Callaway Ai Series Putter 2 Models Released
Maintains Ball Speed on Off-Center Putts
20% Speed Loss with Regular Putters, 5% with Ai Line
AI is a technology familiar in sports. For over a decade, tennis matches have used Hawk-Eye technology to judge whether the ball is in or out, eliminating controversies over incorrect calls. AI, utilizing advanced high-speed cameras and supercomputers, has become essential for improving athletes' performance. AI is also used to generate graphics and edit highlights to help TV viewers better understand the game.
For a standard putter (above), when the impact point is off by 1cm during a 10m putt, the ball speed decreases by 20%, whereas with the Ai-One putter, it only decreases by 5%.
Deeply embedded in daily life, AI is expanding its domain into golf. AI is applied in programs that diagnose players' swing motions, accumulating and analyzing swing data to provide customized coaching curriculums. It is an advanced technology to help AI golfers reduce their scores and has now become the best assistant easily accessible. Callaway, which introduced AI in 2009, released a driver with AI technology in 2019, and recently attracted attention by unveiling the world's first AI putter.
Callaway created two lines: the Ai-ONE MILLED with a field face and the Ai-ONE with a urethane insert. The manufacturer boasts that it is "a completely new and astonishing smart performance product, unlike any putter known before." Ham Jeong-woo, the winner of this year's Korean Professional Golf Association (KPGA) Korean Tour Grand Prize, expressed satisfaction, saying, "Thanks to the AI putter, I was able to win the grand prize." In the first round of the Busan Open last October, he used the Ai-ONE MILLED putter to achieve seven consecutive birdies.
The most important factor in putting is ball speed. It refers to the speed from the moment the ball is putted until it reaches the hole cup. If a golfer's mistake causes the putt to deviate from the center, ball speed decreases, resulting in a loss of rolling distance on the green. Consequently, the putting distance shortens. Even a putt that deviates about 1 cm from the center of the putter face toward the toe or heel reduces ball speed by about 20%. For a 10-meter putt, a putt not struck at the center of the face loses 20% of the distance, rolling only 8 meters. This increases the likelihood of three-putting.
On the other hand, the Ai-ONE series putters equipped with the Ai insert face were developed with a focus on ball speed. Even if the putt deviates about 1 cm from the center, ball speed decreases by only about 5%. The ball rolls 9.5 meters, close to the targeted 10 meters. This secures 21% longer distance than a regular putter. Taro Monuki, Callaway Asia Product Head, explained, "We spent a long time accumulating data from professionals and amateurs to improve putter accuracy," adding, "Even if the putt is off-center, it achieves consistent ball speed so that the ball can stay closer to the hole."
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