Testimonial - Sam R. - Westmount Golf & Country Club Member

I went to Mike to retool my entire golf game.

I was a 2 handicap but knew I lacked the proper swing structures and understanding of mechanics to further improve.

Mike’s ability to teach all elements of the game of golf is, in my opinion, unmatched. His focus on fundamentals and video analysis, combined with his description of feels and swing thoughts, leads to consistency and great depth of understanding for his students.

Mike’s positive attitude and ability to turn the frustration golf can bring into constructive energy makes his coaching very enjoyable and progressive – you are always moving forward from a session with good thoughts.

I would highly recommend Mike to golfers of all ability levels looking to increase their enjoyment level from the game!!

Testimonial - Steve K. - Westmount Golf & Country Club Member

I have been working with Mike for over 5 years.

During our time together I have had a significant drop in my handicap, increased my understanding of my golf swing and have deepened my passion for the game.

Mike is an extremely patient instructor, with a systematic approach to improving your game at a pace that works for you. Mike ensures you understand what you are working on and the intended result so you can “self correct” during a round.

What I appreciate most is he only changes one thing at a time. This allows you to focus solely on that change, and not get overwhelmed with several things at once. Beyond your swing, Mike also provides valuable input on the mental and strategic part of the game.

Mike’s coaching style works with players of any age of skill level.

I would highly recommend Mike, whether you are looking to improve your overall game or you just want to work on one aspect of your game.

Testimonial - William T. - Westmount Golf & Country Club Member

I took up golf in my late 40s in 2013 when I joined Westmount Golf and Country Club. I had a change in jobs that gave me the opportunity to return to Waterloo Region and to take up golf and tennis; two sports that I found very appealing. I took a few lessons as I had no background in any stick/racquet and ball sport.

While tennis came along well, there was no way to sugar-coat the facts, I was terrible at golf.

I completely lacked the inherent ability and found myself getting more and more frustrated over the course of that season and 2014. I legitimately was shooting around 130 and had real problems contacting the ball. I was not enjoying the game and was getting more and more frustrated. I remember the day quite clearly; it was August of 2015 and after hitting another 150-yard puff slice drive, I said to one of my playing friends (who outdrove me by at least 100 years) that I couldn’t take this any longer.

I had to either get better at golf or I couldn’t continue. It was simply too frustrating.

I talked to one of my friends who is a very good golfer and he recommended that I get in touch with Mike Skimson who was teaching at Whistle Bare at the time. I called and I remember the call when Mike called me back. I explained to him where I was at and I remember saying to me “I can guarantee you that if you put in the work, we can get you to the point where you are having fun playing golf”.

That call was the turning point.

From the first lesson with Mike, I felt like I was building a solid base of good technique. It wasn’t an easy process. There were periods of quick progress followed by challenging periods, but the trajectory was clearly toward improvement.

I worked consistently with Mike throughout the year and gradually my game improved. By 2016, I was shooting around 100 and occasionally managed to get into the 90s. He gave me a base that turned that slice into a draw, and I gained distance and consistency. I really had hit the point where I was enjoying the game.

I continued to work with Mike and continued to improve.

He has brought me to the point where I currently have a 7 handicap and absolutely love the game. We now work on refinements. Learning to hit draws or fades, improving my short game, etc. I hit a milestone this year with 4 consecutive rounds in the 70s during a trip to BC. I still have frustrating days on the course but I know that my base skills are solid so any slumps can be corrected.

My next goal is to shoot even par at Westmount.

I cannot say enough about Mike as a coach. His calm yet encouraging approach combined with the solid use of technology is the perfect combination for me. He doesn’t overwhelm you with a lot of changes at a time nor does he seek quick fixes. It reminds me of building a wall. He helps you develop a solid base and then builds a wall brick by brick. He even finds the positives in tough days by focusing on where there has been improvement and often these days lead to big improvements.

I know what he’s done for my game and I’ve seen him help a couple of my golfing friends to big improvements in their games.

Mike is an integral part of my golf journey. I was so fortunate to be able to have him as my instructor and coach. I did put in the work, but he absolutely delivered on his promise, I have a ton of fun playing golf.

Testimonial - Jeff G. - Westmount Golf & Country Club Member

Working with Skimmer over the last 3 years has been a gift to my game. Beyond helping me rebuild my swing and lower my scores, he’s given me the mental and strategy tools to help me become a more well rounded player.

I look forward to my weekly lessons; it’s like therapy for me and the lessons on the course often apply in the real world, too.

Testimonial - Linda B., Greg. B, & Michael B. - Westmount Golf & Country Club Family Members

Mike Skimson – coaching testimonial

November 12, 2022

We are a family of avid golfers. Before the 2022 golf season, Greg (handicap 10), Michael (5) and I (22) met with Mike and came up with a plan.

We set up a weekly time with Mike, and the three of us began a family rotation. Before the sessions began

Mike met with each of us individually, and through conversation, he had us identify our frustrations and outline our goals of what we wanted to achieve.

The process became a partnership between the coach and the player with a goal of improving our game. We started in the simulators where with assistance of some techy analytics Mike helped to break down our swing. He then identified areas of improvement and with some slight tweaks in our mechanics brought us into a better swing path.

He never overloaded us with information, he broke down the process bit by bit, and if something didn’t click, he tried a different strategy. During our series of lessons, he made sure we understood the anatomy of a good swing, which helped us understand why some of the changes we were making were so important. He made sure we had a strong base to build on before adding in a new adjustment.

Once we were able to get outdoors, we built on the mechanics and through Mike’s coaching applied what we’d learned in the simulators into practice on the turf. Mike also helped with the psychology of the game; coaching us on making the most of our practice time, advising us on effective warm up strategies, and most importantly thinking outside the box, and then trusting ourselves upon approaching the ball to just follow through and play!

Not only was Mike effective in our one-to-one sessions, he followed up our lessons with personal videos which reminded us what to work on while practicing, and he also sent out informative newsletters with helpful hints on how to improve your game. As a family we are all at different stages in our game. In our situation, Mike demonstrated his skill in being able to effectively coach players with a wide range of handicaps.

We would highly recommend Mike as a golf instructor/coach for any one, at any stage in their game.