June 20, 2022 • 43 mins
As part of an ongoing series featuring equipment and training, we introduce you to CTRL Golf (Control Golf) and their Swing Master. It is a new training aid designed to help golfers improve their swing using some innovative and proprietary technology. In this Episode, we are joined by Nick Bockenfeld, a PGA member, and Ryan Johnson a professional player, as they discuss the Swing Master, how it improves a golf swing, and how to incorporate it into a regular practice session.
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Episode Transcript
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Douglas Maida (00:31):
Hello, and good afternoon. Welcome to our show.
We're talking golf. My name isDouglas Maida, and I'm your
host. Today's episode is goingto be something a little bit
different. We're going to belooking at equipment from time
to time throughout the year ontheir show, and today we're
going to be looking at some newtraining equipment. In this
episode, our guest will includeNick Bockenfeld, a product
(00:54):
specialist with control golf,and Ryan Johnson, who is a
professional player currentlyplaying on the APT Golf Tour.
Now Control Golf has developed anew piece of equipment that is
actually very exciting and couldeasily be training equipment to
help golfers of all skills playbetter and score better. Now I
know that is a popular claimthat many pieces of training
(01:16):
equipment make. But in the caseof Control Golf, it is an
ingenious design. That's goingto help a lot of us golfers get
a better handle on our swing.
Now, before we get to that, andstart looking at the product
(02:09):
itself and how it can helpgolfers we're going to take a
very short break. And when wereturn, we'll get right into
meeting our guests. So pleasestay with us.
(02:51):
All right, welcome back to theshow. Now, let's get started by
(03:23):
introducing our guests. Ourguest today is Nick Bockenfeld
from CTRL Golf. And we also haveRyan Johnson, who is a
professional player joining ustoday. Welcome to the show,
gentlemen.
Ryan Johnson (03:36):
Thanks for having us. Great.
Nick Bockenfeld (03:39):
Thanks, man.
Appreciate you having us on.
Douglas Maida (03:40):
No, no, it's fantastic. Nick, why don't you
tell us a little bit aboutyourself and your role with CTRL
golf? Am I pronouncing thatright? Calling it control?
Nick Bockenfeld (03:50):
Yes, yes. So it is CONTROL golf. So I am Nick
Bockenfelt I'm a PGA member. Soclub pro trained. I went to Sam
Houston State University andstudied Professional Golf
Management to get my membershipwith the PGA. After that, I was
(04:13):
interning around a couple ofdifferent clubs and figured out
that I liked weekends a lotmore. And I had this buddy that
introduced me to Ian cash who'sanother co founder of control.
And he came and talked to meabout an idea that he had, he
was doing customer interviewsthrough the a&m entrepreneurship
(04:36):
school. And so he was trying tofind out where his technology
had a place and so he came andtalked to me.
We sat down and chatted for agood two hours. Those are
usually about a 15 minuteconversation. So we chatted for
two hours just talking about allthe uses that sensors on your
arm could possibly have in golfand what all the use case cases
(05:00):
for where after a while I washitting balls for control,
trying to earn some shares,stuff like that, getting
involved with them. And then inDecember of 2018, Ian and I
talked, Ian is the CEO ofcontrol, we talked about full
(05:21):
time role for me. And so thatstarted off as the head of
business development. So thechoke is on the golf and beer
guy. So I play golf, I'm thegolf knowledge on the team. And
I go out and wine and dinepeople. So I have a pretty fun
job. And that's kind of growninto a leadership role on our
(05:45):
business team as we've pulled inmore employees, and outreach to
other companies like World ofgolf, here, so that we can
partner with them and growtogether. And now my role has
evolved into chief growthofficer. So I've been super
blessed with this opportunity.
Douglas Maida (06:07):
Okay, excellent.
And how about yourself, Ryan?
How did you? Or why don't yougive us a little bit of
background about yourself andtell our listeners a little bit
about your golf career and whereyou're playing right now?
Ryan Johnson (06:19):
Sure, yeah. name's Ryan Johnson. I'm playing golf
pretty much my whole life. Iplay currently on the All Pro
Tour. It's a mini tour here inthe south of the states. And
we've been playing pro golf forabout four years. Now, which is,
which has been fun. I met Nick along time ago. And we were kind
(06:41):
of kind of, you know, juniorhigh and high school buddies
playing golf. And then hehappened to reach out, you know,
after I turned pro, and we gotreconnected and played some
golf, and he said, Hey, wouldyou like to come on? And, and,
you know, have a sponsor you?
And I said, Absolutely. So I gotto use the product. And yeah,
it's, it's fantastic.
Douglas Maida (07:03):
What is the, for our listeners, maybe who aren't
familiar with the APT? Can youmaybe give us a little bit of
background about the APT and howit fits in the professional golf
hierarchy?
Ryan Johnson (07:15):
Sure, yeah. It's a it's a great tour. Really, it's
probably it is the best minitour in the United States.
Probably in the world. You know,there's a there's been a lot of
guys that have gone on to playon the PGA Tour and win major
championships that that playedon this tour. You know, I think
Zach Johnson and Chad Campbellguys like that, that, you know,
(07:36):
kind of the, the grinders, youknow, they started out here, and
it's great, you know, the tourfollows a lot of the corn fairy
Monday qualifiers. So I thinknext week, there's an event in
Kansas, and then the corn fairyis going to Wichita, so a lot of
guys will go and play the Mondayqualifier. And if they, you
know, unsuccessfully, don't getthrough, then they can come play
(07:59):
the All Pro Tour event. And so,you know, it's a great way to
stay competitive. Thecompetition is fantastic. You
know, last year, we had SamStevens, you know, I think he
won five times. And he's, he'son Korn Ferry Tour now. So
there's a lot of guys that ZachFisher, who went off to school
he played on the All Pro Tourlast year. So, you know, it's a
great way for you to kind of getused to play in for four day
(08:21):
tournament golf and have somegreat competition as well.
Douglas Maida (08:26):
Nick, you've kind of already went into it a little
bit. But why don't you elaboratea little bit more on CTRL golf?
And then let's chat a little bitabout your Swing Master.
Nick Bockenfeld (08:38):
Yeah, so control Golf was founded on the
idea that everybody has theirown unique ideal swing. So the
guys on tour, every single oneof them, they have different
swings, you're not going to beable to swing like Tiger Woods,
you're just not right. It's afact of life, you don't have the
same body as him, you don't havethe experiences that he has. So
(09:01):
you cannot use his swing and besuccessful with it. And so what
we've done is we've built a wayto track what works best for
you, and teach you how to dothat every single time. So
really, it's about buildingconsistency. You know, you heard
hear that word a lot in the golfspace. Well, I need to be more
consistent. I need to be moreconsistent. I got to be a more
(09:23):
consistent player. Right.
And so what we've decided is,well, coaches, we're not trying
to mess with them, right? We'renot trying to take away students
from PGA coaches, right?
Instead, what we're trying to dois help them more become more
consistent, not change theirswing, but find what swing works
best for you. And so the controlswing Master is a compression
(09:48):
sleeve that you slide onto yourlead arm so left arm for right
handed golfers, right arm forleft handed golfers and it's Got
two mounts on it that you canput our sensors into. So you put
a sensor here, put a sensorhere, they just slot in
magnetically. And then youconnect them to an app on your
(10:08):
phone, our app, and you starthitting golf balls and you tell
the app good or bad. After 10good shots, we have an idea of
what your swing your ideal swinglooks like. And we're going to
give you feedback on your clubface, your club path and your
tempo in order to help you hitthat shot every single time.
(10:35):
So the biggest piece toconsistency is tempo. The best
ball strikers on the planet guyslike RJ best ball strikers on
the planet. Every single one ofthem what they have in common is
not the timing of their tempo,but that they did the exact same
every single time. Right? So Idon't need a three to one tempo
(10:59):
ratio, my ratio is 2.46 to one,right, I don't need that three
to one ratio, it doesn't workfor me. So instead of trying to
train people to that three toone ratio, we say, well, what
works best for you is thisratio, this backswing time this
downswing time, and we even adda metronome to help you get that
(11:22):
every single time to help youbuild that consistency. That's
so important that everybodytalks about.
Douglas Maida (11:29):
So you had mentioned, and you gave a visual
placement of where the littlesensors go. Now, for our
listeners, you're saying. . .youwere pointing to the wrist? And
to the elbow, or was it justabove the elbow?
Nick Bockenfeld (11:43):
So it's the back of the hand, okay, and the
bicep -- kind of up closer tothe shoulder.
Douglas Maida (11:50):
All right. All right. And that's where the
placement of the sensors are.
And then they send the feedbackto your app on the phone.
Nick Bockenfeld (11:59):
Yes, sir. So they send us data and that data
is translated into plain Englishlike slow down your backswing or
speed up your downswing,whatever it is to get you to
your ideal swing, we even tellyou to close or open your
clubface or swing more out toend or into out based on your
(12:19):
ideal swing. And the last swingyou took.
Douglas Maida (12:23):
Okay, and your whole philosophy behind the golf
swing is using the tool to helpyou maintain a fairly steady
tempo.
Nick Bockenfeld (12:32):
Yes, sir, the exact same tempo every single
time and you're gonna hit theexact same shot every single
time when you know where theball is going, you're going to
shoot lower scores.
Douglas Maida (12:42):
And now you had mentioned say that instead of a
three to one, your swing tempowas going to be 2.465, whatever
it was. Surely it doesn't haveto be that precise to that
matter. It's just a matter oflike 2.4 would be good enough,
correct?
Nick Bockenfeld (12:58):
Yes. So we take it out two decimal places. Other
devices might take it out moreor less, we feel that once you
get to that second decimalplace, you know, by the . . . I
guess it's not decimal place somuch as it is to the second. So
we don't take it out. You know,while your backswing was point,
(13:20):
985657 seconds, right? We say,well, your backswing is point
nine, eight seconds and yourdownswing is point, three
seconds, that gets you prettyclose to a three to one ratio,
but mine's closer to point six7.68 on the back and point two,
eight on the downs, somethinglike that.
Douglas Maida (13:41):
Right. So the whole idea is not to get overly
worked up about those numbersuntil you've actually got a
baseline.
Nick Bockenfeld (13:49):
Absolutely, yeah. So the numbers don't
matter. The only thing thatmatters is that it's the same
every single time, right? Sowe're not going to tell you, Oh,
hey, you need to be threeseconds fast or you know, point
03 seconds faster, you can lookat that and deduce that for
yourself. Instead, we're goingto say, hey, speed up your
backswing. You know, whatever itis to get to that ideal,
Douglas Maida (14:13):
Right? And the idea of tempo being maintained
is that you're looking to grooveyour swing through enough
repetition so that you've gotthat consistent feel with
regards to your swing so thatfor example, and I hate to pick
on him because you know, he wasa fabulous weekend and you
probably by the grin on yourface probably know where I'm
going with this is poor fellaMito Pereira on number 18, the
(14:34):
72nd hole there in the PGA. Youknow, as he said afterward, he
was just chock full ofadrenaline all of a sudden he
lost his rhythm and his tempoand he just basically hacked
that cut drive. I mean, it wasstill a pretty good shot. But,
you know, it wasn't quite theswing that he wanted to put on
the ball. And his tempo comparedto everything we had been
(14:55):
watching up into that point wasmuch much quicker than it had
been the previous 17 holes.
Nick Bockenfeld (15:01):
Yeah, absolutely, you know, so if your
tempo starts getting off,everything's going to be off,
your body is not going to be insync, you're not going to hit
the ball the way that you wantit to get, right. And so that's
one of the things that ourmetronome feature does, right,
you can turn on a metronome, andit'll give you beats for your,
you know, to start yourbackswing to start your
(15:22):
downswing and impact. So whenyou go out to the course, you
can have that metronome thoughtin your head where you're just
following that rhythm. And thenyou have something to fall back
on on those pressures shotmoment.
Douglas Maida (15:35):
So your training app actually has a metronome
built in so that I can hear it?
Nick Bockenfeld (15:40):
Absolutely. So it's a metronome built to your
ideal tempo? Nobody else's.
Douglas Maida (15:45):
I see. Do I have to wear headphones or earbuds?
Nick Bockenfeld (15:48):
Nope, it's out loud. You can if you want, it's
probably recommended. If otherpeople are on the range, they
probably don't want to hear theaudio feedback we have. But we
include the metronome. And thenyou can also turn on our
training audio, where instead ofhaving to look at your phone to
hear you know, just find outwhat you need to do better. We
(16:08):
just say it out loud. So the theaudio feedback from the phone
just says Hey, slow down yourbackswing or close your
clubface.
Douglas Maida (16:18):
Interesting. Now this is something that quite
easily can fit into a coach'sroutine, or program with their
students?
Nick Bockenfeld (16:27):
So that's a great question. We haven't
gotten a really Beta Test allthat much with coaches, but the
answer would be yes, I use itpersonally with students when I
give lessons. And if it's prettyeasy, all I have them do is when
they hit a good shot, that'swhen I click good, I get to
decide not them, because I knowwhat I'm looking for in their
(16:48):
swing. And then they can take itout after the lesson and groove
that tempo that swing on therange on their own without their
coach being right next to them,which was the original idea with
control is we want to helpcoaches give better lessons and
help students retain that sothat they can play better golf
(17:08):
and enjoy the game more.
Douglas Maida (17:09):
Now that makes sense. Because your coach can't
be with you for every singlepractice shot you're gonna hit
throughout the week.
Nick Bockenfeld (17:16):
Absolutely.
Douglas Maida (17:17):
Now, I want to come back to this tempo thing
for a little bit. Because thethought strikes me that tempo
would probably be the same andfairly consistent on full swing
shots. What about differentshots, say around the green when
I'm trying to hit a, a cut shot,and it's going to be like a
three quarter swing or just alow cut spinner that I want to
(17:38):
be able to one hop onto thegreen and stop as close to the
pin as possible. I mean,obviously, the tempos are going
to be a little bit different inthat kind of situation. Am I
correct?
Nick Bockenfeld (17:49):
Absolutely. And so we actually, we do work for
pitch shots right now. But alittle sneak peek into what
we're getting on right now whatwe're developing is a short game
and a putting mode. So chippingand putting so that you can
build different models for eachchip shot that you might hit
around the green. And then youcan keep that ratio the same,
(18:11):
even if it has to be kind of alonger swing, or you know, you
got to hit it further, you cankeep the ratio the same. And
just taking it back furthermeans that you're going to hit
it a little further, instead oftaking it back far, nice and
slow coming down and hittingthat high, soft shot, you can
take it back further and keepthe same rhythm for your low
(18:34):
spinning shot. And you're justgoing to hit a further was
spinning shot instead of it. Andthat has soft shot with a real
slow tempo.
Douglas Maida (18:41):
That's quite interesting about the developing
of that additional feature. Isthat something that you're
getting close to?
Nick Bockenfeld (18:49):
Ah, so not quite close to it. We have not
started beta testing it yet. Wehaven't even started alpha
testing it yet. We have doneinitial tests, and we know that
it'll work but we just haven'thad the time to code it into the
app yet. So probably closer if Ihad to guess probably closer to
(19:15):
the end of the summer or maybeeven the end of the
Douglas Maida (19:18):
Excellent excellent. That sounds
fantastic. Like it'll be awonderful training tool, Nick.
Nick Bockenfeld (19:24):
Oh, I can't wait for the Pedic man that's
the only thing I care about isputting so once I can get it for
potty Oh,
Douglas Maida (19:32):
is that your . .
. Ryan, Is that his Achillesheel?
Ryan Johnson (19:36):
Definitely. Just kidding I'm just kidding all
around Nick's games is quitequite solid. So Oh, yeah,
Douglas Maida (19:47):
I know. Just because he was so excited about
the putting and I thought gee,he must feel that that's kind of
your a nick is that kind of thearea where you like to practice
the most?
Nick Bockenfeld (19:55):
I spend the most time practicing on the
putting green Absolutely. Onceyou get to a certain point, my
philosophy on golf is once youget to a certain point in your
game, where you're a prettydecent ball striker, pretty good
ball striking, the strokes aregoing to come at putting. So
you're either going to make 12and 15 footers a couple times
and around, or you're not. Andthat's what's going to be the
(20:18):
difference between shooting 68and 75.
Douglas Maida (20:23):
Or for some of the more mid handicaps breaking
into the breaking the 90 ceilingand getting into the 80s.
Nick Bockenfeld (20:29):
Absolutely, you know, actually, Tiger at some
point said I'd have to pull upthe exact quote, but he said
something around the lines of,well, I'm such a good ball
striker because I just hit it atthe middle of every green and
I'm the best lag putter outthere. So I know once I hit it
on the middle of the greendoesn't matter where the pin is,
(20:50):
I'm going to be able to one ortwo pot it and you know I'm
going to get around and bepatient. Well,
Douglas Maida (20:56):
Yeah, it'd be nice to be able to have that
kind of confidence knowing youcan do that every single green.
And in some of those greens thatare like lightning fast as well.
All right, we're going to takeadvantage and just sorry.
Nick Bockenfeld (21:13):
I say imagine just thinking that when you go
to Augusta National, yeah, thesegreens are nothing I can to buck
from anywhere.
Douglas Maida (21:21):
Yes, no kidding.
All right, I'm gonna take we'regonna take a short break. And
when we come back, we're goingto chat and visit with you Ryan
and learn about how youincorporate the control golf
swing master into your routineand your practice sessions. So
we'll be right back in a coupleof moments.
(22:07):
We're back. Thank you forstaying with us. We're going to
(23:39):
join Ryan Johnson right now whois a professional player and a
practitioner with the swingmaster golf training aid. So
Ryan, why don't you share withour listeners a little bit about
how you incorporate the SwingMaster in your training?
Unknown (23:57):
Sure, yeah, it's I'd say it's it is such a unique
tool. As Nick alluded toearlier, tempo is a very, very
big deal. I mean, you can take abad swing bad mechanics and have
good tempo. And it can, it cansave you and you can actually
hit great shots, you know. So,like Nick said, once you get out
(24:20):
of whack, it causes all kinds ofproblems. And so typically for
me, and I think a lot of guys aswell. You, you start your
practice sessions off, reallykind of focusing on your
fundamentals and tempo is themost important fundamental. And
so to be able to have a trainingaid that you can just slip on,
(24:42):
and it takes two seconds to puton and give you accurate
feedback. To really dial in thattempo. It definitely it
definitely helps with how youstart your practice sessions and
then also too, if you havethings you're struggling with,
you're not hitting the ballwell. You can certainly put that
on and and I can identify theproblem or help you get back on
(25:02):
track. So I'd say those areprobably the two, the two
biggest ways to use the devicein terms of practicing.
Douglas Maida (25:11):
How would you say that it's been helpful to
you? I mean, have you? Is therea particular area of your game
in your practice that you findthat the Swing Master has been
most beneficial to you.
Ryan Johnson (25:22):
So two things, I think, definitely, for me, I
tend was my swing flaws, I tendto stick in the club and
transition. And so when thathappens, a big reason that
happens is because of the timingand getting quick, and it's with
my lead arm, too. So if I'm ableto have this device on my lead
arm, to train with and to try tolimit that, that's a big deal.
(25:46):
Also, too, I think a big way ithelped me is warming up for
tournaments, you know, whenyou're when you first get to the
range and practice. Sure, youknow, that's one thing. But when
you come to tournaments, there'sa little more adrenaline, a
little more nerves. And so it'sreally good to be able to slow
things down, you know, as the asthe round goes on. And the best
way to do that is to start yourday off, when you get to that
(26:08):
range. You know, doing thingsnice and slow being synced up
and the swing Master is a greathelp for that.
Douglas Maida (26:14):
Yeah, I could see that that would be a great way
to you come to the come to therange in the practice area to
warm up and you're all jacked upon adrenaline and and you use
that to kind of get your grooveback. Yeah, that makes sense.
Ryan Johnson (26:28):
Right? dial it back and just take it nice and
easy.
Douglas Maida (26:33):
So let me ask you this, as a user of the device,
how easy was it for you to setup and use?
Ryan Johnson (26:40):
It's very easy. I mean, it's, they have videos
too, that can show the, thecustomer how to how to use it,
it's very well explained, Ithink, you know, you just you
get on there, you establish yourbaseline, you want to calibrate
it, this is all after you putthe sleeve on. And once you
calibrate it, you're ready togo. So you can get on there. And
(27:04):
as you were talking aboutearlier, you can choose all
kinds of different shots thatyou want to work on. And then
it'll take you to the placewhere you're ready to hit shots.
And there's an easy mode andadvanced mode. So if you want to
just focus on where the ballsgoing, you know, left, right or
straight, you can do that. Butif you want the Advanced mode,
you can focus on the contact,you know, toe heel, fat, thin
(27:26):
shot, shape, push draw pool cut,you know, it doesn't matter. So
there's just a wide variety ofdifferent things you can do. And
they've really simplified it.
And I think that that is a bigpiece on why it's such a great
product.
Douglas Maida (27:41):
Right? How are you enjoying the actual . . .
using your phone in the screen?
I mean, the data is at allfairly well laid out and very
intuitive, s like you look atit, and you know exactly what
you're getting for feedback andeverything?
Ryan Johnson (27:56):
Yeah, the feedback is the best part, in my opinion,
like Nick talked about, theyhave the audio feature, which is
so cool to me, along with themetronome that he was saying,
you know, is is specific toyour, your swing and what you do
that's most consistent. And it'sreal simple. You know, they have
the downswing, speed, thebackswing speed, the overall
(28:17):
tempo ratio, club, fat, club,path, face angle, stuff like
that. So it's real right therein front of you laid out they
kept it real simple. And, youknow, once you get going, you're
not going to want to stop.
Douglas Maida (28:30):
Now you're a professional player. How useful
Do you think this practice aidwould be for more of a
recreational player or maybe anaspiring junior player who's you
know, got some ideas aboutwanting to play collegiate and
become an elite player orprofessional player?
Ryan Johnson (28:48):
I think, to be honest, all three, I think it it
is as equal as important for allthree types of players. I think
if you're, if you're pro, youknow, your tempo can still get
out of whack. And if you're arecreational golfer, trying to,
you know, just start playing thegame or, or you shoot, you know,
(29:09):
the 90s and you want to get downin the 80s I think it makes a
huge impact. I mean, peopledon't really understand, I
suppose everything, you know, ifeven if you have good mechanics,
if you speed something up thatcan put it in a bad spot. So you
now have a device that likemakes it it's not, it's not
giving you Tiger Woods, tempo,it's giving you your most
(29:30):
consistent tempo and, you know,if you're a kid that's trying to
go play college golf somewhereand wants to be a pro one day, I
think it's definitely beneficialas well. It's all around. It's
very simple. And like I said, Ijust I think people forget how
critical tempo is and this is adevice that really helps you out
with that, right?
Douglas Maida (29:50):
Let me ask this -- Say for example, you're
practicing with it Ryan a littlebit quicker. But you're in a
situation where you like itbecause for whatever reason and
your body movement a lot nicerand you're able to really flush
the ball, or Nick perhaps asbest as asked have you are you
able to adjust the slightlyfaster tempo is the temple that
(30:14):
you want to use for from now on?
Nick Bockenfeld (30:17):
Yeah, so RJ, if you don't mind me stepping in,
there's two ways you could goabout doing that. The first is
you could start building a newmodel. So we have a swing
catalog where you can name andbuild as many swing models as
you want swing baselines models.
Or if you're in a feedbacksession, you're really striping
(30:40):
it. And the feedback might tellyou, hey, you need to be doing
this, but really liked thatswing felt. At the very bottom
of the screen, there's an addthe model. So you can just add
that swing right away. And thenover time, if you keep swinging
like that, you're hitting bettershots, the more shots you add
like that, your model will beginto move closer to that
Douglas Maida (31:04):
When you're hitting more and more shots, and
you're practicing with thedevice say for like, take that
feedback and build a largerdatabase for your swing. Tempo.
Nick Bockenfeld (31:15):
Absolutely, as you add swings to the model. If
you do not add the swing to themodel, we won't add it. So it's
all up to you on whether youliked that shot or not. Because,
you know, realistically, we cantell you, Hey, your tempo was
this, it was good, your face wasgood, your path was good, but
(31:35):
you might have hid the hair fat.
And we don't tell contact yet,as well. So we have a couple
features that we might throw inlater on where we look at
contact. But right now, you haveto tell us if you hit it fat or
poorly. So we don't add anyswings to your model for reasons
like that.
Douglas Maida (31:58):
Okay? And do you have to say use 10 or 25 shots
to build up your database at thebeginning? Or can you extend
that.
Nick Bockenfeld (32:07):
So you have to use at least 10 good shots at
the beginning. Now, if you wantit to be more and more accurate,
more shots make it moreaccurate, statistically
significant is 30 shots. So ifyou have less than 30 shots, the
accuracy could be less. If youhave 30 shots, the more shots
(32:29):
you get in there, the moreaccurate it's going to be.
Douglas Maida (32:32):
Right makes sense. Kind of like a poll --
plus or minus margin.
Nick Bockenfeld (32:37):
Absolutely.
Douglas Maida (32:38):
Right. Okay.
Thanks, Nick. Ryan, are younoticing this device starting to
catch on with some of yourcolleagues on tour? Or is it
just something that's so brandnew right now that you're the
early adopter and the cuttingedge player?
Ryan Johnson (32:53):
I would say both.
I mean, there's definitely beena couple of guys, Hayden
Springer is another guy, that'san ambassador for CTRL. I mean,
he's, he played the US Open lastyear, he's got a great, great
career so far. And so, you know,it was great exposure for the
company. And, you know, I've hadmany guys actually at
tournaments come up and ask meabout it, say they've seen, you
(33:15):
know, ads, or Instagram posts orcommercial stuff like that, and
have wanted to know, you know,what I thought about it, and if
it worked, and if it wassomething I would recommend,
which obviously, the answer isyes. And so yeah, I think, you
know, there's, there's a lot ofguys very curious. And as time
goes on, and we'll just continueto grow, how many guys are using
(33:36):
it? Okay,
Douglas Maida (33:38):
Excellent. Is there anything else you'd like
to add about the Swing MasterRyan? And your experiences with
it? Or? Or how? How much are youlooking forward to these new
features that Nick's shared withus?
Ryan Johnson (33:52):
Oh, definitely. I mean, anytime these guys come
out with anything, I get superpumped. They told me the other
day about the audio feature, Ididn't even know about it. And
so that to me, was the coolestthing. So yeah, I think I'm just
very thankful that they came upwith this idea, because it's
such a unique idea. If you lookat every other device out there
(34:16):
training aid or philosophy orwhatnot, it's all about trying
to become something that you'renot. But with this, it's it's
identifying what you're good at,and trying to get you to be more
consistent with your you know,the practice your perfect is
their slogan. And so I justthink it's such a unique idea,
and I'm really just excited forthe future.
Douglas Maida (34:36):
Oh, that's terrific. Nick, let's come back
to you a little bit here. Wherecan I buy one? or where would
our listeners if they'reinterested? Where would they be
able to buy one?
Nick Bockenfeld (34:49):
Yeah, so our website is CTRL.Golf. So
CTRL.GOLF is our website. That'sthe only place right now that
you can buy one on. So if youhead to our website, we, you
know, we'll do various salesthroughout the week, get that
(35:09):
price down a little lower.
Obviously, we're planning onworking with World of Golf and,
you know, getting you guys whereyou guys get sales codes, but
the main place to buy it, theonly place to buy is on our
website
Douglas Maida (35:23):
and your software user interface. Good with iOS,
Android, Windows?
Nick Bockenfeld (35:33):
Right now. It's just iOS and Android.
Douglas Maida (35:36):
Okay. All right.
So it'll work with, does it haveto have a very recent version of
the operating system platform orgo back a certain ways.
Nick Bockenfeld (35:48):
So we go back to iPhone sevens will work on
it. So whatever the latestversion, that's on iPhone seven
that works with it. As far asAndroid, I'm not entirely sure
the last version it works for Ido not believe it works for
Android eight, because we've hada user bring that issue to our
(36:10):
attention. But I think the lastthree, four versions of Android,
if you have a Galaxy S8, it'llwork on that. Really, the most
important thing is a more recentBluetooth chip. So if you have a
Bluetooth 5.0, Bluetooth 5.0chipset in your phone, you're in
(36:30):
good shape.
Douglas Maida (36:31):
Okay. Now, What if I'm that customer, or I'm an
interested player out there,Nick, and I'm wondering about --
Gee, I liked the idea, but isthere any way I can try it out?
Nick Bockenfeld (36:45):
Absolutely. I'm glad you asked, actually, one of
our biggest things that we'vedone to help ensure people that
hey, you know, we understandwe're a new company, and we want
you to take a shot with us. Wedon't want that to bite you. If
for some reason, it just doesn'tgel with your game. We have a 90
day improvement guarantee. Soyou can buy the device, take it
(37:09):
out, use it, practice with it.
If you're not getting better in90 days, let us know. And we
will let you return it andprovide a full refund.
Douglas Maida (37:21):
Okay, sounds great. Hey, um, now if I have
more questions, you have adatabase or chat line on your
website that people can use toget some more information?
Nick Bockenfeld (37:31):
Absolutely. So we have a live chat deal on our
website. Really, what we needpeople to do is leave us their
emails, we're pretty small team,we get back to you within 24
hours. But if you leave youremail, we get back to you a lot
easier. So any questions anybodyhas? Either myself, my CEO, or
(37:52):
my chief product officer. We'rethe guys that are running
customer service right now. Soany questions asked those come
to us? And we divvy those up andanswer them?
Douglas Maida (38:04):
All right. So it's akin to having Steve Jobs
handling your customersatisfaction, inquiries or your
customer support?
Nick Bockenfeld (38:12):
That's exactly right. But even better than
Steve Jobs.
Douglas Maida (38:16):
All right. Okay.
One last question about this,Nick. Our listeners are all
over. They're just not in theUnited States or Canada? How far
do you ship? And can you ship tooutside North America? Or is
that something you're still inthe developmental phase with?
Nick Bockenfeld (38:33):
We'll we will ship it anywhere that people are
willing to pay that ship and forso anybody that speaks English,
that's our biggest barrier is wedon't we're not in any other
language right now. So if youdon't speak English, it's going
to be hard for you to understandall of the feedback, how to use
the app, stuff like that. But weship to Malaysia, we shipped to
(38:59):
China, we shipped South Korea,Japan. I mean, anywhere that
somebody wants to use thisdevice, we will ship it. There
is a problem with they'll haveto pay customs and a little bit
more for shipping. But oncethat's taken care of we send it
Douglas Maida (39:17):
Okay.
Ryan Johnson (39:17):
It's worth it's worth it to.
along.
Douglas Maida (39:20):
Yeah, yeah. Hey, Ryan, any last words you'd like
to share? And . . . I'll leaveit at that. And then I'll ask
you another question.
Ryan Johnson (39:30):
Yeah, I mean, I like I said, I just can't speak
highly enough of this, thisdevice. And these guys, it's
it's such a unique idea and it'simproved my game. It's, you
know, it's improved otherpeople's games and a lot of
people are are starting to hearthe buzz and so just really
looking forward to the future.
Douglas Maida (39:46):
Yeah, terrific.
Terrific. So what's next foryou, Ryan? You got a an event
coming up shortly or in the nearfuture?
Ryan Johnson (39:54):
Yes, sir. Yeah, I'm actually planning a mini
tour event for the off roadtour. Starting Tomorrow, it's
looking like it might get rainedout the first round or
postponed, so hopefully not butyeah, I've got a 9am tee time
tomorrow. So looking forward tothat.
Douglas Maida (40:08):
Okay, so you're joining us on a night when you
need to be getting some, somerest and ready.
Ryan Johnson (40:13):
That's all right.
Hey, you got to do it's got todo.
Douglas Maida (40:16):
All right. All right. Well, good luck with
that. Brian, we appreciate youtaking the time to be with us.
And you, Nick. Any last words?
Nick Bockenfeld (40:24):
Yeah. If you guys, anybody has any questions,
please just let us know. You canemail us at community at C-T-R-L
dot Golf, or you can hit out ourwebsite, find more information
on our website, we've got a tonof videos ton of content on
there. We're working onreleasing our CTRL Academy page,
(40:46):
which is actually videos of myman, Ryan. So just showing
everybody how to use the app,what you can do with it. We have
a YouTube page, control golf onYouTube, you go on there, you
can check out a couple of thirdparty reviews that are on there.
One done by Golficity that wethought went really well. And we
(41:10):
have a couple of use case videoson there, stuff like that. But
realistically, I mean, if you'retrying to improve your game, if
you're frustrated that you justcannot get past that last
barrier, right? You're trying tobreak at trying to break 9100,
whatever it is, you'refrustrated, you need help,
CTRLcan give you the help,right, we're gonna help you hit
(41:32):
your best shot, not one time outof 10, nine times 10 times out
of 10. So that you can shootlower scores and enjoy the game
more.
Douglas Maida (41:42):
Right. And I was gonna say, I think one of the
best features of it, at leastfrom some of the people I know
is that you've got that 90 dayperiod for trying it. And if
they're not satisfied with it,they can always return it for
full refund. So that's got toease a lot of people's minds.
Nick Bockenfeld (42:00):
That's a you know, that's why we put it on
there. And you know, we believein our technology. So if it's
not working for you. Yeah, letus know. We'll work with you to
make it work for you.
Douglas Maida (42:12):
Yeah, no kidding.
And, Good luck for everythingwith your tournament not Ryan.
Ryan Johnson (42:18):
Thank you, sir. I appreciate that.
Douglas Maida (42:21):
Okay. And thank you for staying with us and
listening to our show again. Andthat's our show for today. So
thank you very much for tuningin and or downloading our
(42:41):
episode.
Hello, and good afternoon. Welcome to our show.
We're talking golf. My name isDouglas Maida, and I'm your
host. Today's episode is goingto be something a little bit
different. We're going to belooking at equipment from time
to time throughout the year ontheir show, and today we're
going to be looking at some newtraining equipment. In this
episode, our guest will includeNick Bockenfeld, a product
(00:54):
specialist with control golf,and Ryan Johnson, who is a
professional player currentlyplaying on the APT Golf Tour.
Now Control Golf has developed anew piece of equipment that is
actually very exciting and couldeasily be training equipment to
help golfers of all skills playbetter and score better. Now I
know that is a popular claimthat many pieces of training
(01:16):
equipment make. But in the caseof Control Golf, it is an
ingenious design. That's goingto help a lot of us golfers get
a better handle on our swing.
Now, before we get to that, andstart looking at the product
(02:09):
itself and how it can helpgolfers we're going to take a
very short break. And when wereturn, we'll get right into
meeting our guests. So pleasestay with us.
(02:51):
All right, welcome back to theshow. Now, let's get started by
(03:23):
introducing our guests. Ourguest today is Nick Bockenfeld
from CTRL Golf. And we also haveRyan Johnson, who is a
professional player joining ustoday. Welcome to the show,
gentlemen.
Ryan Johnson (03:36):
Thanks for having us. Great.
Nick Bockenfeld (03:39):
Thanks, man.
Appreciate you having us on.
Douglas Maida (03:40):
No, no, it's fantastic. Nick, why don't you
tell us a little bit aboutyourself and your role with CTRL
golf? Am I pronouncing thatright? Calling it control?
Nick Bockenfeld (03:50):
Yes, yes. So it is CONTROL golf. So I am Nick
Bockenfelt I'm a PGA member. Soclub pro trained. I went to Sam
Houston State University andstudied Professional Golf
Management to get my membershipwith the PGA. After that, I was
(04:13):
interning around a couple ofdifferent clubs and figured out
that I liked weekends a lotmore. And I had this buddy that
introduced me to Ian cash who'sanother co founder of control.
And he came and talked to meabout an idea that he had, he
was doing customer interviewsthrough the a&m entrepreneurship
(04:36):
school. And so he was trying tofind out where his technology
had a place and so he came andtalked to me.
We sat down and chatted for agood two hours. Those are
usually about a 15 minuteconversation. So we chatted for
two hours just talking about allthe uses that sensors on your
arm could possibly have in golfand what all the use case cases
(05:00):
for where after a while I washitting balls for control,
trying to earn some shares,stuff like that, getting
involved with them. And then inDecember of 2018, Ian and I
talked, Ian is the CEO ofcontrol, we talked about full
(05:21):
time role for me. And so thatstarted off as the head of
business development. So thechoke is on the golf and beer
guy. So I play golf, I'm thegolf knowledge on the team. And
I go out and wine and dinepeople. So I have a pretty fun
job. And that's kind of growninto a leadership role on our
(05:45):
business team as we've pulled inmore employees, and outreach to
other companies like World ofgolf, here, so that we can
partner with them and growtogether. And now my role has
evolved into chief growthofficer. So I've been super
blessed with this opportunity.
Douglas Maida (06:07):
Okay, excellent.
And how about yourself, Ryan?
How did you? Or why don't yougive us a little bit of
background about yourself andtell our listeners a little bit
about your golf career and whereyou're playing right now?
Ryan Johnson (06:19):
Sure, yeah. name's Ryan Johnson. I'm playing golf
pretty much my whole life. Iplay currently on the All Pro
Tour. It's a mini tour here inthe south of the states. And
we've been playing pro golf forabout four years. Now, which is,
which has been fun. I met Nick along time ago. And we were kind
(06:41):
of kind of, you know, juniorhigh and high school buddies
playing golf. And then hehappened to reach out, you know,
after I turned pro, and we gotreconnected and played some
golf, and he said, Hey, wouldyou like to come on? And, and,
you know, have a sponsor you?
And I said, Absolutely. So I gotto use the product. And yeah,
it's, it's fantastic.
Douglas Maida (07:03):
What is the, for our listeners, maybe who aren't
familiar with the APT? Can youmaybe give us a little bit of
background about the APT and howit fits in the professional golf
hierarchy?
Ryan Johnson (07:15):
Sure, yeah. It's a it's a great tour. Really, it's
probably it is the best minitour in the United States.
Probably in the world. You know,there's a there's been a lot of
guys that have gone on to playon the PGA Tour and win major
championships that that playedon this tour. You know, I think
Zach Johnson and Chad Campbellguys like that, that, you know,
(07:36):
kind of the, the grinders, youknow, they started out here, and
it's great, you know, the tourfollows a lot of the corn fairy
Monday qualifiers. So I thinknext week, there's an event in
Kansas, and then the corn fairyis going to Wichita, so a lot of
guys will go and play the Mondayqualifier. And if they, you
know, unsuccessfully, don't getthrough, then they can come play
(07:59):
the All Pro Tour event. And so,you know, it's a great way to
stay competitive. Thecompetition is fantastic. You
know, last year, we had SamStevens, you know, I think he
won five times. And he's, he'son Korn Ferry Tour now. So
there's a lot of guys that ZachFisher, who went off to school
he played on the All Pro Tourlast year. So, you know, it's a
great way for you to kind of getused to play in for four day
(08:21):
tournament golf and have somegreat competition as well.
Douglas Maida (08:26):
Nick, you've kind of already went into it a little
bit. But why don't you elaboratea little bit more on CTRL golf?
And then let's chat a little bitabout your Swing Master.
Nick Bockenfeld (08:38):
Yeah, so control Golf was founded on the
idea that everybody has theirown unique ideal swing. So the
guys on tour, every single oneof them, they have different
swings, you're not going to beable to swing like Tiger Woods,
you're just not right. It's afact of life, you don't have the
same body as him, you don't havethe experiences that he has. So
(09:01):
you cannot use his swing and besuccessful with it. And so what
we've done is we've built a wayto track what works best for
you, and teach you how to dothat every single time. So
really, it's about buildingconsistency. You know, you heard
hear that word a lot in the golfspace. Well, I need to be more
consistent. I need to be moreconsistent. I got to be a more
(09:23):
consistent player. Right.
And so what we've decided is,well, coaches, we're not trying
to mess with them, right? We'renot trying to take away students
from PGA coaches, right?
Instead, what we're trying to dois help them more become more
consistent, not change theirswing, but find what swing works
best for you. And so the controlswing Master is a compression
(09:48):
sleeve that you slide onto yourlead arm so left arm for right
handed golfers, right arm forleft handed golfers and it's Got
two mounts on it that you canput our sensors into. So you put
a sensor here, put a sensorhere, they just slot in
magnetically. And then youconnect them to an app on your
(10:08):
phone, our app, and you starthitting golf balls and you tell
the app good or bad. After 10good shots, we have an idea of
what your swing your ideal swinglooks like. And we're going to
give you feedback on your clubface, your club path and your
tempo in order to help you hitthat shot every single time.
(10:35):
So the biggest piece toconsistency is tempo. The best
ball strikers on the planet guyslike RJ best ball strikers on
the planet. Every single one ofthem what they have in common is
not the timing of their tempo,but that they did the exact same
every single time. Right? So Idon't need a three to one tempo
(10:59):
ratio, my ratio is 2.46 to one,right, I don't need that three
to one ratio, it doesn't workfor me. So instead of trying to
train people to that three toone ratio, we say, well, what
works best for you is thisratio, this backswing time this
downswing time, and we even adda metronome to help you get that
(11:22):
every single time to help youbuild that consistency. That's
so important that everybodytalks about.
Douglas Maida (11:29):
So you had mentioned, and you gave a visual
placement of where the littlesensors go. Now, for our
listeners, you're saying. . .youwere pointing to the wrist? And
to the elbow, or was it justabove the elbow?
Nick Bockenfeld (11:43):
So it's the back of the hand, okay, and the
bicep -- kind of up closer tothe shoulder.
Douglas Maida (11:50):
All right. All right. And that's where the
placement of the sensors are.
And then they send the feedbackto your app on the phone.
Nick Bockenfeld (11:59):
Yes, sir. So they send us data and that data
is translated into plain Englishlike slow down your backswing or
speed up your downswing,whatever it is to get you to
your ideal swing, we even tellyou to close or open your
clubface or swing more out toend or into out based on your
(12:19):
ideal swing. And the last swingyou took.
Douglas Maida (12:23):
Okay, and your whole philosophy behind the golf
swing is using the tool to helpyou maintain a fairly steady
tempo.
Nick Bockenfeld (12:32):
Yes, sir, the exact same tempo every single
time and you're gonna hit theexact same shot every single
time when you know where theball is going, you're going to
shoot lower scores.
Douglas Maida (12:42):
And now you had mentioned say that instead of a
three to one, your swing tempowas going to be 2.465, whatever
it was. Surely it doesn't haveto be that precise to that
matter. It's just a matter oflike 2.4 would be good enough,
correct?
Nick Bockenfeld (12:58):
Yes. So we take it out two decimal places. Other
devices might take it out moreor less, we feel that once you
get to that second decimalplace, you know, by the . . . I
guess it's not decimal place somuch as it is to the second. So
we don't take it out. You know,while your backswing was point,
(13:20):
985657 seconds, right? We say,well, your backswing is point
nine, eight seconds and yourdownswing is point, three
seconds, that gets you prettyclose to a three to one ratio,
but mine's closer to point six7.68 on the back and point two,
eight on the downs, somethinglike that.
Douglas Maida (13:41):
Right. So the whole idea is not to get overly
worked up about those numbersuntil you've actually got a
baseline.
Nick Bockenfeld (13:49):
Absolutely, yeah. So the numbers don't
matter. The only thing thatmatters is that it's the same
every single time, right? Sowe're not going to tell you, Oh,
hey, you need to be threeseconds fast or you know, point
03 seconds faster, you can lookat that and deduce that for
yourself. Instead, we're goingto say, hey, speed up your
backswing. You know, whatever itis to get to that ideal,
Douglas Maida (14:13):
Right? And the idea of tempo being maintained
is that you're looking to grooveyour swing through enough
repetition so that you've gotthat consistent feel with
regards to your swing so thatfor example, and I hate to pick
on him because you know, he wasa fabulous weekend and you
probably by the grin on yourface probably know where I'm
going with this is poor fellaMito Pereira on number 18, the
(14:34):
72nd hole there in the PGA. Youknow, as he said afterward, he
was just chock full ofadrenaline all of a sudden he
lost his rhythm and his tempoand he just basically hacked
that cut drive. I mean, it wasstill a pretty good shot. But,
you know, it wasn't quite theswing that he wanted to put on
the ball. And his tempo comparedto everything we had been
(14:55):
watching up into that point wasmuch much quicker than it had
been the previous 17 holes.
Nick Bockenfeld (15:01):
Yeah, absolutely, you know, so if your
tempo starts getting off,everything's going to be off,
your body is not going to be insync, you're not going to hit
the ball the way that you wantit to get, right. And so that's
one of the things that ourmetronome feature does, right,
you can turn on a metronome, andit'll give you beats for your,
you know, to start yourbackswing to start your
(15:22):
downswing and impact. So whenyou go out to the course, you
can have that metronome thoughtin your head where you're just
following that rhythm. And thenyou have something to fall back
on on those pressures shotmoment.
Douglas Maida (15:35):
So your training app actually has a metronome
built in so that I can hear it?
Nick Bockenfeld (15:40):
Absolutely. So it's a metronome built to your
ideal tempo? Nobody else's.
Douglas Maida (15:45):
I see. Do I have to wear headphones or earbuds?
Nick Bockenfeld (15:48):
Nope, it's out loud. You can if you want, it's
probably recommended. If otherpeople are on the range, they
probably don't want to hear theaudio feedback we have. But we
include the metronome. And thenyou can also turn on our
training audio, where instead ofhaving to look at your phone to
hear you know, just find outwhat you need to do better. We
(16:08):
just say it out loud. So the theaudio feedback from the phone
just says Hey, slow down yourbackswing or close your
clubface.
Douglas Maida (16:18):
Interesting. Now this is something that quite
easily can fit into a coach'sroutine, or program with their
students?
Nick Bockenfeld (16:27):
So that's a great question. We haven't
gotten a really Beta Test allthat much with coaches, but the
answer would be yes, I use itpersonally with students when I
give lessons. And if it's prettyeasy, all I have them do is when
they hit a good shot, that'swhen I click good, I get to
decide not them, because I knowwhat I'm looking for in their
(16:48):
swing. And then they can take itout after the lesson and groove
that tempo that swing on therange on their own without their
coach being right next to them,which was the original idea with
control is we want to helpcoaches give better lessons and
help students retain that sothat they can play better golf
(17:08):
and enjoy the game more.
Douglas Maida (17:09):
Now that makes sense. Because your coach can't
be with you for every singlepractice shot you're gonna hit
throughout the week.
Nick Bockenfeld (17:16):
Absolutely.
Douglas Maida (17:17):
Now, I want to come back to this tempo thing
for a little bit. Because thethought strikes me that tempo
would probably be the same andfairly consistent on full swing
shots. What about differentshots, say around the green when
I'm trying to hit a, a cut shot,and it's going to be like a
three quarter swing or just alow cut spinner that I want to
(17:38):
be able to one hop onto thegreen and stop as close to the
pin as possible. I mean,obviously, the tempos are going
to be a little bit different inthat kind of situation. Am I
correct?
Nick Bockenfeld (17:49):
Absolutely. And so we actually, we do work for
pitch shots right now. But alittle sneak peek into what
we're getting on right now whatwe're developing is a short game
and a putting mode. So chippingand putting so that you can
build different models for eachchip shot that you might hit
around the green. And then youcan keep that ratio the same,
(18:11):
even if it has to be kind of alonger swing, or you know, you
got to hit it further, you cankeep the ratio the same. And
just taking it back furthermeans that you're going to hit
it a little further, instead oftaking it back far, nice and
slow coming down and hittingthat high, soft shot, you can
take it back further and keepthe same rhythm for your low
(18:34):
spinning shot. And you're justgoing to hit a further was
spinning shot instead of it. Andthat has soft shot with a real
slow tempo.
Douglas Maida (18:41):
That's quite interesting about the developing
of that additional feature. Isthat something that you're
getting close to?
Nick Bockenfeld (18:49):
Ah, so not quite close to it. We have not
started beta testing it yet. Wehaven't even started alpha
testing it yet. We have doneinitial tests, and we know that
it'll work but we just haven'thad the time to code it into the
app yet. So probably closer if Ihad to guess probably closer to
(19:15):
the end of the summer or maybeeven the end of the
Douglas Maida (19:18):
Excellent excellent. That sounds
fantastic. Like it'll be awonderful training tool, Nick.
Nick Bockenfeld (19:24):
Oh, I can't wait for the Pedic man that's
the only thing I care about isputting so once I can get it for
potty Oh,
Douglas Maida (19:32):
is that your . .
. Ryan, Is that his Achillesheel?
Ryan Johnson (19:36):
Definitely. Just kidding I'm just kidding all
around Nick's games is quitequite solid. So Oh, yeah,
Douglas Maida (19:47):
I know. Just because he was so excited about
the putting and I thought gee,he must feel that that's kind of
your a nick is that kind of thearea where you like to practice
the most?
Nick Bockenfeld (19:55):
I spend the most time practicing on the
putting green Absolutely. Onceyou get to a certain point, my
philosophy on golf is once youget to a certain point in your
game, where you're a prettydecent ball striker, pretty good
ball striking, the strokes aregoing to come at putting. So
you're either going to make 12and 15 footers a couple times
and around, or you're not. Andthat's what's going to be the
(20:18):
difference between shooting 68and 75.
Douglas Maida (20:23):
Or for some of the more mid handicaps breaking
into the breaking the 90 ceilingand getting into the 80s.
Nick Bockenfeld (20:29):
Absolutely, you know, actually, Tiger at some
point said I'd have to pull upthe exact quote, but he said
something around the lines of,well, I'm such a good ball
striker because I just hit it atthe middle of every green and
I'm the best lag putter outthere. So I know once I hit it
on the middle of the greendoesn't matter where the pin is,
(20:50):
I'm going to be able to one ortwo pot it and you know I'm
going to get around and bepatient. Well,
Douglas Maida (20:56):
Yeah, it'd be nice to be able to have that
kind of confidence knowing youcan do that every single green.
And in some of those greens thatare like lightning fast as well.
All right, we're going to takeadvantage and just sorry.
Nick Bockenfeld (21:13):
I say imagine just thinking that when you go
to Augusta National, yeah, thesegreens are nothing I can to buck
from anywhere.
Douglas Maida (21:21):
Yes, no kidding.
All right, I'm gonna take we'regonna take a short break. And
when we come back, we're goingto chat and visit with you Ryan
and learn about how youincorporate the control golf
swing master into your routineand your practice sessions. So
we'll be right back in a coupleof moments.
(22:07):
We're back. Thank you forstaying with us. We're going to
(23:39):
join Ryan Johnson right now whois a professional player and a
practitioner with the swingmaster golf training aid. So
Ryan, why don't you share withour listeners a little bit about
how you incorporate the SwingMaster in your training?
Unknown (23:57):
Sure, yeah, it's I'd say it's it is such a unique
tool. As Nick alluded toearlier, tempo is a very, very
big deal. I mean, you can take abad swing bad mechanics and have
good tempo. And it can, it cansave you and you can actually
hit great shots, you know. So,like Nick said, once you get out
(24:20):
of whack, it causes all kinds ofproblems. And so typically for
me, and I think a lot of guys aswell. You, you start your
practice sessions off, reallykind of focusing on your
fundamentals and tempo is themost important fundamental. And
so to be able to have a trainingaid that you can just slip on,
(24:42):
and it takes two seconds to puton and give you accurate
feedback. To really dial in thattempo. It definitely it
definitely helps with how youstart your practice sessions and
then also too, if you havethings you're struggling with,
you're not hitting the ballwell. You can certainly put that
on and and I can identify theproblem or help you get back on
(25:02):
track. So I'd say those areprobably the two, the two
biggest ways to use the devicein terms of practicing.
Douglas Maida (25:11):
How would you say that it's been helpful to
you? I mean, have you? Is therea particular area of your game
in your practice that you findthat the Swing Master has been
most beneficial to you.
Ryan Johnson (25:22):
So two things, I think, definitely, for me, I
tend was my swing flaws, I tendto stick in the club and
transition. And so when thathappens, a big reason that
happens is because of the timingand getting quick, and it's with
my lead arm, too. So if I'm ableto have this device on my lead
arm, to train with and to try tolimit that, that's a big deal.
(25:46):
Also, too, I think a big way ithelped me is warming up for
tournaments, you know, whenyou're when you first get to the
range and practice. Sure, youknow, that's one thing. But when
you come to tournaments, there'sa little more adrenaline, a
little more nerves. And so it'sreally good to be able to slow
things down, you know, as the asthe round goes on. And the best
way to do that is to start yourday off, when you get to that
(26:08):
range. You know, doing thingsnice and slow being synced up
and the swing Master is a greathelp for that.
Douglas Maida (26:14):
Yeah, I could see that that would be a great way
to you come to the come to therange in the practice area to
warm up and you're all jacked upon adrenaline and and you use
that to kind of get your grooveback. Yeah, that makes sense.
Ryan Johnson (26:28):
Right? dial it back and just take it nice and
easy.
Douglas Maida (26:33):
So let me ask you this, as a user of the device,
how easy was it for you to setup and use?
Ryan Johnson (26:40):
It's very easy. I mean, it's, they have videos
too, that can show the, thecustomer how to how to use it,
it's very well explained, Ithink, you know, you just you
get on there, you establish yourbaseline, you want to calibrate
it, this is all after you putthe sleeve on. And once you
calibrate it, you're ready togo. So you can get on there. And
(27:04):
as you were talking aboutearlier, you can choose all
kinds of different shots thatyou want to work on. And then
it'll take you to the placewhere you're ready to hit shots.
And there's an easy mode andadvanced mode. So if you want to
just focus on where the ballsgoing, you know, left, right or
straight, you can do that. Butif you want the Advanced mode,
you can focus on the contact,you know, toe heel, fat, thin
(27:26):
shot, shape, push draw pool cut,you know, it doesn't matter. So
there's just a wide variety ofdifferent things you can do. And
they've really simplified it.
And I think that that is a bigpiece on why it's such a great
product.
Douglas Maida (27:41):
Right? How are you enjoying the actual . . .
using your phone in the screen?
I mean, the data is at allfairly well laid out and very
intuitive, s like you look atit, and you know exactly what
you're getting for feedback andeverything?
Ryan Johnson (27:56):
Yeah, the feedback is the best part, in my opinion,
like Nick talked about, theyhave the audio feature, which is
so cool to me, along with themetronome that he was saying,
you know, is is specific toyour, your swing and what you do
that's most consistent. And it'sreal simple. You know, they have
the downswing, speed, thebackswing speed, the overall
(28:17):
tempo ratio, club, fat, club,path, face angle, stuff like
that. So it's real right therein front of you laid out they
kept it real simple. And, youknow, once you get going, you're
not going to want to stop.
Douglas Maida (28:30):
Now you're a professional player. How useful
Do you think this practice aidwould be for more of a
recreational player or maybe anaspiring junior player who's you
know, got some ideas aboutwanting to play collegiate and
become an elite player orprofessional player?
Ryan Johnson (28:48):
I think, to be honest, all three, I think it it
is as equal as important for allthree types of players. I think
if you're, if you're pro, youknow, your tempo can still get
out of whack. And if you're arecreational golfer, trying to,
you know, just start playing thegame or, or you shoot, you know,
(29:09):
the 90s and you want to get downin the 80s I think it makes a
huge impact. I mean, peopledon't really understand, I
suppose everything, you know, ifeven if you have good mechanics,
if you speed something up thatcan put it in a bad spot. So you
now have a device that likemakes it it's not, it's not
giving you Tiger Woods, tempo,it's giving you your most
(29:30):
consistent tempo and, you know,if you're a kid that's trying to
go play college golf somewhereand wants to be a pro one day, I
think it's definitely beneficialas well. It's all around. It's
very simple. And like I said, Ijust I think people forget how
critical tempo is and this is adevice that really helps you out
with that, right?
Douglas Maida (29:50):
Let me ask this -- Say for example, you're
practicing with it Ryan a littlebit quicker. But you're in a
situation where you like itbecause for whatever reason and
your body movement a lot nicerand you're able to really flush
the ball, or Nick perhaps asbest as asked have you are you
able to adjust the slightlyfaster tempo is the temple that
(30:14):
you want to use for from now on?
Nick Bockenfeld (30:17):
Yeah, so RJ, if you don't mind me stepping in,
there's two ways you could goabout doing that. The first is
you could start building a newmodel. So we have a swing
catalog where you can name andbuild as many swing models as
you want swing baselines models.
Or if you're in a feedbacksession, you're really striping
(30:40):
it. And the feedback might tellyou, hey, you need to be doing
this, but really liked thatswing felt. At the very bottom
of the screen, there's an addthe model. So you can just add
that swing right away. And thenover time, if you keep swinging
like that, you're hitting bettershots, the more shots you add
like that, your model will beginto move closer to that
Douglas Maida (31:04):
When you're hitting more and more shots, and
you're practicing with thedevice say for like, take that
feedback and build a largerdatabase for your swing. Tempo.
Nick Bockenfeld (31:15):
Absolutely, as you add swings to the model. If
you do not add the swing to themodel, we won't add it. So it's
all up to you on whether youliked that shot or not. Because,
you know, realistically, we cantell you, Hey, your tempo was
this, it was good, your face wasgood, your path was good, but
(31:35):
you might have hid the hair fat.
And we don't tell contact yet,as well. So we have a couple
features that we might throw inlater on where we look at
contact. But right now, you haveto tell us if you hit it fat or
poorly. So we don't add anyswings to your model for reasons
like that.
Douglas Maida (31:58):
Okay? And do you have to say use 10 or 25 shots
to build up your database at thebeginning? Or can you extend
that.
Nick Bockenfeld (32:07):
So you have to use at least 10 good shots at
the beginning. Now, if you wantit to be more and more accurate,
more shots make it moreaccurate, statistically
significant is 30 shots. So ifyou have less than 30 shots, the
accuracy could be less. If youhave 30 shots, the more shots
(32:29):
you get in there, the moreaccurate it's going to be.
Douglas Maida (32:32):
Right makes sense. Kind of like a poll --
plus or minus margin.
Nick Bockenfeld (32:37):
Absolutely.
Douglas Maida (32:38):
Right. Okay.
Thanks, Nick. Ryan, are younoticing this device starting to
catch on with some of yourcolleagues on tour? Or is it
just something that's so brandnew right now that you're the
early adopter and the cuttingedge player?
Ryan Johnson (32:53):
I would say both.
I mean, there's definitely beena couple of guys, Hayden
Springer is another guy, that'san ambassador for CTRL. I mean,
he's, he played the US Open lastyear, he's got a great, great
career so far. And so, you know,it was great exposure for the
company. And, you know, I've hadmany guys actually at
tournaments come up and ask meabout it, say they've seen, you
(33:15):
know, ads, or Instagram posts orcommercial stuff like that, and
have wanted to know, you know,what I thought about it, and if
it worked, and if it wassomething I would recommend,
which obviously, the answer isyes. And so yeah, I think, you
know, there's, there's a lot ofguys very curious. And as time
goes on, and we'll just continueto grow, how many guys are using
(33:36):
it? Okay,
Douglas Maida (33:38):
Excellent. Is there anything else you'd like
to add about the Swing MasterRyan? And your experiences with
it? Or? Or how? How much are youlooking forward to these new
features that Nick's shared withus?
Ryan Johnson (33:52):
Oh, definitely. I mean, anytime these guys come
out with anything, I get superpumped. They told me the other
day about the audio feature, Ididn't even know about it. And
so that to me, was the coolestthing. So yeah, I think I'm just
very thankful that they came upwith this idea, because it's
such a unique idea. If you lookat every other device out there
(34:16):
training aid or philosophy orwhatnot, it's all about trying
to become something that you'renot. But with this, it's it's
identifying what you're good at,and trying to get you to be more
consistent with your you know,the practice your perfect is
their slogan. And so I justthink it's such a unique idea,
and I'm really just excited forthe future.
Douglas Maida (34:36):
Oh, that's terrific. Nick, let's come back
to you a little bit here. Wherecan I buy one? or where would
our listeners if they'reinterested? Where would they be
able to buy one?
Nick Bockenfeld (34:49):
Yeah, so our website is CTRL.Golf. So
CTRL.GOLF is our website. That'sthe only place right now that
you can buy one on. So if youhead to our website, we, you
know, we'll do various salesthroughout the week, get that
(35:09):
price down a little lower.
Obviously, we're planning onworking with World of Golf and,
you know, getting you guys whereyou guys get sales codes, but
the main place to buy it, theonly place to buy is on our
website
Douglas Maida (35:23):
and your software user interface. Good with iOS,
Android, Windows?
Nick Bockenfeld (35:33):
Right now. It's just iOS and Android.
Douglas Maida (35:36):
Okay. All right.
So it'll work with, does it haveto have a very recent version of
the operating system platform orgo back a certain ways.
Nick Bockenfeld (35:48):
So we go back to iPhone sevens will work on
it. So whatever the latestversion, that's on iPhone seven
that works with it. As far asAndroid, I'm not entirely sure
the last version it works for Ido not believe it works for
Android eight, because we've hada user bring that issue to our
(36:10):
attention. But I think the lastthree, four versions of Android,
if you have a Galaxy S8, it'llwork on that. Really, the most
important thing is a more recentBluetooth chip. So if you have a
Bluetooth 5.0, Bluetooth 5.0chipset in your phone, you're in
(36:30):
good shape.
Douglas Maida (36:31):
Okay. Now, What if I'm that customer, or I'm an
interested player out there,Nick, and I'm wondering about --
Gee, I liked the idea, but isthere any way I can try it out?
Nick Bockenfeld (36:45):
Absolutely. I'm glad you asked, actually, one of
our biggest things that we'vedone to help ensure people that
hey, you know, we understandwe're a new company, and we want
you to take a shot with us. Wedon't want that to bite you. If
for some reason, it just doesn'tgel with your game. We have a 90
day improvement guarantee. Soyou can buy the device, take it
(37:09):
out, use it, practice with it.
If you're not getting better in90 days, let us know. And we
will let you return it andprovide a full refund.
Douglas Maida (37:21):
Okay, sounds great. Hey, um, now if I have
more questions, you have adatabase or chat line on your
website that people can use toget some more information?
Nick Bockenfeld (37:31):
Absolutely. So we have a live chat deal on our
website. Really, what we needpeople to do is leave us their
emails, we're pretty small team,we get back to you within 24
hours. But if you leave youremail, we get back to you a lot
easier. So any questions anybodyhas? Either myself, my CEO, or
(37:52):
my chief product officer. We'rethe guys that are running
customer service right now. Soany questions asked those come
to us? And we divvy those up andanswer them?
Douglas Maida (38:04):
All right. So it's akin to having Steve Jobs
handling your customersatisfaction, inquiries or your
customer support?
Nick Bockenfeld (38:12):
That's exactly right. But even better than
Steve Jobs.
Douglas Maida (38:16):
All right. Okay.
One last question about this,Nick. Our listeners are all
over. They're just not in theUnited States or Canada? How far
do you ship? And can you ship tooutside North America? Or is
that something you're still inthe developmental phase with?
Nick Bockenfeld (38:33):
We'll we will ship it anywhere that people are
willing to pay that ship and forso anybody that speaks English,
that's our biggest barrier is wedon't we're not in any other
language right now. So if youdon't speak English, it's going
to be hard for you to understandall of the feedback, how to use
the app, stuff like that. But weship to Malaysia, we shipped to
(38:59):
China, we shipped South Korea,Japan. I mean, anywhere that
somebody wants to use thisdevice, we will ship it. There
is a problem with they'll haveto pay customs and a little bit
more for shipping. But oncethat's taken care of we send it
Douglas Maida (39:17):
Okay.
Ryan Johnson (39:17):
It's worth it's worth it to.
along.
Douglas Maida (39:20):
Yeah, yeah. Hey, Ryan, any last words you'd like
to share? And . . . I'll leaveit at that. And then I'll ask
you another question.
Ryan Johnson (39:30):
Yeah, I mean, I like I said, I just can't speak
highly enough of this, thisdevice. And these guys, it's
it's such a unique idea and it'simproved my game. It's, you
know, it's improved otherpeople's games and a lot of
people are are starting to hearthe buzz and so just really
looking forward to the future.
Douglas Maida (39:46):
Yeah, terrific.
Terrific. So what's next foryou, Ryan? You got a an event
coming up shortly or in the nearfuture?
Ryan Johnson (39:54):
Yes, sir. Yeah, I'm actually planning a mini
tour event for the off roadtour. Starting Tomorrow, it's
looking like it might get rainedout the first round or
postponed, so hopefully not butyeah, I've got a 9am tee time
tomorrow. So looking forward tothat.
Douglas Maida (40:08):
Okay, so you're joining us on a night when you
need to be getting some, somerest and ready.
Ryan Johnson (40:13):
That's all right.
Hey, you got to do it's got todo.
Douglas Maida (40:16):
All right. All right. Well, good luck with
that. Brian, we appreciate youtaking the time to be with us.
And you, Nick. Any last words?
Nick Bockenfeld (40:24):
Yeah. If you guys, anybody has any questions,
please just let us know. You canemail us at community at C-T-R-L
dot Golf, or you can hit out ourwebsite, find more information
on our website, we've got a tonof videos ton of content on
there. We're working onreleasing our CTRL Academy page,
(40:46):
which is actually videos of myman, Ryan. So just showing
everybody how to use the app,what you can do with it. We have
a YouTube page, control golf onYouTube, you go on there, you
can check out a couple of thirdparty reviews that are on there.
One done by Golficity that wethought went really well. And we
(41:10):
have a couple of use case videoson there, stuff like that. But
realistically, I mean, if you'retrying to improve your game, if
you're frustrated that you justcannot get past that last
barrier, right? You're trying tobreak at trying to break 9100,
whatever it is, you'refrustrated, you need help,
CTRLcan give you the help,right, we're gonna help you hit
(41:32):
your best shot, not one time outof 10, nine times 10 times out
of 10. So that you can shootlower scores and enjoy the game
more.
Douglas Maida (41:42):
Right. And I was gonna say, I think one of the
best features of it, at leastfrom some of the people I know
is that you've got that 90 dayperiod for trying it. And if
they're not satisfied with it,they can always return it for
full refund. So that's got toease a lot of people's minds.
Nick Bockenfeld (42:00):
That's a you know, that's why we put it on
there. And you know, we believein our technology. So if it's
not working for you. Yeah, letus know. We'll work with you to
make it work for you.
Douglas Maida (42:12):
Yeah, no kidding.
And, Good luck for everythingwith your tournament not Ryan.
Ryan Johnson (42:18):
Thank you, sir. I appreciate that.
Douglas Maida (42:21):
Okay. And thank you for staying with us and
listening to our show again. Andthat's our show for today. So
thank you very much for tuningin and or downloading our
(42:41):
episode.
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