Huntsville golf coach Craig Bocking of The Ledges explains how Tyler Watts uses the ground to hit a 355 drive at 140 pounds, how force plates and 3D motion capture shape his lessons, and why he tells players to have fun.
Craig Bocking coaches golfers from his studio at The Ledges in Huntsville, Alabama, using force plates, TrackMan and 3D motion capture to work with everyone from weekend golfers to college and professional players. He joins Chris Lemley and Gregg Dewalt to talk golf instruction, how the body is designed to move, and what he has learned from more than 25 years of coaching.
We get into how he works with Tyler Watts, who pushes nearly 200 percent of his body weight through his lead leg alone, and how that helps a 140 pound player hit a 355 drive. Craig also explains why rotation only works when the lateral move comes first, how he took Gabi Nicastro from 190 yards in the air to 250, and why he wants players in the studio when they are hitting it well, not just when something is wrong.
In this episode:
– How Craig went from the pro shop to teaching, and why he would have refunded his first lessons
– How force plates, TrackMan and GEARS 3D motion capture change what a coach can see
– Using AI and the TPI screen to see how a player is designed to move
– Tyler Watts and ground reaction forces
– The shared habits of elite junior, college and pro players
– Why Craig coaches players on the course, not just in the bay
– Why golf instruction on YouTube often fails players who cannot physically make the move
– Why he tells his players to go have fun, not go win
Guest: Craig Bocking, PGA Master Professional, The Ledges, Huntsville, Alabama
https://www.pga.com/coach/craigbocking
Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome to The Cart Barn
00:11 From the pro shop to the teaching side
02:09 The first lessons he would refund
04:28 Technology then and now
05:54 How Craig uses AI in coaching
07:53 TPI, Dr. Greg Rose and Swing Catalyst force plates
10:29 Tyler Watts and ground reaction forces
14:44 Who Craig coaches now
18:38 What elite players have in common
20:17 Gabi Nicastro and the lateral move
22:27 What a lesson with Craig looks like
27:45 25 years of coaching
29:40 Why come in when you are hitting it well
32:15 Tyler’s Sunday 63
35:31 How to get on Craig’s schedule
37:03 Technology is not the same as technical
39:34 The Ledges facility and putting academy
41:41 Hogan’s Five Fundamentals
42:39 Last time he played 18 holes
43:45 Why not just use YouTube instruction
45:27 Information overload and playing with fun
50:30 Wrap up
The Cart Barn is a weekly storytelling podcast about golf in Alabama: the people, places, companies, courses and history behind the game. New episodes every Wednesday at https://cartbarnpodcast.com