Unofficial Review: Skillest Online Lesson App

[Coulter]

You don't need another golf lesson.
What you need is a golf coach.
You’ve tried everything to improve your game.
Nothing has worked.

There’s a better way.
Become the golfer you know you can be.

• Many of the best coaches in the world
• Share goals, on course stats, injuries, obstacles, and more
• Don’t worry about scheduling your next lesson. Get answers when you need them.
• Frequent feedback means you can focus on 1 thing at a time
• You have a coach working with you to help you achieve your goals.
• This is the scientifically proven way to improve at any skill

These are some of the claims you’ll find when you go to the Skillest website but do they really hold up? 

Earlier this year I decided I was going to put more focus on bettering my golf game. I began my search with local coaches in my area. The result was the same everywhere I looked. Prices that didn’t come close to fitting into my budget or conflicting schedules that even if I would be able to find the time to go to a lesson I would be taking time away from the family and that wasn’t an option. 

In comes Skillest and the new world of online coaching. After downloading the app you are met with a questionnaire to get recommendations on coaches that might work for your specific goals. Initially I chose to just browse the large list of coaches and see what the app had to offer. What I found really surprised me! Some of the biggest names in golf instruction are indeed on the app and for a certain price you can benefit from coaches that some of the world’s best players have worked with. 

 Again there’s that budget issue. You can easily search the app for coaches based off prices. Each coach has a bio with credentials so you get an idea of who you are signing up to work with before you commit which is something that is hit or miss when searching locally. After a pretty quick search I found my coach. 

 I started by messaging asking exactly how online lessons worked and what he would need from me. After explaining the process I got started on some videos and had them submitted. 

Video Analysis:

 

 

I knew my swing wasn’t going to get me on tour I just didn’t realize how bad it was. He did a great job in my opinion of breaking down the things I was needing to work on with an emphasis on starting from my base (set up and weight distribution) 

Tips and Drills: 

After these 2 initial videos I was asked to video myself doing the drill and upload them to the lesson to ensure that I was performing the drills correctly. 

Making sure that I’m performing the drills correctly was a concern for me going into this because let’s face it with a swing as graceful as mine was I knew without doing things exactly the way I was being told I would just be spinning my wheels and never see any real improvement.

 I’m happy to say that I thoroughly enjoyed working with this coach and have done another lesson with him last spring and just recently submitted my 3rd lesson to again see where I am in the journey to improvement. 
 

If you are interested in bettering your game and don’t want to spend the money and time for an in person lesson I highly recommend Skillest!

[Rob Person]

Excellent review and explanation of how this worked well for you.  The one exception to an in person session is usually a lack of visual feedback that video gives you.

[Coulter]

I agree. One thing I haven’t tried through Skillest is a live zoom lesson and at some point may try to find time if I decide I may need more real time feedback but for now am happy to send in videos.

[WaffleHouseTour]

Live zoom can be key, and speed things up.  For example I’m working on posture… my coach is live, watching down the line and telling me when I’m in the position she wants. I’ve got my ear buds in so communication is easy.  Faster then sending video after video saying “is this right?”

Sometimes it’s just talking through things. Faster. 
 

BUt for others the video back and forth is plenty helpful. 

[Coulter]

11 hours ago, WaffleHouseTour said:

Live zoom can be key, and speed things up.  For example I’m working on posture… my coach is live, watching down the line and telling me when I’m in the position she wants. I’ve got my ear buds in so communication is easy.  Faster then sending video after video saying “is this right?”

Sometimes it’s just talking through things. Faster. 
 

BUt for others the video back and forth is plenty helpful. 

Have you only done the live zoom sessions?

[cksurfdude]

@Coulter good info!

Curious, though, what particular qualities stood out to you about this coach that made you choose them? Thx

 

[Coulter]

9 minutes ago, cksurfdude said:

@Coulter good info!

Curious, though, what particular qualities stood out to you about this coach that made you choose them? Thx

 

It was mainly price that got my attention. I had never had a lesson before outside of a driver lesson at a golf shop on vacation in Florida and I have no clue if that instructor was qualified in any way. After finding the right price range I began going through different coaches profiles looking for what I felt were good qualifications. This coach fit the bill for what I felt I was looking for.

[Josh Parker]

Great info on this system!  It has been one thing I have thought about trying out. 

[Coulter]

Just now, Josh Parker said:

Great info on this system!  It has been one thing I have thought about trying out. 

I really like the ease of use and how little time it takes to get a lesson in. There are a lot of coaches that will do a free 1st lesson to get your feet wet if you’re unsure and don’t want to commit to paying any more than a little time.

[WaffleHouseTour]

3 hours ago, Coulter said:

Have you only done the live zoom sessions?

Oh no.  Mostly uploaded videos.  Lots of voice messages. We actually don’t use the “lesson” functions all that much but more share back and forth via the “message” function.  I have a “subscription” w my coach rather than purchasing individual lessons.  But sometimes, especially when what she wants me to do isn’t translating, or I can’t feel what she wants me to feel we’ll hop on a live zoom. A few times we’ve done nothing but talk - maybe about strategy, or what I’m thinking, or making a future plan

[Coulter]

Have you found this to be more beneficial than in person lessons or coaching? @WaffleHouseTour

Edited November 6 by Coulter