
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
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
30/06/2025
SBS On Demand boosts global news offering with launch of France 24 FAST Channel
30 June, 2025
Media releases
SBS is expanding its international news offeri...
30/06/2025
Star Studded Ensemble Cast Are Joined by Richard Rankin as Filming Begins on the Second Season
[June 12, 2025 - Boston, MA]: The Forsytes, Debbie Horsfield...
30/06/2025
The Artemis II Space Launch System core stage is integrated with the solid rocket boosters inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy S...
30/06/2025
RALEIGH, N.C. Capitol Broadcasting Co. has named Heather Gray vice president and general manager of WRAL-TV and WRAZ-TV here....
30/06/2025
The Virginia Association of Broadcasters has recognized Bill Sewell, Director of Engineering at WTKR & WGNT in Norfolk, Va. as the recipient of the 2025 J.J. Fr...
30/06/2025
The Society of Broadcast Engineers said its annual member drive resulted in the recruitment of 49 individual members....
30/06/2025
BURLINGTON, Mass. Avid today released its fully integrated news platform, uniting MediaCentral and Wolftech News in a single newsroom solution, and will demonst...
30/06/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communication's Enforcement and Media Bureaus have entered into a Consent Decree with Sinclair Broadcast Group to resolve a variety o...
30/06/2025
Eurorack sequencer module reimagined
California-based modular synth innovators Qu-Bit have announced the launch of a new module that offers a fresh new take...
30/06/2025
Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics to Host 40th Anniversary Concert The celebration will be held on July 10 in Perugia, Italy.
By
Colette Greenstein
June 30, 202...
30/06/2025
PremiumBeat Tips and Tricks
Brie Clayton June 30, 2025
0 Comments
When editing to impress, you'll need quality music, and if your studio happens t...
30/06/2025
Improved dynamic behaviour, improved audio quality & more
Techivation have announced the release of an upgraded edition of their very first premium plug-in,...
30/06/2025
German premiere with live flight demonstration: German industry team showcases e...
30/06/2025
Back to All News
Bel n Cuesta and Karra Elejalde Star in El ni o, the New Film ...
30/06/2025
Back to All News
A New Dangerous Troll Awakens: Netflix Unleashes Teaser for Troll 2Play Video
Play Video
Entertainment
30 June 2025
GlobalNorwayDenmarkSwe...
30/06/2025
The Focusrite Summer Sale is now on Don't miss unbeatable deals on Scarlett, Vocaster, and more.
Whether you're an artist, a producer, or a podcaste...
30/06/2025
All 8 episodes of Season 1 of 1923 will be available on RT Player from Tuesday ...
30/06/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
52% report AI security spending is displacing tr...
30/06/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Cannes, June 30th, 2025 - Thales Alenia Space, t...
29/06/2025
Handpan-inspired instrument announced
Roland have announced the launch of the Mood Pan, a unique electronic hand percussion instrument that has been designe...
29/06/2025
Back to All News
A Secret Society, Ritualistic Killings, and a Century-Old Curs...
28/06/2025
Johannesburg, 27 June 2025 - As the nation commemorates Youth Month
2025, the N...
28/06/2025
WASHINGTON In a press conference following the Federal Communications Commission's May Open Meeting, Chair Brendan Carr promised the agency would move rapid...
28/06/2025
STAMFORD, Conn. Charter Communications has awarded $1.1 million in Spectrum Digital Education grants to 55 nonprofit organizations that work to expand access to...
28/06/2025
LAKE FOREST, Calif. June 19, 2025
What's New:
Sonnet Technologies today announced the certification of its Echo 20 Thunderbolt 4 SuperDock as an Engin...
28/06/2025
MASV (massive.io), the fastest and most reliable large file transfer platform for media professionals, has been named an IDC Innovator in the IDC Innovators: Me...
28/06/2025
Grass Valley today announced that TV SKYLINE GmbH, one of Europe's top mobile production providers, has expanded its camera inventory with 30 LDX 135 UHD/HD...
28/06/2025
AgileTV, a European leader in TV and video technology solutions, signed an agreement with Austrian telco LIWEST to develop and implement its TV service in Austr...
28/06/2025
Music theory plug-in updated
Three months on from the release of the latest version of their renowned music theory plug in, Scaler Music have launched an up...
28/06/2025
The 48th Annual Indian National Finals Rodeo Shot with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K
Brie Clayton June 27, 2025
0 Comments
Filmmaker Cameron Mackey relied on Bl...
28/06/2025
Social, Streaming Don't Compete, They Compliment
Andy Marken June 27, 2025
0 Comments
I think we've all arrived at a very special place. Spir...
28/06/2025
Blackmagic Design Captures Filipino Rock Band Drama Singtala
Brie Clayton June 27, 2025
0 Comments
Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K and DaVinci Resolve St...
28/06/2025
Enhance Videos Faster with Aiarty Video Enhancer - Offline, Sharp, and Natural
Brie Clayton June 27, 2025
0 Comments
If you've used AI video tools...
27/06/2025
By Jessica Herndon
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Fest...
27/06/2025
K-Pop remains one of the biggest genres globally, and many fans just can't get enough of it. That's why Spotify has launched a new series of K-Pop perf...
27/06/2025
In our latest blog post, Rafael Rivera highlights the rising threat of online scams, and the important role cybersecurity plays in protecting families across ge...
27/06/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has set deadlines for comments to a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to codify certain foreign ownership re...
27/06/2025
WASHINGTON In a press conference following the Federal Communications Commission's May Open Meeting, Chair Brendan Carr promised the agency would move rapid...
27/06/2025
From grounded realism to bending, impossible geometries
Klevgrand have announced the release of a new algorithmic reverb plug-in which they say deconstruct...
27/06/2025
Learn to use REW for room analysis
Acoustic treatment is one of the most important factors in any studio, and with the extensive range of products available...
27/06/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. The HDMI Forum has released Version 2.2. of the HDMI Specification with 96Gbps bandwidth and next-gen HDMI Fixed Rate Link technology to provid...
27/06/2025
MONTREAL Grass Valley has announced that TV Skyline GmbH, one of Europe's top mobile production providers, has expanded its camera inventory with the acquis...
27/06/2025
NEW YORK & CHICAGO FuboTV Inc. and Weigel Broadcasting Co. have announced a multi-year agreement for distribution of seven networks including MeTV, H&I, Movies!...
27/06/2025
NEW YORK A national survey of U.S. consumers shows 66% of us watch TV all or most of the time and also multitask while doing it....
27/06/2025
MIAMI Sunbeam Television has reached a multiyear agreement with Findal Media & Technology Group to broadcast the new ABC Miami beginning Aug. 4....
27/06/2025
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. AccuWeather has announced a deal with Perplexity, a AI-powered search and answer engine, that will bring AccuWeathers weather data and severe...
27/06/2025
WASHINGTON After being sworn in on June 23 as the Federal Communications Commission's newest Commissioner, Olivia Trusty has hit the ground running with the...
27/06/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commissions has set deadlines for comments to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to codify certain foreign ownership r...