The Finnish Golf Union’s new rules bot which provides AI-powered assistance to players has been warmly welcomed by golfers across the country.
The bot is part of the Union’s eCaddie service, a two-year pilot programme which provides AI-powered rules assistance to players around the clock.
With the rules bot, players can get quick and reliable answers to questions about the rules of golf – anytime, anywhere. While it doesn’t replace a real-life referee, it offers reliable expertise equivalent to that of regional-level referees in situations where players need clarity on rule interpretations.
“The rules bot received an average of 36 questions per day during the domestic season. That shows players have started to find the service and see it as useful”, says Aarni Nordqvist, Digital Manager at the Finnish Golf Union.
The rules bot’s underlying instructions have been refined over 400 times, with top referee Arto Teittinen, a seasoned official with experience from major championships, contributing his expertise. In addition to the rules bot, eCaddie also answers questions related to handicaps, memberships, and getting started with golf. The pilot programme was supported by The R&A.
According to Nordqvist, the core idea of the service is to provide easily accessible expert help exactly when players need it. “It has proven to be a natural first point of contact when players have had questions about, for example, handicaps or memberships”, he explains.
This year alone, support related to handicaps and the eBirdie app has been used approximately 8,800 times. During the Finnish golf season, the service received an average of 49 questions per day – at times even surpassing the volume handled by the Union’s own email and phone support.
According to Nordqvist, the usage of both services has exceeded expectations and demonstrated the strong role AI can play in delivering information. While questions about getting started with golf have been fewer so far, the Finnish Golf Union expects that number to grow.
AI is already widely used across many sectors of society. In golf, Nordqvist sees its role as simplifying everyday tasks and supporting the playing experience. He also notes that language models are evolving rapidly and becoming increasingly cost-effective.
“Each question submitted to eCaddie incurs a small server cost, but the benefits clearly outweigh the expenses and we are able to provide service to our members we couldn’t afford before,” Nordqvist concludes.