What actually separates the coaches building thriving online businesses from everyone else?

In this episode of the Skillest Pod, Baden Schaff sits down with Mark Govier and Alex Clapp to unpack what great modern coaching really looks like — and why simply being a great instructor is no longer enough.

They dig into how Mark and Alex structure long-term player development, create clear roadmaps for their students, use content to extend their coaching beyond the lesson, and build the kind of high-touch relationships that keep players engaged for years.

But the conversation goes much deeper into growth.

How do you go from 1,000 followers to your first 15 subscribers? What should you actually post? How do you turn content into conversations? Why can a game evaluation be more powerful than a “free lesson”? And why do coaches need to be willing to do the unscalable work at the beginning?

Mark shares why consistency matters more than going viral — including the years he spent creating content when almost nobody was watching. Alex breaks down exactly how he uses social media, DMs and game evaluations to bring golfers into his world. And Baden explains why starting just a handful of genuine conversations every week can completely change a coach’s business.

The big takeaway?

You’re not selling online lessons. You’re building relationships.

And the coaches who understand that are building something far bigger than a lesson diary — they’re building an academy in the cloud.

The coaching industry is changing faster than ever.

In this episode, the Skilly boys dive into what modern coaching really looks like in 2026—and why the coaches who thrive over the next decade won't simply teach more lessons. They'll build better systems, stronger relationships, and businesses that extend far beyond the lesson tee.

We discuss:

•  Why the traditional "one lesson every four weeks" model is dying. 
•  How the best coaches keep students accountable between lessons. 
•  Why caring—not technology—is still the biggest competitive advantage. 
•  How to structure your week to build an online coaching business without burning out. 
•  The habits that separate coaches who grow from those who stay stuck. 
•  Why AI will replace average coaching—but make great coaches even more valuable. 
•  Practical advice for creating content, onboarding students, and building a coaching brand that lasts. 

Whether you're a coach looking to grow your business or a golfer curious about how elite coaching is evolving, this episode is a look at where the industry is heading—and how to stay ahead of it.

Sean Foley has coached some of the biggest names in golf, but this conversation goes far beyond the golf swing.

Sean joins Baden Schaff and Alex Clapp for one of the deepest discussions we've ever had on coaching, performance and what it really takes to help people improve.

They dive into Sean's work with Tom Kim, Lydia Ko and the next generation of elite players, why he's more convinced than ever that skill beats dogma, and how three decades on Tour have completely changed the way he teaches.

Along the way, Sean shares his thoughts on:

•  Why caring is still the greatest coaching advantage. 
•  The difference between teaching technique and building skill. 
•  How he helped Tom Kim rediscover his best golf. 
•  Why practice should be harder than competition. 
•  The biggest coaching mistakes he made early in his career. 
•  AI, technology and whether coaches should actually be worried. 
•  Confidence vs competence. 
•  Building resilient athletes who can thrive for decades. 

Whether you're a golf coach, an athlete, a business leader or simply fascinated by high performance, this is a masterclass from one of the game's great coaching minds.

Sean is thoughtful, brutally honest and endlessly curious—and this conversation is packed with ideas you'll be thinking about long after it finishes. 

Clappy is back from his first major as a coach, and it was a good one. He breaks down how Royal Birkdale played at The Open — pins tucked on the edge of every green, morning waves getting the calm before the afternoon storm, and how firm-and-fast conditions rewarded players like Ryan Fox and Lucas Herbert who grew up on similar ground back home.

He also shares what it was like coaching Tom Sloman through his first Open, practice rounds with Harris English, Keith Mitchell, Ryan Gerard and Laurie Canter, and a great conversation with Claude Harmon about the tweaks he's making to Cameron Young's swing.

That leads into the real meat of the episode: why almost none of the best players in the world have a "textbook" swing, why "swing your swing" is terrible advice for amateurs but makes total sense for tour pros, and how the best coaches nudge players in tiny increments rather than overloading them with fixes. Plus, why remote coaching often works better than the real thing, and why less really is more once you've earned the trust to say less.

Six DP World Tour wins. One of the most respected short games the sport's ever produced. This week we sit down with Brett Rumford — the Perth kid who was too small to reach par fours in two, so he built a short game that carried him around the world instead.

Brett takes us back to chipping for six hours a day at Collier Park, caddying for tour pros as a teenager, and the day TrackMan showed up and blew up every edge he'd spent a lifetime building. We get into shaft lean, "the balance of the club," why he thinks virtuosity beats mastery, and why he flat out doesn't believe talent is born — only built through repetition and suffering.

Also in this one: a Scotty Drummond bunker story that has to be heard to be believed, why Brett calls most YouTube swing tips "the biggest load of horseshit," and — the big one — we announce Brett Rumford is officially joining Skillest.

Go straight to his skillest profile and learn from a legend here…

https://skillest.com/@brett

Baden and Clappy are back after a flat-out couple of weeks. Baden unboxes his first new set of irons in six years (thanks to Tommy Bailey at Avoda) and gets real about lie angle, and finally ditching his "Ben Hogan delusion." Clappy previews his upcoming Titleist shoe fitting and force-plate session in search of extra ground-reaction speed.

Then the pair dig into the US Open: the Wyndham Clark heckling controversy, a shoutout to coach Pat Coyner, and Sean Foley's quiet wizardry with Tom Kim. That leads into the meat of the episode — a deep dive on why so many modern tour pros are choosing power fades over draws, the real biomechanics of "shallow early, steep late," and why amateurs trying to shallow the club almost always end up stuck, early-extending, or blocking it right. Tiger's fade-dominant prime gets the credit it deserves.

Plus: a Neil Robertson snooker swing breakdown, and a big tease for Monday's guest — short-game great Brett Rumford.

Topics covered: new equipment & lie angles, force-plate shoe fitting, US Open reaction, fade vs. draw mechanics, shallowing the club, Tiger Woods' swing evolution, and a preview of Brett Rumford's short-game episode.

When Mark Govier and Alex Clapp are on, it's officially the Skilly Pod — and this one's a banger.

Mark joins us fresh from caddying at the Women's US Open at Riviera with his player Pauline Del Rosario (Philippines represent 🇵🇭), giving us the inside scoop on that brutal Kikuyu rough, Charley Hull's refreshingly chaotic pace of play, and what it's like watching Nelly and Gabby bomb it 270+ yards in a practice round. Meanwhile, Clappy jumped on straight off a flight from LA — where he managed to squeeze in a round at Riv with none other than Kevin Hart and crew. We break down what it's actually like coaching someone who bought clubs last week and has never aimed at a green.

We also get into the Curtis Cup at Bel-Air (the venue rota they've got lined up might be the most elite in golf), the insane talent pipeline coming through women's amateur golf, the FIFA World Cup, and our US Open Shinnecock picks — Fitzy, Russell Henley, Tommy Fleetwood, and a sneaky Cam Smith mention.

Plus: what does coaching a six-year-old golf prodigy actually look like vs. fixing a 40-year-old who's been broken for 20 years? Mark and Clappy go deep on it.

Good vibes, great golf chat. Enjoy the pod.

Chris Trott spent 20 years fitting golf clubs for the best players on the planet — from Dustin Johnson to Brooks Koepka to Tiger Woods. Now he's running the Trot Shop, a tour-style fitting trailer in San Diego, and what he's seeing from everyday golfers is blowing his mind.

In this episode, Trottie pulls no punches on why most club fitting is broken, why shorter shafts outperform what OEMs sell at retail, and the myths he's spent a career dismantling — tipping, puring, shaft flex, lie angles, and the obsession with launch monitors over eyes and ears. He also shares the full story: from the pro shop at Hoylake that turned him away, to a chance encounter at the Belfry that landed him on the European Tour, to writing Tiger Woods' podcast script and nearly breaking his Scotty Cameron.

If you're a coach, a fitter, or just someone who wants to actually understand the clubs in your bag — this one's essential listening.

The crew is deep into summer golf season — and this week there's plenty to talk about. First up, the Women's US Open heads to Riviera Country Club, and the guys make the case for why Riv might actually suit the women's game better than the men's. The iconic par-4 10th gets its due, and Coach Clappy shares why he'll be there in person — supporting his student Davina Zand as she competes in the Curtis Cup at Bel-Air.

From there, the conversation turns to one of coaching's great debates: has golf instruction become too technical? With launch monitors, video, and biomechanics data at every corner, the guys ask what would happen if you stripped it all away — and why the best coaches in the world often keep it brutally simple. Think Butch Harmon telling Tommy Fleetwood to "shut the door" with his hip.

Then it gets personal. Cam Smith's recent move away from long-time coach Grant Field sparks a broader conversation about when it's right to change coaches — and when it isn't. How do you know it's time to move on? What does loyalty really look like? And should coaches be cutting ties with students more often than they do?

Next week: TaylorMade's Chris Trott (Trotty Golf) joins to talk equipment fitting — drop your questions now.

Drew Steckel has coached Kevin Na, Pat Perez, Jason Kokrak, and Chesson Hadley — and he did it all before turning 24. He's not rebuilding swings from scratch. He's unlocking what's already there.

In this episode, Baden sits down with one of the most in-demand coaches on tour to talk about what it actually takes to revive a career at the highest level, why working inside the ropes changes everything, and how he thinks about teaching players who've already "made it" but know there's more.

We get into his philosophy on keeping it simple in a sport drowning in information, how he approaches the mental and physical sides of the game as one, and why he believes great coaching is never about one system.

Plus — Drew on taking his coaching online and what the shift to platforms like Skillest means for how coaches and students connect in 2025.

Topics covered:

• Coaching tour veterans vs. developing young players
• Why Drew refuses to be tied to one swing model
• The "veteran whisperer" approach — big results, small changes
• Being present at tournament sites as a coaching philosophy
• Online coaching and the future of golf instruction

Want to work with Drew? Find him at skillest.com