Legendary PGA coach Peter Croker reflects on his journey from tour player to world-renowned teacher, and how senior golfers can still play pain free today. Special offer included.
Contributor Mike Searles sat down with his golf coach, PGA Professional Peter Croker, to dig deep into his past and gain a better understanding of the backstory behind a lifetime of playing and teaching golf.
Mike Searles: Peter Croker, thanks for joining us.
Peter Croker: It’s a pleasure, Mike.
Mike: Let’s start at the beginning. Where did the game of golf first enter your life?
Peter: I was born in Adelaide, but I grew up in North Queensland on a sugarcane farm. We eventually moved to Melbourne, right near Royal Melbourne Golf Club. My father had just started playing the game, and my first time caddying was for him at Sandringham Public Golf Course. An uncle noticed my interest and suggested I caddie at Royal Melbourne. For a young kid, being around those fairways and players was magical, it was the spark that set me on this path. From there I became a junior member in Townsville, won a string of amateur titles, and golf had me hooked for life.
Mike: And you made the leap into professional golf fairly young.
From Caddie to Rookie of the Year
Peter: Yes, I did. After a short stint at teachers’ college I knew my real passion was golf, so I turned pro. I became an assistant pro to Denis Brosnan at Redcliffe Golf Club in Brisbane and then at Victoria Golf Club and Yarra Yarra GC on the Melbourne Sandbelt. Soon after, I was given the chance to play tournaments across Australia and New Zealand. I finished well in my first few events and was awarded Rookie of the Year by the golf writers. That set me on an 11-year run playing PGA Tours across Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and Europe. In 1969 I won the Queensland Junior Championship, just a few years before Greg Norman claimed the same title. Funny enough, Greg was actually in my brother’s class at school in Townsville before his family moved to Brisbane.
Mike: Who were some of the big names you were competing alongside back then?
Peter: It was a wonderful era. I played against Billy Dunk, he actually beat me in an 18-hole playoff for the Australian PGA Championship in 1976. That was the last time Australia used a full 18-hole playoff. Since then it’s been sudden death or shortened formats. It was tough to lose, but being part of that piece of history stays with you. I teed it up in the same fields as Graham Marsh, Bob Shearer, and David Graham. A young Vijay Singh came on tour while I was still competing, and we spent many long evenings practising side by side. We both believed in the Ben Hogan philosophy of “digging it out of the dirt.” That work ethic bonded us, and later he even sent his brother to one of my schools in America to learn coaching. I also managed to shoot a 62 during the New Zealand PGA one year. At the time it was a course record, and those kinds of rounds remind you what you’re capable of when everything clicks.
Mike: Along the way, did you receive any advice that really stuck?
A Profound Lesson from an Australian Legend
Peter: Absolutely. Peter Thomson, the five-time British Open champion, once told me: “Golf is a game of how near, not how far.” It’s a line most golfers need to hear more than once. It shaped how I thought about the game and how I coach it today.
Mike: At what point did coaching become your main focus?
Peter: Even as a tour player, other pros often asked me to look at their swings. I realised I had a knack for explaining things. By the early 1990s, I was presenting at the first PGA of Australia coaching conference. I had also studied Homer Kelley’s The Golfing Machine, which gave me a framework. But over time I discovered that golf needed a simpler, more consistent system. That’s when my colleague at the time Jeffrey Burr Johnson and I developed what became the Croker Golf System. I remember when Jeffrey first walked into my teaching bay. The very first thing he said was, “Whatever you’re teaching doesn’t work.” It was a shock, but he was right. That moment pushed us to rethink everything and ultimately led to the creation of the Croker Golf System.
Mike: What sets your system apart from traditional teaching?
Peter: The breakthrough was recognising golf as a “pushing” action rather than a “pulling” one. We put the hands at the centre of the motion, what we call “Educated Hands.” From the putter to the driver, the hands guide the club, and the body supports the motion. It was a paradigm shift. Not everyone welcomed it at first, but the results spoke for themselves.
Mike: You were also recognised internationally for this work.
Peter: Yes, in April 1995, Golf Digest put our method on the cover of their Masters Issue. That gave us worldwide exposure and credibility. For an Australian golf coach to be on the cover of the world’s biggest golf magazine, it put our system on the map internationally.
Mike: Let’s come back to the present day. Where are you teaching today?
Peter: Apart from my books and online courses I host on-course golf schools and workshops in Victoria, NSW, Queensland, Europe, and across the USA. Victoria is my home and you’ll find me most often with students at Eagle Ridge Golf Course on the magnificent Mornington Peninsula.
Mike: What do you offer the golfer who’s reading about you on Australian Senior Golfer?
Reinventing the Swing for Senior Golfers
Peter: My focus now is helping senior golfers keep enjoying the game they love. I understand the stiffness, the aches, and the frustration that can come with age, I’ve lived it myself. The Croker Golf System is built to take pressure off the body, reduce pain, and give players a repeatable motion. Whether it’s through my online lessons, golf schools, or books, my aim is to help golfers play better for longer.
Mike: Finally, I believe you have something special for the readers.
Peter: Absolutely. I want to offer a special deal exclusive to readers of Australian Senior Golfer. It’s 60% off the public price for my best-selling program, Pain Free Golf. It includes 35 training videos to watch in your own time at your own pace. It’ll help avoid pain, strain and long term injury when playing our favourite game, even while hitting the golf ball better than ever. At better than half-price it’s only $35 AUD. Readers can order and have unlimited access within minutes: