The Skillest Podcast

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