This is the perfect time for this step of the process to be front and center as many 2020 and even 2021 recruits are making their college decisions. While this part of the process is very personal and specific to each player I wanted to share a few things to keep in mind as you are making your decision on where to play college golf.

    • Consider all variables that you’ve learned thru the process and base your decision on the reasons that are important to you. These factors may be different than your friends (both golf and non-golf friends) so stick to what you feel is going to be right for you.
    • Do not get caught up in the appearance of getting golf scholarship over what is the best fit. Yes, for many families the scholarship amount is a big part of the decision making process, but do your best to not let the idea and appearance of it override the better fit. In some cases, what a coach is offering is the absolute max amount they have available or it may be that you need to be a little bit of the underdog who isn’t the “full ride” athlete in order to perform your best. Many different scenarios come into the equation when scholarship amounts are used to determine the right fit. I was a mix of academic, athletic, need-based and outside scholarship in order to get a “full-ride” to play at Furman and I am no less proud of that than had I gone to places that offered me a “full athletic ride”. It’s all about what is going to be the best fit, not where the most athletic money is going to be.
    • Do not get caught up in the “name” of a school over what is the best fit. The allure of big athletic programs and “brand name” schools is easy to get caught up in. If you are player who can compete at those programs and handle the size of the schools then by all means enjoy all that they offer, but if you know that isn’t going to be the best fit for you then don’t let the wrong reasons and societal influence impact your decision.
    • Do not get caught up in the idea that DI is better than other levels. I can not reiterate this enough! I have consulted numerous players whose #1 goal was to “play DI golf” and they could not get it out of their head. They felt that DII, DIII and NAIA programs were just not good enough and the “goal” in proving they were good enough was by going to a DI program. However in many cases you can find a more experienced and dedicated coach, like-minded teammates, and a better tournament schedule. Take a listen to Episodes 9 and 10 (released this week) of my Tap In To College Golf podcast with two awesome coaches at DII programs.
    • Do not get caught up in only what the coach says the program and environment is going to be like, do your homework and research. Unfortunately college recruiting is a business and many times recruits can be treated and handled like a “sales pitch”. Just as I would hope you would do with any type of big purchase, do your homework and research. If you only base your decision off what the sales guy tells you at one store then you are probably going to be in for some disappointment down the road. Take the initiative to ask the coach some tough questions, seek out different resources, talk to the current team (and a former player if possible). Do all that you can to ensure you have the best idea of what the experience is going to be like before you make your decision.
    • Never make a decision on the spot, always at least take the time to sleep on it. This is probably the BIGGEST decision in your life up to this point so no matter how much homework and research you have done, ALWAYS ask to sleep on it. The offer will still be there, if it’s not then it’s probably not a coach you want to play for anyways if they can’t give you that amount of time to make your final decision.

If you would like to schedule your free PKB Initial 30 minute Consultation please email me at bjackson@pkbgt.org.

Brandi Jackson

RecruitPKB College Consultant

If you need assistance with the college recruiting process, please contact Brandi at bjackson@pkbgt.org