Golf Science Lab
246 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 220 ratingsWe help golfers understand what it ACTUALLY takes to get better at golf and perform your best.
Ignore the BS and cut to truth as we talk with leaders in the industry, from professional golfers, coaches, instructors, biomechanists, researchers and more.
Host, Cordie Walker is on a mission to figure out how to improve the way we learn and get better at golf.
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Episodes
Ben Carr: from 52nd to U.S. Amateur Finalist
December 21, 2022 13:01 - 33 minutes - 30.9 MBBen Carr joins Tony Ruggiero to talk about his past year; the mistakes and lessons that led to finishing as runner-up at the U.S. Amateur Championship. They share what they did to get him back on track, such as blocking out external pressures, getting back to fundamentals, understanding his swing, and what are the next steps in leveling up his game.
Getting Through Q School
December 14, 2022 13:30 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MBTony Ruggiero and Jackson Koert talk with Peter Knade and Emilio Gonzalez about getting through Q School, and their korn ferry card this year after missing it last year. They discuss the differences and process that lead to their growth and success from the year before.
What the best players do in practice rounds
December 07, 2022 13:30 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MBTony is hanging out with Donald Cooper and Vaughn Taylor at RSM, for the last tour event of the year. They talk about what the best players do with practicing and practice rounds. Coop shares how practice rounds are to adapt to the conditions, not to work on your swing or your game. Cooper and Taylor share what they focus on the days before the tournament, what he needs to get out of practice at home vs. a tournament. Cooper shares the best practices he's ever seen, and why he studies divets.
How to Cut Your Handicap by 20%
November 30, 2022 13:00 - 29 minutes - 27 MBTony Ruggiero is joined by six coaches to discuss the many ways to cut your handicap by 20%. Everyone weighs in on what to focus on to make that happen. From understanding how far you carry the ball, your numbers, using technology, important fundamentals, short game, and course management. They discuss how to navigate the challenges and help players from recreational to advanced improve their game.
Josh Gregory: Simple and Effective Coaching
November 16, 2022 13:00 - 32 minutes - 30.1 MBJosh Gregory shares his journey from playing in college and on Tour to coaching some of the best players today. The most important factor for him is having a personal connection and relationship. He shares past mistakes and how he’s developed his simple and effective approach. You’ll hear how he helps his players get out of learned tendencies, bringing technical feels onto the course, and how he focuses 99% of short game training on and why. This episode is full of advice on how to get your p...
How to train and coach every skill level
November 09, 2022 13:00 - 45 minutes - 41.3 MBTony Ruggiero, Jackson Koert & Morgan Hale hold a Q&A with players before heading into a training program. You’ll hear their team philosophy and plan for the training program. Each of them weigh in on how to coach recreational players, advanced players returning to the game, their advice for players transitioning from high school to college. They explain the foundations of golf, how not to overcomplicate practice and why they often find themselves coaching players on how to unlearn behaviors.
Good vs. GREAT mentorship
November 04, 2022 15:51 - 1 hour - 55.6 MBTony Ruggiero is joined by Paul Schempp, Steve Moore, Robert Campbell and Jackson Koert to discuss the differences between good and great coaches and define what novice coaches do compared to confident coaches. Discussion is full of great advice to get your players to owning the information you teach them. Each of them share significant coaching moments that will help every player and coach.
Smylie Kaufman shares the success in keeping it simple
October 26, 2022 14:26 - 32 minutes - 30.2 MBAfter Tony Ruggiero and Smylie Kaufman reflect on their years working together – Smylie was one of the best students Tony ever had. Smylie shares the secret to his success it was his understanding of his swing and keeping his focus simple, by having three to four things he’d monitor. They dive into specific techniques and approaches, as well as the best advice he’s ever received, what the best players can do and how his greatest strengths as a player have helped him in broadcasting.
Zack Sucher: How He's Training for Q School
October 19, 2022 12:00 - 32 minutes - 29.8 MBZack Sucher, Eric Brunner and Tony Ruggiero talk about getting Zack ready for Q School - mentally, physically and technically. They dive into the biggest factors that have improved his short game, full swing and how to get back to the habits that work best. For Zack, refocusing his priorities was crucial. For some time he was chasing speed, but he had to go back to focusing on hitting the ball solid all the time first, before working on distance and speed. They also discuss the lessons learne...
The Most Important Factors for Better Putting
October 12, 2022 12:00 - 29 minutes - 26.8 MBRalph Bauer and Tony Ruggiero talk all things putting. He explains where he starts when work with tour players, it’s changing their perspective to understanding how they missed is due to misreading instead of pushing or pulling. He talks about his new app, and how it solves the missing part to putting better is reading the greens better. The technology accelerates what would take years into weeks. They also discuss which grip is best for your putting, and the data he found from testing twelve...
Hal Sutton shares his best advice from playing on tour to instruction
October 05, 2022 12:00 - 31 minutes - 28.7 MBHal Sutton joins Tony to talk about what he learned from his success of playing on Tour and how he transitioned into instruction. Hal shares how instruction has taking away his feel for the game, and what he would tell his younger self about goals, who to work with and how to navigate success. He gives his best advice to college players wanting to pro, how to gain experience, the necessity of being honest, disciplined and playing with freedom. This is episode is full of great insight, stories...
How to train with injuries and improve mobility.
September 29, 2022 12:00 - 35 minutes - 32.6 MBTony Ruggiero, Dr. Scott Lynn, Mark Hackett, Dan Terlescki hold a Q&A for members of Palm Golf Club to share what exercises and areas to focus on for injuries, and how to adjust training to accommodate changes in physical ability. They share a variety of ways to improve balance, strength training and adjustments to alleviate pressure. They also discuss how technology, focusing on movement, setup, screening can help.
Ralph Bauer: What you need to know about putting
September 22, 2022 12:00 - 30 minutes - 27.9 MBRalph Bauer and Tony talk all things putting. He explains where he starts when work with tour players, it’s changing their perspective to understanding how they missed is due to misreading instead of pushing or pulling. He talks about his new app, and how it solves the missing part to putting better is reading the greens better. The technology accelerates what would take years into weeks. They also discuss which grip is best for your putting, and the data he found from testing twelve tour pla...
Coaching Roundtable: Collaboration, Training for Q School and Best Advice
September 22, 2022 12:00 - 32 minutes - 29.9 MBTony Ruggiero is joined by Luke Kerr Dineen, Jackson Koert, Justin Parsons and Wayne Flint to discuss how coaches can develop their influence with social media and improving player’s performance. Luke shares his experience as a player and Golf Magazine/GOLF.com Editor, to give tips on what’s impactful to their audience and the average golfer, that can build traction for teachers. You’ll also hear from each of the coaches on keeping your coaching SIMPLE because being complicated is NOT a compl...
Social Media Tips for Instructors
September 15, 2022 13:00 - 32 minutes - 29.4 MBTony Ruggiero is joined by Luke Kerr Dineen, Jackson Koert, Justin Parsons and Wayne Flint to discuss how coaches can develop their influence with social media and improving player’s performance. Luke shares his experience as a player and Golf Magazine/GOLF.com Editor, to give tips on what’s impactful to their audience and the average golfer, that can build traction for teachers. You’ll also hear from each of the coaches on keeping your coaching SIMPLE because being complicated is NOT a compl...
Lee Trevino's #1 Fan shares transforming training tips
September 07, 2022 13:00 - 30 minutes - 28.3 MBTony sits down with Armando, from Lee Trevino's #1 fan page, to talk about how he decided to research Trevino and how it's improved his game. He shares his journey becoming a better recreational golfer, the less traditional information he's discovered. They get into the nitty gritty of training. This episode is full of interesting tips on weekend warrior transforming his game.
How to Understand your EVERY shot
August 31, 2022 13:00 - 35 minutes - 32.3 MBPeter Sanders and Tony Ruggiero on the podcast to share how he created Shot by Shot, now called Strokes Gained analysis. With his expertise with analyzing data and stats through the years, he shares the commonalities he’s found amongst players at each level, the stats of average players on Tour, the similarities of winner’s data and the direct correlations of data and the outcome. Jam-packed with stats, you’ll learn great information for improving you or your players’ game.
How Coaches Learn From Great Players
August 23, 2022 21:20 - 34 minutes - 31.4 MBTony Ruggiero and Chris Mayson to talk about all things coaching, from juniors to tour players. Chris shares how he started coaching, and what’s changed since he first started. He shares the challenges and solutions that he uses with teaching players at different levels, as well as the essential tools a coach should have. This episode is full of excellent advice for coaches of players at all levels.
Commitment To The Plan
August 11, 2022 14:00 - 29 minutes - 27 MBTony sits down with Kolby and Greg to discuss the US Open, the level of commitment it takes for players to compete at the highest level, the value of consistency over time, and how any player is vulnerable to settling into comfort zones after stretches of success. Their conversation is full of insight for all coaches and players.
Round Table: Effective Practice
August 04, 2022 15:00 - 37 minutes - 34.8 MBTony Ruggiero hosts a round table to discuss practicing effectively with Dr. Greg Cartin, Wayne Flint, Morgan Hale, Mark Hackett and Ryan Moque.
Coach to Your Players Individuality
July 28, 2022 14:30 - 31 minutes - 28.4 MBJustin Parsons joins Tony Ruggiero, to talk about how to understand the individuality of your players and their tendencies. They share unique challenges with players, as well as coaching from a point of view that is holistic, including aspects outside of golf and their performance. Justin shares how he coaches on Tour, uncovers his players’ success and how he believes that by adding changes can also mean taking away from areas that are working. This episode is great for teachers and players w...
Understanding Players' Patterns
July 21, 2022 14:30 - 30 minutes - 27.5 MBTony Ruggeiro has Adam Schriber on the podcast, he shares his secrets on developing young players, the key to understanding their patterns developed in a specific age windows, learning movement patterns. They also talk about their ways of solving players' problems, how they keep their players on the track of getting better. This episode is filled with tons of great stories and advice.
Owning Your Swing and Coaching Evolution
July 14, 2022 14:30 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MBTony Ruggiero and Brady Riggs talk about how their coaching perspectives have changed in the past two years, and their greatest means to keep learning along with the best advice they received throughout their careers. They talk about the benefit of challenging your own coaching and being wrong, as well as getting fired for being right. This episode is full of great stories, and practical insights. Brady Riggs has more than 30 years of experience in golf instruction, Riggs has been named as on...
The Challenges of Coaching on Tour
July 08, 2022 15:00 - 32 minutes - 29.4 MBJohn Tillery, PGA Tour Coach works with Scott Brown, Roberto Castro, Brice Garnett, Kevin Kisner, Rick Lamb, Will McGirt, and Brandt Snedeker as well as mini-tour professionals and up-and-coming collegiate athletes. He’s previously been selected as one of Golf Digest’s Best Young Teachers in America, Golf Digest’s #6 Best Teacher in the state of Georgia and the Georgia PGA Teacher of the Year. Tony and John discuss the many factors of coaching Tour Players, where he starts when working with s...
Better Coaching is a Lifelong Journey
April 26, 2022 13:00 - 46 minutes - 42.5 MBTony Ruggiero and Jackson Koert sit down with PGA Master Professional, 2019 PGA Teacher of the Year and a GOLF Magazine Top 100 Teacher in America; Kevin Kirk. They discuss the lifelong commitment to better coaching. Kevin shares how he started coaching after playing professional for six years. He explains what he's learned at looking back to his time as a player, becoming a good teacher, and why he believes the next ground breaking ideas for golf will come from outside of the insdustry. He a...
The Process of Improving: Q&A with Tony Ruggiero, Dr. Scott Lynn and Eric Brunner
April 08, 2022 15:18 - 37 minutes - 34.2 MBTony Ruggiero, Dr. Scott Lynn, and Eric Brunner answer questions from club golfers at a weekend retreat. They share their insights on topics about consistency, different disciplines ever coach should know, overestimating how good tour players are, learning strategies on how to deal with your bad shots, dealing with mental blocks, the drills they use, why you should separate your training and so much more. Packed with great advice!
The Process of Getting Better with Tony Ruggiero and Zack Sucher
March 11, 2022 19:29 - 27 minutes - 25.5 MBTony Ruggerio and Zack Sucher sit down to talk about a year that didn't get the results that Zack had hoped for. He shares how he took responsibility and what drills and focus to change his performance. Amazing episode on his process of the changes he's made and how it's impacted his game.
Team Coaching is it better for you and your players?
March 03, 2022 14:00 - 33 minutes - 30.4 MBComing off a weekend program for developing Juniors, Tony Ruggiero sits down with Kevin Kirk, Kevin Sprecher and Ian Highfield to talk about all things coaching. From the mistakes that young teachers make, how to make learning stick and what they've learned from personal experience. They discuss Team Coaching in depth; its benefits, how to manage it, and its potential detriments, if it's missing vital factors, such as discipline, and structure.
Future of Instruction
February 25, 2022 13:51 - 36 minutes - 33.1 MBThis episode is focused around our partner show, Tour Coach by Tony Ruggiero. He's joined by Cody McBride, from "No Laying Up", Wayne Flint and Ryan Smith, to talk about the unique culture of “The Dewsweeper” and the future of instruction. Tony’s guests share their Dewsweeper experience, from what their expectations from what they’ve seen on his Instagram to training in person. They also share what they’ve been focusing on with their players and what’s effective for instruction and players go...
56 years of Golf Instruction with Ted Sheftic
February 10, 2022 14:00 - 29 minutes - 27 MBGolf Magazine’s Top 100 Teacher, Ted Sheftic, joins Tony Ruggiero to talk about what’s the same and what’s changed in his 56 years of teaching. They talk about the greats of golf instruction, and how instruction has changed over time. They discuss how even with advancing training technology, the information still points back to the importance of timeless fundamentals. Ted and Tony share their favorite training aid, talk about developing juniors and so much more. An amazing episode with a bril...
Being connected to who you lead
December 22, 2021 15:00 - 31 minutes - 28.7 MBTony Ruggiero and Dr. Bhrett McCabe, a Clinical and Sports Psychologist, take a look at mental health, and the new pressures that players experience. He shares his thoughts on success, and incredible insight into success, doubts, and fears. Finding the Catalyst School, Dr. Bhrett McCabe offers training for managers, parents, coaches, everybody involved in a player's development. You'll hear seven key points that are crucial for you being an effective coach and learn from their personal experi...
Top 100 Teachers Summit Roundtable
November 25, 2021 16:30 - 29 minutes - 26.9 MBTony Ruggiero sits down with legendary instructions at the Golf.com Top 100 Teachers Summit. He’s joined by Tom Resendez, Rick Silva, Jackson Koert, Jake Thurm, Mark Hackett, Wayne Flint, Ted and Mark Sheftic. They review what they’ve seen at the summit, the golf instruction business currently and where it's going along with technology, the role of 3D, developing juniors and what is the model of a great teacher. This episode brings together nine incredible instructors weighing in on all thing...
GSL - TC087 Brad Pullin
November 18, 2021 16:30 - 25 minutes - 23.4 MBTony Ruggiero sits down with Brad Pullin to hear about how he went from an early age to becoming a golf professional. He never thought about becoming a teacher but as his career path evolved it became clear it was the right choice. Tony and Brad share their personal experience in understanding those pivotal moments in making professional changes. Tony and Brad share what they do to keep growing, what they would tell younger teachers and what they would've done differently. Brad shares his exp...
Keys for Preventing Burnout and Sustaining a Long Career
November 04, 2021 18:40 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MBTony Ruggiero and Dr. Greg Cartin discuss the adversities they've seen Tour Players and teachers face. They dive into how success follows the joy of the action and how balancing the three components of results, fulfillment and learning are intricately intertwined in preventing burnout and sustaining a long career.
Preparing for Q School
October 21, 2021 14:58 - 24 minutes - 22.4 MBHeading into Q School, Tony Ruggiero sits down with Tour Players, Rick Lamb and Emilio Gonzalez, to talk about heading into Q School. Both share how their mentality plays a huge role in the lead up, the process to getting where they are today, what they do to prepare and how it changes as they get closer. They also offer advice to younger golfers they learned from their own mistakes, other golfers and offer an inside look into what it takes to be compete at the optimum level.
Akshay Bhatia: The Journey to Playing Pro at 17
October 14, 2021 13:00 - 24 minutes - 22.1 MBTony has Tour Player, Akshay Bhatia, on the show this week. Tony shares what really stood out to him about Akshay. They talk about his journey and choices with turning Pro at 17 years old. The uncharted challenges he struggled with and how he’s worked through them the past two years. He talks about the amazing coaches that have helped on the journey, and what he’s learned from playing with some of the greatest in the game: Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, Bill Haas, Bryson DeChambeau and many more.
Rick Smith's Shares his Greatest Learning Moments
September 30, 2021 12:45 - 29 minutes - 26.9 MBTony sits down with legendary instructor Rick Smith. With decades of experience coaching the game’s greatest players, this episode is full of wisdom to all players and instructors. Rick shares the greatest lessons he’s learned from his players and experience. They also discuss the art of teaching, current obstacles for competing and the mindset a player needs to be the best.
Unlocking Tour Players' Potential
September 09, 2021 19:06 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MBCoach Adam Schriber, is recognized as one of the top 100 instructors and known as a pioneer of integrating fitness, biomechanical-influenced instruction, and digital technology tools into the game. Adam shares how meeting Mark Verstegen had a significant impact on his philosophies, the ways his approach to coaching Tour Players has changed over time, the new program he’s starting and why “a lot of things that help you to be good hold you back from being great.” Tony and Adam have a candid con...
Old School Coaching in a Modern World
August 26, 2021 21:44 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MBThis week's episode is a roundtable at the Ocean Reef Retreat with Tony Ruggerio. He's joined by Dr. Scott Lynn, Jackson Koert, Michelle Winkler and a few players. They discuss the benefits of technology, science has brought to coaching alongside of the “old school” principles that will never lose their value. Along with what they see commonly overlooked components in coaching and how there’s a lot more to learn about the variations of anatomy. Amazing episode full of stories and examples for...
Developmental Coaching: Expanding Your Scope and Creating a Better Future for the Game
August 19, 2021 21:00 - 30 minutes - 27.9 MBKevin Kirk, PGA Master Professional, 2019 PGA Teacher of the Year and a GOLF Magazine Top 100 Teacher in America is Tony’s guest this week. Kevin attended the 2021 Olympics and has incredible insight from what he saw firsthand. Tony and Kevin also dive into the past, present and future of coaching. From expanding the scope of developing adults, the evolution of a coach’s role, coaching imperatives to what the path forward looks like for golf and the discrepancy of current youth programs to wh...
From Start to on Tour, Coaching's Greatest Lessons
August 12, 2021 18:00 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MBJeff Smith and Tony talk about the recent boom in golf and give their predictions for how that'll play out in the future. Jeff shares how he started, the lessons he learned starting out from coaching all levels and how that led to his current success. Tony and Jeff exchange coaching's most valuable experiences, their greatest influences after they've had success and what they've learned from their different tour players.
From Starting to on Tour, Coaching's Greatest Lessons
August 12, 2021 18:00 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MBJeff Smith and Tony talk about the recent boom in golf and give their predictions for how that'll play out in the future. Jeff shares how he started, the lessons he learned starting out from coaching all levels and how that led to his current success. Tony and Jeff exchange coaching's most valuable experiences, their greatest influences after they've had success and what they've learned from their different tour players.
Growing the Game
August 06, 2021 13:54 - 36 minutes - 33.2 MBSuzy Whaley, former president of PGA tour and Top 100 instructor, shares her experience learning from the greatest coaches, the non-linear path from college golf to the LPGA and instruction, and how to continue growing the game. Tony and Suzy dive into how the game of golf hasn’t changed but expectations, technology and readily available information have had a significant impact for junior players and young coaches. They also talk about overcoming the greatest challenges of coaching. Suzy and...
From Officer to Coaching Some of the World's Best Players
July 29, 2021 15:30 - 30 minutes - 27.6 MBThis week we hear the great story of how Noah Montgomery went from being an officer to coaching some of the best players in the world, like Gaganjeet Bhullar and John Catlin. He shares candid stories of being on tour, how players have changed the DNA of his coaching through the years, where he starts with players and what he focuses on the most.
Five Points of a Successful Training Program
July 22, 2021 14:00 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MBFive experts: Tony Ruggiero, Kolby Tullier, Wayne Flint, Dr Greg Cartin and Jay Coffin discuss how to create a successful training program. Each sharing their experience on the environment, process of instruction and the significance of having different expertise but the same coaching values. This episode is full of key insights and good stories.
Science Behind the Swing
July 16, 2021 21:00 - 28 minutes - 26.5 MBMichael Jacobs - 50 Best Teacher in America by Golf Digest, and top 100 Teacher in America by Golf Magazine; shares his journey, with Tony Ruggiero to creating his own research software and what the Jacobs 3D team is working on now. Teaching for 22 years, Michael explains how his focus changed and the 2 steps to becoming a great coach if you’re just starting out. Tony and Michael also discuss the culture of golf instruction and the great modern debate of pushing vs. pulling on the back of the...
Integrating Athletics into Golf Training
July 13, 2021 13:00 - 33 minutes - 31.1 MBThis week’s guest is Shaun Webb - he’s a top 100 teacher, been coaching for 20 years and has achieved great success with his business Athletic Motion Golf. Athletic Motion Golf integrates other sports' exercises and drills to golf instruction. He also studies the commonalities of great players to incorporate and improve the uniqueness of each student. Tony and Shaun share four different similarities of great players, they also talk about what it takes to become a successful coach. This episo...
What is Effective Mentorship?
June 24, 2021 20:00 - 34 minutes - 31.5 MBTony Ruggiero is passing over his baton as Director of Instruction at Frederica Golf Course to Jackson Koert. For this significant moment, Tony sits down with Jackson and Abby Koert, Emilio Gonzalez, Nathan Jolly, and Joseph Dent to talk about mentoring. Tony shares the immense amount of wisdom he’s gained from mentors and years of coaching. They all reflect on the purpose that they find in their work and the biggest lessons they’ve learned. This episode is entertaining and insightful - a mus...
Technology's Influence on the Future of Golf
June 17, 2021 13:00 - 32 minutes - 29.9 MBTony Ruggiero and Tim Briand talk all things Golf Technology, from hybrid instruction, remote learning, on-course data, to fitting and equipment. A major driving factor is directly related to the average golf's age being younger. Tim Briand is the Global Director of Business Development with Foresight Sports. He’s spent the past 20 years in different aspects of the golf industry, helping companies be cutting edge in their Sales, Marketing, and Operations.
Biomechanics and Eliminating Misconceptions
June 03, 2021 21:23 - 25 minutes - 23.2 MBThis week, Tony Ruggiero talks with Rick Silva, from Movement 3 Golf, about implementing golf research and biomechanics into better coaching. Rick was one of the first teachers in the USA to build his own 3d-capable studio and study advance biomechanics for golf performance.