Vaughn Taylor had a lot of people to thank after winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for his first PGA Tour win in nearly 11 years.
He also had to thank a robot.
Throughout the week, the CBS broadcast mentioned a robot golf instruction tool Taylor had been using near the driving range at Pebble Beach. That product is called RoboGolfPro. RoboGolfPro is a machine that, when connected to a player's golf club, guides a player through the proper swing techniques. Using the computer power behind it, RoboGolfPro can also guide a player to use the mechanics behind any number of famous swings. An instructor can use RoboGolfPro as a corrective tool, filming a student's swing, analyzing it, then using RoboGolfPro to build in fixes that the student can then immediately feel by using the machine.
The idea is that RoboGolfPro can dramatically cut down the amount of time that it takes for a student to feel what their teacher is trying to get them to do with their swing. At first, the RoboGolfPro guides the player through a proper swing slowly, speeding up each time until a player can feel the motion at full speed.
After his win, Taylor raved about it and company CEO Scot Nei, who also teaches using RoboGolfPro.
"It's helped me a ton. It's a great training aid," Taylor said.
Taylor discovered the product at Pebble Beach's massive performance center a few years ago when, unlike this past week, he didn't get in the tournament as an alternate.
"A few years ago I was first alternate here (at Pebble Beach) and I didn't get in the tournament, and just kind of found myself down on the end of the range all the time, and my curiosity got to me and I had to go check it out. And Scot's been so good to me since and he's really helped me and he's been a great guy."
Of course, RoboGolfPro isn't cheap. That may not matter to a number of facilities after what it did for Taylor.
