance reported fewer 2 a.m. spirals about forgotten tasks and felt more engaged during the day. Routines stabilize mental health. Psychologists link chaotic home routines to worse parental well-being, especially during school transitions. Planning boosts control. Other studies show that planning is correlated with a greater sense of progress and competencethe feeling that youre steering the ship instead of clinging to the side in rough seas. Of course, lets be clear: folding laundry does not spark joy. Its possible that people who are naturally calmer are also more inclined to plan. But the evidence leans in a direction every parent instinctively knows: structure is sanity. How to survive (without spiraling) The trick isnt to banish the Sunday Scariesyou wont, unless you invent a time machine or outsource your children. The goal is to outmaneuver them with rituals that make Monday feel less like an ambush. Hold a Family Staff MeetingYes, it sounds corporate but it works. Ten minutes where everyone lays out the week: who needs poster board, who has soccer practice, whos on snack duty. Cookies as bribes are encouraged. Do Laundry Like Its GospelUniforms, tights, hoodies, and beloved blankies must be washed and folded by 7 p.m. Otherwise, youll discover the only clean option is a Halloween cape on Wednesday morning. Play Fridge TetrisStock the fridge like a level of Tetris: cheese sticks where you can grab them, sandwich fixings prepped, carrots visible so you can feel virtuous (even if no one eats them). With a system in place, you can turn Sunday night from a slow-motion panic spiral into something approaching serenity. Because Monday morning will still bring tears over the wrong-colored water bottle, but if the bags are packed, the laundry is folded, and the fridge is stocked, you will survive with a little more calm, and maybe even brushed hair. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2015\/08\/erikaaslogo.png","headline":"Girl, Listen: A Guide to What Really Matters","description":"Ericka dives into the heat of modern motherhood, challenging the notion that personal identity must be sacrificed at the altar of parenting. ","substackDomain":"https:\/\/erickasouter.substack.com\/","colorTheme":"blue","redirectUrl":""}}
Category:
E-Commerce
I was one of the millions of people who lost someone to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the nonstop news about the new normal, my grief felt invisible. I took shallow solace in my phone and turned to social media to numb me from the reality that I now lived in: a world without my dad. One day, while mindlessly scrolling, I came across the r/Squishmallow subreddit, where a girl had posted her collection of more than 100 round plush toys. They were called Squishmallowsround stuffed animals invented in 2017 that have become one of the most popular toy lines in the world, with more than 100 million sold each year. I was hypnotized. I expected that my dive into the Squishmallow phenomenon would be the usual two-hour rabbit hole, but spending time in that community was the first joy Id felt in months. After scrolling through endless photos of Squishmallow hauls, I worked up the courage to post. I asked if there was a cardinal Squishmallow, since that bird was my dads symbol for his own father. I was bombarded with compassion; even though cardinal Squishmallows were rare at the time, someone sent me theirs for free. That single act of generosity started my collection. Stumbling into the Squishmallow world But alongside kindness and joy, I encountered a darker side of the community: resellers. Finding the most coveted Squishmallows could turn into a fierce competition. This wasnt just my personal frustration. As a doctoral candidate in marketing, I wanted to understand how communities like this function when outsiders exploit their passion for profit. That became the focus of my dissertationthe first study to examine resellers psychological and emotional impact on brand communities. That researchwhich my colleagues and I published in one of the fields top journalsechoed what I had lived through as a collector: Resellers are one of the most consistent sources of pain for members of brand communities. A Squishmallow reseller discusses his technique. For example, when I heard that my local Hot Topic would be selling two Reshmas, the coveted strawberry cow Squishmallow, I, like any rational adult, found myself outside of a mall at 6:30 in the morning. When the doors finally opened at 11 a.m., I sprinted to the storefrontonly to find that I had been beaten by some people who had dressed as mall employees to sneak in early. I left devastated and cowless. Later that day, I saw the same people gloating in local Squishmallow Facebook groups, trying to resell the cow for more than 10 times the retail price. I was heartbroken and angry; I swore Id never collect again. And I wasnt the only one to feel that way: Across social media, youll find countless collectors venting about resellers. What is a brand community? I didnt know it then, but I had joined my first brand community: a group of consumers who form strong, meaningful connections through their shared admiration of a product. Brand communities range from giant online hubs with more than 100,000 members to tiny local groups that host trading parties in empty lots. You might be in a brand community without realizing it. These communities can be created by a companylike Harley-Davidson, Lego, and Hot Wheelsor emerge organically from fans, like the Facebook group Walt Disney World Tips and Tricks. And they arent just about buying and selling. Theyre creative ecosystems, full of posts showing collections, inventive displays, and even goodbye messages when someone rehomes an item to another loving collector. Community members help each other solve problems, share leads on hard-to-find items, and sometimes even mail strangers a plush toy because they know it will make them smile. But while collectors use these communities to exchange information, so do resellers. The reseller paradox: A shared enemy can unite a community Resellers are outsiders who buy the most sought-after items and flip them online for a profit. They scout inventory tips, track hot products, and plan their shelf-clearing strategies accordingly. And they infuriate collectors like me. Nothing sours the thrill of the hunt faster than seeing a shelf cleared by someone who only wants to use your sacred collectibles for profit. After feeling emotional pain myself, I wanted to understand why resellers bothered me so much, and what they meant for the communities that had become my lifeline. That frustration became the spark for my research. What I found surprised me. As a collector, nothing frustrates me more than to say: According to my research, resellers paradoxically strengthen brand communities. Yes, you read that right. Resellers help communities, but not because they try to help members acquire their desired items. In fact, my findings indicate that resellers inflict heartbreak on community memberswhich was in line with what I saw and experienced. Resellers help brand communities because they create a common enemy that the community can rally against. When resellers grab all the stock from a store shelf, collectors turn to each other. They vent. They strategize. They share tips on where to find certain items, offer to pick up extras for strangers, and organize trades to help each other avoid inflated resale prices. Ironically, the people causing the most frustration also increase community engagement. Brand communities are real communities These communities reminded me that you are never truly alone in our darkest moments. Joining a niche community, whether for sneakers, trading cards, cars or even Squishmallows, can enrich your life far beyond the products themselves. It wasnt the Squishmallows that helped me heal from loss; it was the connection that lived in threads, comments, and group chats. I even came to appreciate the villains of the communityresellersfor their role in bringing people together. Although I still think I deserve that strawberry cow more than they did. Danielle Hass is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Marketing at West Virginia University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||