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It's a new era for one of the most iconic television shows in golf.
School of Golf is back for its 16th season, and for the first time, there's a new face leading the class. After his run of more than 400 episodes, the O.G. Professor, Martin Hall, hands over the reins to Eric Cogorno, one of golf's up-and-coming teachers.
As Eric prepares to lead a new generation of golfers to lower scores and greater enjoyment of the game, GolfPass picked his brain on his journey in teaching, what he hopes to bring to an iconic show and much more.
(Note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and context.)
Q. How were you first introduced to golf? What was your journey into the game?
I started playing in 7th grade when I was 13 years old. My dad played every weekend with his friends and he introduced me to the game. I really just wanted to learn to play so I could hang out with them...little did I know that would turn into a lifelong obsession.
Q. Did you initially aspire to play golf professionally? When did your goals shift towards teaching, and what was the moment you knew that instruction was your calling?
I started to be able to shoot around par when I was 15-16 years old early in high school. At that time I had no idea how good other juniors were outside of my little area...so I thought for sure I would be playing professionally one day on TV.
It took me all of about one semester of college to find out that wasn't going to happen. That realization led me toward teaching. I was naturally curious about the swing and was fortunate to have a great coach at the time who allowed me to learn to coach under him at my local course. I think right away I could feel I had a knack for it - for being able to communicate technical things in a way people could understand. Of course I gave a lot of bad lessons when I started, like we all do, which I think further drove me to learn to get better. That was 20 years ago already!
Q. Who are your major influences in golf instruction?
Paul Viola was my first coach who I learned under. A lot of local pros in the Philadelphia area who let me come and watch them coach really helped me early on. Dom DiJulia and John Dunigan were particularly kind to me and very giving early on when they didn't need to be.
Over the past 10 years of YouTube filming, I have been fortunate to spend time with a lot of the top coaches across the country and they all have helped me, and continue to to this day. I'm still learning from them all now. Jim McLean, Butch Harmon, Martin Hall and Andy Plummer all stand out for different reasons.
Q. You have built an online/digital golf instruction business where you give golfers feedback remotely. What have you learned about advising players on their swings without being able to position them in person?
I have learned that we need to get very clear on what they want first. Clarity on their goals. What is the main outcome they want to achieve, and why?
Then we need to get very clear on their improvement plan. Leave no room for uncertainty. Knowing exactly what to work on, how and what to expect along the way. What drills, how many reps to do, how often.
In person, you can help guide someone more and hold their hands a long the way. Remote coaching, when they are by themselves, they need certainty. I think my role as a coach is to provide that first and foremost. If they have certainy in their plan, they tend to have confidence that it will work.
Q. What does it mean to succeed Martin Hall as School of Golf’s “Professor”?
Wow - what an honor. It's humbling. Honestly, it makes me emotional thinking about it.
I felt like I grew up as a coach watching Martin every week. What he has been able to do to build School of Golf into what it is is remarkable. He's influenced not just millions and millions of golfers but also thousands and thousands of golf coaches like myself.
He has left shoes that are too big to fill, but I will do my best to honor his legacy and aim to continue School of Golf in a manner that he would be proud of alongside the wonderful Blair O'Neal and team.
Q. How do you plan to forge your own path as the main instructor on such a popular and long-running series? What can viewers expect you to bring to this new era of School of Golf?
I think the main thing I can do is just be myself. To be 100% focused on helping the person on the other side of the video get better.
I'm going to share what I've learned over 20 years of coaching that's helped thousands of golfers get better in person and millions online. I want to continue to be a source golfers can be confident in going to for solutions to their problems and answers to their questions.
Q. What are three things every golfer should focus on the next time they go practice?
1. Set a clear intention before you start. What am I going to do? How many balls am I going to hit? What is my goal for this session? The more clarity before you start, the higher likelihood of success during the session.
2. Feedback. When we are hitting without any video, practice station or some kind of feedback, we end up guessing too much. We don't really know if we did what we were trying to do, in terms of technique, unless we have feedback. We can end up chasing the ballflight from ball to ball and that tends to be a road to chaos.
3. Less is more. About 30 good reps is really all you need when working on something: 10 balls to warm up, 10 balls to focus on technique and 10 balls honing ballflight would be plenty. It's more about frequency (how often you practice) than duration (how long each session is). 10 minutes daily would be way more effective for most than once per week for an hour.
Play
Q. Favorite sports team (pro or college)?
Duke basketball
Q. What are your current home courses?
Bethlehem Golf Club in Pennsylvania and Osprey Point Golf Club in Florida
Q. What are your five favorite golf courses in the Lehigh Valley?
1. Bethlehem Golf Club
2. Woodstone Country Club and Lodge
3. Saucon Valley Country Club
4. Lehigh Country Club
5. Northampton Country Club
(I'm biased on 1 and 2)
Q. What are your five favorite golf courses in the world?
1. Augusta National Golf Club (visited, haven't played)
2. Pebble Beach Golf Links
3. Merion Golf Club (East)
4. Pinehurst No. 2
5. TPC Sawgrass (Players Stadium)
Q. What are five golf courses you most want to play for the first time?
1. Pine Valley Golf Club
2. Augusta National Golf Club
3. The Old Course at St. Andrews
4. Riviera Country Club
5. Cypress Point Club
Q. What are your favorite professional golf swings to study?
1. Young Tiger Woods
2. Young Jack Nicklaus
3. Adam Scott
4. Mac O'Grady
5. Rory McIlroy
Q. What are your favorite golf tournaments to watch, either in person or on TV?
1. The Masters (by a mile, my favorite week of the year)
2. Ryder Cup
3. U.S. Open
4. The Open Championship
5. PGA Championship
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