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I recently altered my online pricing structure, here’s why!

I have been using Skillest to deliver online golf lessons since the end of July, so around 6 weeks or so now. When I setup my account and was setting my lessons options and pricing I was looking at other coaches on the platform as a guide as to what would be best to offer. As I outlined in my previous post the huge advantage of the platform is being able to maintain constant communication with your students, this is where the Monthly and Yearly recurring plans are so advantageous as they offer brilliant value for the golfer who believes they will benefit from constant communication through the learning process. I realised that having a pricing structure that was so heavily dominant towards these plans I might be excluding certain golfers that don’t feel like this would be of the most benefit to them. I wanted to give more options for people to chose from which would ultimately allow me to work with as many people as possible to improve their golf game, which is what I love to do. Below is a brief description of who might benefit from the different lesson types.

Single Lessons & Packages

For anyone new to online golf lessons and new to me as a coach I would always recommend starting with the Single Lesson, this allows you to ‘test’ me out to make sure you you agree with what I am saying about your golf swing and like my coaching style. The single lesson and packages would be great for a golfer who would like to take a little more time between golf lessons, perhaps you can only practice periodically because of time restrictions or you may feel you take a little longer to get to grips with new changes, either way this lesson option might be best for you. These can be bought upfront but used as and when you like with no expiry date. For example, the Ten Lesson Package which is the best value package can be used over the course of a year with the more traditional lesson method of a single lesson per month. As with all the lesson options the 24/7 chat function allows you to ask any questions along the way to make sure you are moving in the right direction. I also now offer a one off 60 minute video lesson for any golfer that would like to do some work in real time.

Recurring Plans

The Monthly and Yearly plans will suit any golfer that likes the idea of constant swing check-ups to make sure they are moving in the right direction. Ideally they would practice or play at least twice per week (the more the better) and send swings from each session. The constant communication and checks allows us to make smaller changes each time which can be a lot easier to digest and implement into your golf swing. All of my clients on these plans practice or play 2-5 times per week, so you can see where the value comes from with these packages. Being able to have constant communication (even in the middle of a round or practice session!) and multiple swing check-ups per week is really where Skillest comes into its own in regards to re-writing the traditional coaching methods and allows us as coaches to offer a reduced rate to in-person lessons but potentially a lot more value.

I hope this helps anyone reading this to make a decision as to what might be the best option for them when it comes to choosing a lesson type on Skillest, whether it is with myself or one of the other brilliant coaches on the platform. Find out more information about my pricing structure for online golf lessons.

As always, if you have any questions at all don’t hesitate to reach out.

How your setup position can set you up for success or failure.

The video above shows four of the best players in the world playing a bunker shot from the same, or very similar, bunker on the practice ground of a tournament. There will be a lot of commonalities with their impact factors to produce high level, consistent bunker shoots each time which I will go into later but the glaring difference is their setup positions. Two of them setup with feet square to the target line and the other two setup with their feet open to the target line. In all four videos the start line of the golf ball is the same which means we can assume their swing direction and club face positions are very similar but how they achieve this is different.

Which setup is right for you?

The quick answer is, it doesn’t matter! Whether you setup square or open to the target if you are comfortable and producing good, consistent results keep doing what you’re doing. If you have tested both setup positions and one just feels better and produces better shots then that is probably the one for you.

Here is my reasoning to support an open setup for the majority of your bunker shots.. Simplicity!

Take note of the red and blue lines in the video, for the guys that setup square those lines do not match (they aren’t parallel), which means their swing path is working against their setup position. For the two that setup open to the target the red line and the blue line are parallel to each other which means their swing path is working down the same line as their alignment. To me this is a much easier way to hit bunker shots as it makes one variable (swing path) very easy replicate time and time again.

Now, I would say that for whatever reason bunker play is one the strongest parts of my game, regardless of how much (or little) I am playing golf. I feel so comfortable playing bunker shots that it is very rare I get ‘worried’ about being in one (wish I could say the same for the rest of my game). I have always been an open stance bunker player as that is how I learnt to play them when I was 13 years old, the only time I setup more square is when I am trying to play a flatter, more releasing bunker shot and even then I will still be slightly open.

Impact conditions needed to hit good bunker shots.

• Shallow angle of attack
• Club face that is more open than the swing path
• Consistent ‘low point’ of the swing arc
• Acceleration

That’s it, these 4 points are all you need to have to consistently hit one of the most daunting golf shots for most club golfers. Obviously it isn’t that simple and achieving these every time is incredibly difficult but this isn’t a big list and if you can get consistent at achieving these it will pay dividends for your scoring and general mindset on the golf course, everyone hates leaving a shot in the sand and that can snowball very quickly.

This isn’t meant to be a hugely technical post but below are some of the key points needed to achieve the above impact conditions each time.

• Body alignment left of intended target
• Club face right of intended target ( the ball will start 80% closer to the club face than the swing path)
• Wider stance
• Ball position forward of centre (this is relative to where you are looking from)
• More weight on front leg
• More knee flex
• Dig feet into the sand to lower you down and create a solid base
• Swing down the line of your feet (left of target)
• Make sure to keep face open through impact
• Allow the club head to overtake hands and bottom point of the swing (this feels like a scoop)
• Imagine the ball is sitting on a tee under sand and you are trying to hit the tee under the ball
• Try to hit the sand with the back edge of the sole (bounce) not the leading edge (this is dictated by the sand type)
• Accelerate!
• Have a full finish every single time you hit a bunker shot
• Use the length of backswing and amount of sand you take to dictate the distance of the shot

Getting competent and consistent in bunkers is incredibly difficult, mostly because the only time we get to practice them is when it matters out on the golf course. If you are struggling with your bunker shots take the time to find a practice bunker and work on some of the points above. Find what works for you and put in the repititions.

Feel free to ask any questions at all and if you’d like to find out how we can improve your golf from anywhere in the world with online golf lessons.

Happy golfing!

Make sure you get the right angles before you analyse your golf swing!

Why are getting the correct camera angles important when it comes to analysing your golf swing? Different views of the golf swing can produce wildly different positions throughout the swing and it can be very easy to see something that is not actually there. Whether you are analysing your own swing or sending them off for an online golf lesson, I will outline below the ideal camera positions plus what equipment you would need to achieve this.

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Pick The Best Phone Stand

Why I didn’t think online golf lessons were for me and why I’ve changed my mind.

Back Story

I was introduced to Skillest, which is the online platform I use, by Baden who created the app about 5 years ago. We are both based in Melbourne, Australia and he made contact with me through social media to arrange a meeting to show me the app. If there is one thing I have been during my coaching career its loyal, that is in regards to video analysis software, to the V1 Golf app. I have used this software on iPads, phones and laptops for the past 10+ years and because of this, I have become very ‘used’ to the interface and usability of the app and wasn’t thinking about changing to something different. When Baden showed me the different components to Skillest it was impressive, video analysis software, messenger section and online coaching capability. Now, for whatever reason, as happens in life, I forgot about the app and continued the way I had been for multiple years previously. Every now and again I would see Skillest on Instagram and it would remind me and I believe I even text Baden a couple years later to try and setup my online coaching account but again, I got busy and forgot to follow through. Since this time some high level coaches that I enjoy following on social media have joined the platform and thrived, for me though I was always too busy with my in-person clients and other obligations to consider jumping in to this as well.

Why I Got Involved With Skillest

Fast forward to one year AC (After Covid), and multiple lockdowns in Australia and more specifically Melbourne, leaves my industry and many others like it completely shutdown. We know from the brief openings between lockdowns, and what is happening around the world, that golf is booming! From a steady decline in participation beforehand to a huge uptake in people wanting to get into for the first time, or get back into golf which is amazing. Although this did personally make me feel like I was missing out massively on helping my exisiting clients and also helping many new clients that would want to learn the game. I would love to say that I joined Skillest because I knew I would be able help golfers the same way I can delivering in-person lessons, even though this was pretty obvious to see from the coaches already using the platform. The fact is, I love my job and I need to be productive, I thought if I could help just handful of people using Skillest then it was worth it and if not, at least it kept me occupied for a few days/weeks. This is where my mindset changed.

The way online lessons cater to this is by allowing the coach to provide more ‘bite sized’ pieces of information for the student to focus on. Don’t get me wrong you need to know the big picture and what the end goals are, but trusting the process and regularly seeing the improvements gives the student every chance of making changes that will last a lifetime, not just a month.

Benefits Of Skillest

What I found was the way in which Skillest works puts the client first, it allows them 24/7 access to a golf coach to send multiple swing videos, ask questions and get as much feedback on what they are doing as possible. Every golf coach has given a golf lesson that they believed at the time was ‘the best golf lesson ever’ only to see the same client a month later and nothing had stuck and we repeat the process again. Skillest removes this ‘blank’ period between lessons and allows continuous communication between coach and student to make sure they are moving in the right direction. Now, I have always offered this service to my in-person clients, I always tell them to send me videos of their golf swings so we can keep a check on things but I reckon out of 100 regular in-person clients only about 5 take me up on this.

Fast forward to today and I have given 117 online golf lessons and have worked my way up to the 6th ranked golf coach on Skillest by popularity. I am absolutely loving the process of online lessons and seeing the improvements of my subscribers in a short amount of time just backs up how effective this process is. Combine regular checkups with a monthly 60 minute video lesson, which I offer as part of my Monthly Plan, and my clients are making changes that will be with them for the rest of their golfing life.

If you’d like to find out more information about online golf lessons through the Skillest app click the link below.