My name is Chris Otto, and I am a University of Alberta Golden Bears alumni and an entry-level golf instructor. As the co-founder of SwingMatch Golf, I juggle running the company while teaching golf lessons on the side. This summer, I taught 72 lessons, and honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to manage it without SwingMatch.

Before I started using the platform in June, I felt stressed and stretched thin. I was constantly answering emails, trying to schedule lessons, figuring out payments, and keeping track of everything manually. It was overwhelming. Once I switched to SwingMatch, it completely changed the way I operated.

I was spending about 15 minutes per lesson just handling emails, scheduling, confirming payments, and dealing with last-minute changes. I didn’t realize how much time that added up to—18 hours over the summer. That’s almost a full day wasted on busywork instead of actually coaching.

Once I moved everything to SwingMatch, it was like flipping a switch. No more back-and-forth emails, no more scrambling to fit people in, no more chasing payments. That’s 18 hours of my life I got back. That’s time I used to get more sleep, go to the gym, or just take a break instead of answering messages at 10 PM.

At first, I was drowning in scheduling requests. I had people reaching out at random times, and I’d find myself scrambling to figure out where to fit them in. Some times worked better than others, but it was impossible to communicate that effectively. It felt like a never-ending game of musical chairs.

With SwingMatch, I finally took control of my time. I set my availability in advance, and the app automatically cascaded openings, so I never had to think about when I was free—it was already set up. I stacked my lessons right after work, so I could hit the course, coach, and go home without wasting time. Instead of being reactive, I was in control.

One of the worst parts of teaching lessons was having to ask people for money—especially when they were friends or acquaintances. It was awkward, and I hated chasing people down for payment after the fact.

With SwingMatch, payments were handled upfront. Clients paid online before the lesson, and it was one less thing I had to worry about. For the few that still wanted to pay offline, I could track it in the app instead of trying to remember who owed what. SwingMatch even sent a payment reminder to one of my clients for me through the click of a button, saving me from an uncomfortable conversation. I can’t overstate how much stress that removed.

Before SwingMatch, I was constantly second-guessing myself before lessons. Every student seemed to be working on similar things, and I’d forget exactly what we had covered in past sessions.

So I started using dictation on my phone to take quick notes in SwingMatch after every lesson. The notes would be attached to the lesson, so I knew what we had worked on in each of the previous lessons. I’d review them right before our next session, and suddenly, I wasn’t scrambling to remember details anymore.

I like to store my instruction clips on a dedicated Google Drive, and I have a dedicated folder for each student. SwingMatch made it easy to share the link with them through lesson notes to reinforce what we worked on. Not only did this help them improve, but it also made me feel like a more professional coach instead of someone just winging it.

I used to keep track of lesson packages in my iPhone notes app, and it was a nightmare. Clients would constantly ask, “How many lessons do I have left?” and I’d have to go digging through my phone to figure it out.

SwingMatch tracked lesson packages automatically, so clients could see their remaining lessons without needing to ask me. The best part? It actually encouraged them to book more frequently because they could see when they were running out. I didn’t have to remind them—they reminded themselves.

A surprising challenge was how many people had my personal phone number. It seemed harmless at first, but then I started getting random texts—questions about their swing, last-minute changes, and constant check-ins. I felt on-call 24/7.

With SwingMatch, I finally set boundaries. Instead of giving out my number, I handed out a business card with my SwingMatch profile. All communication stayed in the app. That meant that when I went on my summer holiday, I didn't open the app one time—it was a peaceful divorce from my busy work life!

SwingMatch didn’t just make me more organized—it actually helped me grow my client base. By removing all the admin headaches, I had more time to focus on coaching, and as a result, I gained 8 new clients this summer by being able to successfully capture interested clients in my booking system immediately.

While volunteering at a charity golf tournament before a vacation, I was approached by two interested students. When they checked my availability on SwingMatch, they couldn’t find a time that worked for them. Fortunately, SwingMatch offers a lesson credit system, so I suggested they purchase a lesson credit, and we’d schedule their lesson after my vacation.

Sure enough, they bought the credit, securing the sale on the spot, and we had our first lesson a few weeks later. Without SwingMatch, I’m not sure I would have captured that sale— I've realized it’s always best to book with people the moment they show interest!

Most importantly with SwingMatch, I saved 18 hours of admin work, which meant 18 extra hours of sleep, time at the gym, or just unwinding at the end of the day. I didn’t feel burnt out like I had before using the app. Instead, I actually enjoyed coaching again because I wasn’t bogged down by all the extra work I had to do.

SwingMatch didn’t just help me run my part-time coaching business—it made it feel like a full-time professional operation without the stress.

Chris Otto's SwingMatch Golf Profile