GeekWire's Daniel Rossi tries out RoboGolfPro at RedBird Sports in Seattle.
GeekWire’s Daniel Rossi tries out RoboGolfPro at RedBird Sports in Seattle.

If you want to figure out how to fix that nasty slice that’s been hampering your golf game for years, a robot sitting in South Seattle wants to help out.

Nestled inside the RedBird Sports golf shop is a German-engineered RoboGolfPro. The 840-pound machine, one of just four in the U.S., can be programmed in a variety of different ways to let golfers feel the correct way they should be swinging a club.

The RoboGolfPro can be programmed in a variety of ways, depending on what swing fixes need to be implemented.
The RoboGolfPro can be programmed in a variety of ways, depending on what swing fixes need to be implemented.

Jeff Shaw, a Seattle-based PGA instructor with TourBound Golf Academy, owns this particular RoboGolfPro and uses it to help his students improve their golf games.

“I can build the perfect swing for you,” Shaw said.

During a typical lesson, Shaw will record a golfers swing, analyze the errors and have his student hop on the RoboGolfPro, which costs more than $150,000. Depending on what needs to be fixed and the physique of a given golfer, Shaw will calibrate the robot — there are nine points in the swing that can be tweaked 24 different ways — and then have the RoboGolfPro show students what the correct movement and positioning is.

IMG_7975The idea is to develop muscle memory as the golfers are guided through the proper swing. The machine can adapt for different swings with a variety of clubs, from bunker shots to long drives.

“This can make you feel what the PGA Tour players feel instantly,” he said.

I’m an avid golfer and after taking a few reps on the robot, I didn’t have some “a-ha” moment. But I do think that if I spent more time with the machine and really felt where my swing needed to be fixed, it would be a more effective way to improve than simply watching my swing on camera or listening to advice.

Learn more about the mechanics behind RoboGolfPro here, or check out the video below:

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