Can A Launch Monitor Replace Your Golf Coach?

When I found out FlightScope was launching a new AI golf assistant called Badger, my initial thought was, “here we go again.” Yet another company jumping on the AI bandwagon faster than a weekend golfer reaching for a mulligan on the first tee.

But before we dismiss this as just another tech solution in search of problem destined to collect digital dust alongside your virtual yardage book app and that swing analyzer clip (SwingByte, baby!) you bought in 2018, let’s take a closer look at what’s really happening here.

What is this Badger thing?

Badger AI is essentially a digital golf coach that integrates with your FlightScope session data. It analyzes your swings, identifies patterns and gives you personalized feedback and recommendations.

If you’ve already got a great golf coach, think of Badger AI as your source of supplemental information. That said, if we’re being honest, not all golf coaches are awesome and most of us would be better off taking swing advice from a squirrel than spend another $100 on a lesson where the pro tells us to “just keep your head down” for the 47th time. Badger AI might just be the middle ground between expensive lessons and the YouTube hell hole of conflicting swing tips.

More than just another tech toy?

On paper, Badger AI offers a suite of features that would make even the most tech-resistant golf instructors raise an eyebrow:

• In-Session Data Analysis: Real-time insights while you practice which is basically like having a coach who never needs a bathroom break
• AI Shot Grouping Analysis: Understanding your shot patterns without the shame of having a human witness your duck hooks
• Voice-Enabled Interaction: For when you’re too frustrated to type “Why do I suck at golf?” into your phone
• Historical Data Insights: So you can pinpoint exactly when your game went pear-shaped
• Club Optimizer Recommendations: To help you realize that, yes, it actually IS the arrow, not the archer (sometimes, definitely not always)

In the Premium subscription, you’ll also get real-time web search capability – because nothing says “I’m taking my game seriously” quite like Googling “how to break 90” between shots at the range

The end of golf instruction as we know it?

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. While Badger AI sounds interesting, maybe even promising, the technology is likely still in its infancy.

As anyone who’s watched the evolutionary progression of launch monitors knows, the first iteration is rarely the final form. The original launch monitors were basically just fancy radar guns with a bit of spin data. Now they can tell you everything short of your blood pressure after a snap hook into the water.

Badger AI hints at something potentially revolutionary, but let’s be real: it’s probably more of a Terminator 1 than a Terminator 2 at this point. Useful? Probably, but far from fully evolved into the liquid-metal killing machine that will terminate your swing flaws forever.

That said, the trend is painfully clear. We’re moving toward a future where technology increasingly supplements or even replaces traditional golf swing instruction (and just about every other aspect of our lives). For many average golfers who can’t justify spending $100-plus per hour with a coach, this provides an accessible alternative that might just be good enough.

Subscription details

Badger AI will be available within the FS Golf App for iOS, Android and Windows PC. Like nearly everything else in the golf tech space, Badger AI isn’t free. FlightScope has chosen a subscription model, offering two tiers:

Basic Subscription ($4.99/month or $49/year)

• 500 messages per month (which is about 498 more than you’d need to hear “you’re lifting your head” repeatedly)
• In-session AI data analysis
• AI shot-grouping analysis
• Access to PGA/LPGA averages for comparison (so you can feel thoroughly inadequate)

Premium Subscription ($14.99/month or $149/year)

• 1,000 messages per month
• All the features of the Basic plan
• Voice-to-voice interaction
• Extended AI conversation memory (so it remembers all your past failures)
• Historic session analysis
• YouTube video search assistant
• Club optimizer recommendations
• Real-time web search

At $149 a year for the premium option, you’re looking at roughly the cost of one or two lessons with a decent pro.

For many golfers, that math might just make sense.

FlightScope Badger AI is available on your FS Golf App now.

For more information, visit FlightScope.com.