ChatGPT is all the rage right now, but can this AI-chatbot help you improve your golf game? Of course, it’s still in its early stages, and there are teething issues that need addressing, but for the most part, ChatGPT seems to deliver great information with an expert level of comprehension.
If you ask it questions, could ChatGPT help you break 80?
We took ChatGPT for a spin to see if it could help you break a huge barrier for many golfers. Read to the end to see our final review and if you can fire your golf coach and start using AI.
My Approach: Could ChatGPT Be Your Golf Coach?
For my question, I thought I’d ask ChatGPT golf tips on how to improve my score. While I threw in a score of 80, the tips provided can likely help players (like myself) who are still working on getting to that level.
My first prompt: Give me 10 ways I can break 80 in golf
The initial response is quite lengthy, so I’ve shortened each tip ChatGPT provided into a concise bullet point. We’ll expand on each of these in the following sections.
ChatGPT’s advice to break 80 is to:
- Improve your putting
- Practice chipping and pitching
- Work on your course management
- Focus on accuracy over distance
- Develop a consistent pre-shot routine
- Practice your short game
- Learn to control your emotions
- Practice regularly
- Consider taking lessons
- Stay positive and have fun
10 Tips To Help You Break 80: ChatGPT Questions and Answers
1. Improve Your Putting
What are the top three tips for improving your putting? Let’s see:
How Did ChatGPT Do?
These are 3 pretty good tips. All three bullet points address the fundamentals of putting. However, they lack the detail you may need to take action.
What about putting aids? Although it’s a minor point, ChatGPT could have mentioned the usefulness of alignment aids in striking the ball precisely. I also think the bot should have described how the length of the backswing and through-swing differs depending on the length of the putt.
Furthermore, ChatGPT does not discuss the horizontal side-to-side survey to check the sideways incline of the putt you are facing. This is one of the most important steps to undertake when putting as a basic vertical survey is insufficient.
Our Rating: 3 out of 5
Read more: 6 Best Golf Swing Tips (With Photos)
2. Practice Chipping and Pitching
What are your top three tips for practicing chipping and pitching? Let’s see:
How Did ChatPGT Do?
One feature I like about ChatGPT is that it has memory features — each prompt isn’t an isolated question. The bot can build upon prior prompts and adhere to sequential commands.
In bullet point 2, it references the prior question I asked, stating that one’s setup is important for chipping and pitching, just like for putting.
While the three tips it provided are a good start for improving chipping and pitching, again, I feel the information could be better.
What about grip? The bot didn’t mention anything about having a soft grip or striking the ball on the downward portion of the stroke, which I feel is pretty important to discuss.
Our Rating: 4 out of 5
3. Work on Your Course Management
What are your top 3 tips to work on my golf course management? Let’s see:
How Did ChatGPT Do?
The response to question 3 is one of the better ones in my opinion, probably because it requires less technical information. These three bullet points summarize almost all the main information about golf course management.
What about yardage? The only extra detail I would have added here is the importance of knowing your yardage with each club. This is an important facet of planning your next shot because if you don’t know how far you can hit the ball with each of your clubs, you’re simply guessing, which is never a good idea.
Our Rating: 5 out of 5
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4. Focus on Accuracy Over Distance
What are your top 3 tips on how to focus on accuracy over distance? Let’s see:
How Did ChatGPT Do?
Like question 3, I’m pretty impressed with the tips here. Picking the right club for the job is especially important. And sacrificing a longer club for a shorter one can certainly pay off in some situations, especially regarding accuracy.
What about alignment? The only piece of information I feel is missing is that of alignment. In the “develop a consistent swing” section, ChatGPT could have discussed feet and shoulder placement, perhaps even ball placement.
Another useful element of accuracy is players’ natural draw or fade. Recognizing this predisposition can address it in your shots and hit the ball more accurately. ChatGPT does not mention this, and I’m not surprised, given how generic the bot’s answers can be.
Our Rating: 4 out of 5
5. Develop a Consistent Pre-Shot Routine
What are your top 3 tips on how to develop a consistent pre-shot routine? Let’s see:
How Did ChatGPT Do?
This is one of ChatGPT’s worst responses — it’s too generic for my liking.
ChatGPT could have condensed these three bullet points into one to cover more important information. There is no mention of the specifics of the pre-shot routine, which I feel is essential to developing consistency.
I would have liked to see ChatGPT discuss specifics such as shot visualization, foot alignment, getting a good grip, and executing a practice swing.
Our Rating: 1 out of 5
6. Practice Your Short Game
What are your top 3 tips on how I can improve my short game in golf? Let’s see:
How Did ChatGPT Do?
I have mixed opinions about this response. While I agree that focusing on technique and developing touch and feel is essential to have a strong short game, the detail provided is a little surface-level. For example, the bot could have mentioned the importance of avoiding a tight grip as players make this common mistake.
Also, I feel the first bullet point is a bit of a waste. Although practice is essential, it is a bit of a given. If it were omitted, ChatGPT could have discussed something more insightful like tackling different lies.
Our Rating: 2 out of 5
7. Learn to Control Your Emotions
What are your top 3 tips on controlling my emotions while playing golf? Let’s see:
How Did ChatGPT Do?
All of these points for controlling your emotions are spot on. But once again, I feel like the first and second bullet points could have been merged into one, as they are directly related.
I’m glad to see positive talk mentioned, as this is one of the main ways I keep my emotions in check. Of course, you don’t need to speak positive phrases. Just think about them actively.
Another strategy I often use is to take my time and not rush. I feel like this is a mistake a lot of people make. Perhaps if I’d allowed ChatGPT to propose more than three tips, it would have discussed this.
Our Rating: 3 out of 5
8. Practice Regularly
What are the top 3 tips on ensuring I get enough golf practice? Let’s see:
How Did ChatGPT Do?
The response to this question is good, in my opinion. All three pieces of advice are good ways to ensure that practice sessions happen.
That being said, for me, point 3 isn’t as compelling as the others. I feel that getting friendly with a fellow golfer to hold me accountable is more likely to result in me practicing regularly.
Equally, I feel that recommending I focus on enjoyment rather than performance will make me keener to hit the course.
Our Rating: 4 out of 5
9. Consider Taking Lessons
What are the 3 reasons why I should get a coach? Let’s see:
How Did ChatGPT Do?
ChatGPT is right on the money with this answer. If I were to list three reasons myself as to why getting a coach is useful, I’m pretty sure I would have ended up with the same three points.
Perhaps ChatGPT could have emphasized that coaches can identify flaws in your game that you can’t see. But then again, it’s essentially implied by saying that they are experts.
What about personalized drills? Similarly, if I’m being picky, for the “personalized instruction” bullet point, the bot could have explicitly stated that coaches can create personalized drills. Not just personalized instructions on technique. I feel that this is worth distinguishing as you don’t need your coach to be around to practice a certain drill, but you do need them around to highlight mistakes that you are making.
Our Rating: 5 out of 5
Read also: The Best Online Golf Lessons
10. Stay Positive and Have Fun
What are 3 tips for staying positive and having fun while playing golf? Let’s see:
How Did ChatGPT Do?
The answer to question 10 is another great response from the ChatGPT bot. Once again, these are three points that would have been at the forefront of my mind if I were asked the same question.
I particularly like how in point 1 the bot focuses on remembering that golf is just a game, and its primary goal is enjoyment rather than performance. I also agree that it’s important to try and appreciate the company of our training partners.
Other points the bot could have mentioned include positive self-talk (which was mentioned in question 7), and celebrating small milestones. The latter could have easily been woven into bullet point 2 as it is right on topic. For instance, your overall performance on a given day may have been poor, but if you hit an excellent 1 in 1000 shot, that is well worth celebrating.
Our Rating: 5 out of 5
How Is ChatGPT At Providing Golf Tips?
All in all, I think we can agree that ChatGPT did a pretty fantastic job at giving us tips on how to break 80. It first gave us our 10 ways to improve, and when prompted for further advice for each tip, it provided an okay level of detail in a numbered fashion for clarity.
Sometimes ChatGPT spits out incorrect data (it’s not perfect just yet!), however, I studied all of the advice it provided and couldn’t find any issues. Rather, as expected, the problem I found is that responses are broad, and lack adequate detail. Much of the time ChatGPT describes a particular action that you should do rather than explaining how to do it.
While this is true, you can always refine your responses to hone in on particular areas, and you can also ask for more detail. So I’m probably being a bit harsh here.
More to the point, it lacks what I like to call “human experience”. Whenever I’m researching methods to improve, I long for guides that not only go into detail about correct execution, but also common mistakes and how to rectify them. In my experience, ChatGPT doesn’t tend to deliver these kind of responses that I so desperately crave.
Do We Recommend ChatGPT for Golf Advice?
Total Rating of ChatGPT’s Answers: 36 out of 50
We certainly do. All of the questions proposed to ChatGPT stemmed from its own response to our initial prompt: ”Give me 10 ways I can break 80 in golf”.
We found that its responses to these questions were useful and accurate. And we expect if you ask it similar golf-related questions you too will find its responses helpful.
However, we do want to take a second to stress that ChatGPT is no substitute for a golf coach. While it can provide a solid foundation for advice, it will not help you correct the mistakes in your game if you cannot recognize them for yourself (you can’t ask what you don’t know). So if you’re serious about improving, you may want a coach or a fellow skilled player to help highlight mistakes that you are making.
Other Interesting Reads
- How to Hit a Golf Ball Straight: 10 Tips
- Golf Ball Position Chart: Are You Striking the Ball All Wrong?
- Lag Putting: 4 Tips to Avoid Three-Putts
Alex’s routes in sports began with football and now mostly focuses on ping pong and golf. Alex loves the strategy and is always looking for a competitive edge. This is what drove him to write strategy guides and product reviews. He takes great pride in spreading his knowledge and loves to coach fellow players. You can connect with him on LinkedIn, IG, FB, or alexhorscroftwriting@gmail.com.
