This month’s cover story starts with a billboard. On the drive into San Francisco from the airport, our writer passed an advert for AI Country, and it set up the question behind the whole piece: what will artificial intelligence actually do to golf, and how much of it is already here?
More than you might think. Club Champion’s AI-driven Co-Pilot system can now produce a fitting recommendation in as little as 10 swings, working through more combinations of heads and shafts than any human fitter could hold in their head. Architect David Kahn sketches a hole in 30 minutes and lets AI turn it into a finished rendering in 10 seconds. And Google’s Don Harrison sees a near future where one app, acting as caddie, swing coach and mental coach, talks you through your game via a wearable device.
What we liked most is that the piece is honest about the limits. AI can’t yet route a golf course. Kahn says it “falls flat on its face”. It still has no real grasp of feel, the thing Bobby Jones judged a shaft by in his fingers. Tom Doak, asked about anyone trying to build a program that out-designs him, wishes them “nothing but the worst of luck”. And no amount of data will turn you into a 2-handicap.
Closer to home, the Abu Dhabi Championship returns to Yas Links from 5-8 November for its 21st edition, and it carries more weight than it used to. It now opens the DP World Tour Play-Offs. The top 70 available players on the Race to Dubai tee it up, and the top 50 move on to Jumeirah Golf Estates. Patrick Reed leads the standings, Rory McIlroy is chasing an eighth title that would draw him level with Colin Montgomerie, and Eugenio Chacarra arrives with little to lose. McIlroy has also finished second here four times without winning, which adds a subplot all of its own. Ryan Fox, last month’s cover star, has Race to Dubai business to settle, too. We also spoke to Corey Finn, the man preparing Yas Links in the summer heat, about firmer greens and why he’s hoping for wind. If you’re going, entry on Thursday and Friday is free with pre-registration.
Elsewhere, 3M Open winner Jackson Koivun breaks down his game from speed to putting. Dwyane Wade and Dorell Wright explain how the teammate who once sat on the bench now beats his old captain on the course. And Jerry Tarde reports from St Andrews, where the caddie carrying your bag might be the club’s past captain.
Between a technology still learning its limits and a course built to test yours, this is a month about what golf will always ask of the golfer.
All this and plenty more in the October 2026 edition of Golf Digest Middle East.
The issue is again free to our loyal audience. You can scroll through the ISSUU link provided here or download it to your favourite device for later. Alternatively, pick up a copy at your local golf club. Whatever option you take, we hope you enjoy the read.