Generative AI Allowed the PGA TOUR To Add Written Descriptions to 30,000 Shots A major goal of the generative-AI effort is more-personalized services for fans By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, March 25, 2025 - 3:40 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Every week, there is more clarity about how generative AI and the cloud offer new ways to create content more efficiently. The most recent example is from the PGA TOUR, which used generative AI to create written narrative copy for the TOURCAST app, allowing fans to not only see 30,000+ shots but also read commentary and details about them.
When the Tour began looking at generative AI, according to Scott Gutterman, SVP, digital and broadcast technologies, PGA TOUR, there was plenty of experimenting, but one question was always asked: what can generative AI do to improve Tour-related content creation and, ultimately, better serve fans, players, and the tournaments themselves?
It's about scaling coverage across the entire event, he says. Typically, our staff can cover 25 or 30 golfers, but, with generative-AI content generation and data collected through ShotLink powered by CDW, we can tell the story of every single player. And it's not in a basic way - like JJ Spaun hit a 300-yard drive and has 125 yards to the hole as we have done for years and years. Now it will add context: he just hit his longest drive of the day or, at 125 yards out, he gets to within 10 ft. of the hole 20% of the time. It effectively generates two things: a fact and the context about each shot. We're excited because it gives us that foundation to tell a story for every single shot.
The use of generative AI allowed the PGA TOUR to add shot descriptions to more than 30,000 shots during THE PLAYERS.
The effort has been two years in the making, and the Tour began working with AI partner AWS, becoming a foundation partner for the AWS Bedrock generative-AI toolset. Bedrock effectively allows you to use almost any generative-AI model and a suite of tools to create these types of experiences, Gutterman explains. We are using Anthropic's Claude models to create these types of experiences. In particular, we're using the Anthropic Claude 3.5 Sonnet and have spent the past year moving away from proofs of concept and instead figuring out to operationalize it.
Moving beyond POCs involved building a set of data-acquisition and context services to take data from ShotLink and apply a rules engine so that the prompt engine knows how to use the data and apply context that makes sense: for example, after a player hits the first tee shot of the day off the first hole, it doesn't write that the player hit the longest drive of the day.
You have the data coming in and the context services that talk to a rules base that includes things like prioritizing what types of things to talk about, he adds. For example, we can tell it to talk about greens in regulations on approach shots every three narratives so that the text doesn't become redundant across all the players. We also teach the model with different ways to talk about a drive so that it isn't described the same way every time or the same way a putt would be described. All of that is fed into the Anthropic cloud model to generate the narratives.
The output narrative from Claude 3.5 Sonnet goes through a validation service to make sure the ShotLink data referred to in the output matches up with what was input into the system (for example, drive distance). The next step is cosine similarity: the system makes sure the text falls within a range of how one would talk about a drive. If it passes those tests, the text is sent to the publishing engine, where additional tests ensure complete accuracy.
During THE PLAYERS Championship, Gutterman says, the accuracy on the 30,000 shots was around 96%, which is where we thought we would be.
The system is currently text-based because the models do not process video, especially live video from an event, Gutterman points out. We are building toward a day when it'll be a combination of live data, live audio, live video and then using a multimodal output to create a video and generate a voice. We are working with AWS on a synthetic voice that can read off the prompts. We'll eventually get there.
Bedrock allows the PGA TOUR to be model-agnostic and find the best model for the task. If future models can do a function at a cheaper cost, the Tour can pivot to it without issues. You'll hear some people talking about a model that can do everything, he notes. What we're seeing is, that is not the case. We want to be able to use Antrophic for this instance but use AWS Nova, which is brand new, for things like image recognition and other work. And there will probably be another model for things like translation.
The Tour continues to build internal tools, such as story-generation tools and the synthetic-voice commentary capabilities. For five years, Gutterman explains, we have not had commentary on the 48 streams of Every Shot Live, It has just been natural sound and stats. Our goal is always to have a human telling the story, but having two commentators across 48 streams all day is cost-prohibitive. With AI, the viewer could turn on commentary the same way they turn on closed captioning. And, if they want it in Spanish, they can have that as well.
Those types of personalized services are the goal for much of the generative-AI effort, he adds. It moves us down the road of hyper-personalization, where a fan can get a story at the end of the day with the best video from their favorite players. And we can start to do things like predictive engagement, where the app already knows what you like and just serves you what you want.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
12/01/2026
Sports and Music Unite: A Look Back at the Operationally Ambitious FIFA Club Wor...
12/01/2026
Nielsen Panel Discussion Highlights World Cup Impact for FOX, Telemundo, MetLife...
12/01/2026
FIFA President Infantino Highlights How AI Will Impact 2026 FIFA World Cup and B...
12/01/2026
Baltimore Ravens' Jack Dana on Telling a Better Story With Media Management ...
12/01/2026
FOX Sports' Brad Cheney on Spectrum Debate's Impact on the Sports-Produc...
12/01/2026
Spotify's new co-CEOs, Alex Norstr m and Gustav S derstr m, start off the new year with a message of renewed leadership, creative responsibility, and what&#...
12/01/2026
At Spotify, we listen to a lot of music. And every year, our global editors and artist partnerships teams come together to spotlight the emerging voices we beli...
12/01/2026
Spotify's global editors and Songwriter & Publisher Partnerships team spend their days immersed in new music, tracking the writers behind the songs breaking...
12/01/2026
Nominations open for the fifth Australia for UNHCR - SBS Les Murray Award for Re...
12/01/2026
Australia and New Zealand VP Alan Clements shares L3Harris' leadership insig...
12/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
12/01/2026
Berklee International Folk Festival Celebrates 40 Years Featuring Grammy-winning alumna Arooj Aftab, the milestone concert and weeklong festival marks four de...
12/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
12/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
12/01/2026
X-Rite and Rhopoint Launch Rhopoint PANTORA Aesthetix to Streamline Creation of...
12/01/2026
12 Jan 2026
VEON's Kyivstar Launches 5G Pilot in Lviv Lviv, January 12, 2026 - VEON, a global digital operator (Nasdaq: VEON), today announces that Kyivsta...
12/01/2026
Monday 12 January 2026
The ultimate betrayal: Harry and Jamie Redknapp, Paul Me...
12/01/2026
Rohde & Schwarz opens larger office in Japan to increase its support for the Jap...
12/01/2026
Back to All News
WWE By the Numbers: Celebrating One Year on Netflix
From left to right: Rey Mysterio, Intercontinental Champion John Cena and Sheamus celebr...
12/01/2026
Welcome to the AVECO team: introducing new members of management
At AVECO, we are continuing to implement our #newAVECO strategy, which aims to build an even s...
12/01/2026
For the first time in the nine-year history of Dancing with the Stars, the first...
10/01/2026
By Bailey Pennick
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...
10/01/2026
This year, podcasts are making their Golden Globes debut with a new category honoring the medium's leading shows and creators. To mark the occasion, Spotify...
10/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
10/01/2026
Back to All News
Connection and Youth Defined: The Ramparts of Ice Brings a Hea...
09/01/2026
Rock-It Sports' Deron Brown & Laura Rowlands on Launching a New Brand, Suppl...
09/01/2026
Warner Bros. Discovery's Chris Brown on the Broadcaster's First French O...
09/01/2026
NFL Playoffs 2026: CBS Sports Travels to Jacksonville With Packed Arsenal of Pro...
09/01/2026
NFL Playoffs 2026: NBC Sports Is Set To Roll Out New Scorebar, Insert Graphics T...
09/01/2026
NFL Playoffs 2026: Prime Video Production Team Caps Historic Season With Iconic ...
09/01/2026
NFL Playoffs 2026: FOX Sports Kicks Off Postseason Slate With Two-Game Wild Card...
09/01/2026
NFL Playoffs 2026: ESPN's Run Brings Monday Night Football' Flagship Op...
09/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
09/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
09/01/2026
SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, today introduced the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning...
09/01/2026
Globecast, the leading provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, today announced the appointment of Chris Pulis as Group Chief Technology...
09/01/2026
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) today announced several updates to its board of directors. As part of HPA s annual governance cycle, new leadership...
09/01/2026
SDVI, the leading platform provider for cloud-native media supply chains, today announced that Simon Eldridge has been appointed chief operating officer. In thi...
09/01/2026
Cobalt Digital, the leading designer and manufacturer of award-winning ST 2110 and SDI signal processing products, and a founding partner in the openGear initi...
09/01/2026
iWedia, a global leader in connected TV software solutions, announces that its market-proven ATSC 3.0 software stack is powering the broadcast functionality of ...
09/01/2026
Amino, a global leader in enterprise video and digital signage technology, today announced a strategic partnership with Xibo, a leading global digital signage s...
09/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
09/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
09/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
09/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
Generative AI Allowed the PGA TOUR To Add Written Descriptions to 30,000 Shots A major goal of the generative-AI effort is more-personalized services for fans By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
