The ultimate goal through the college recruiting process is to find the right fit with both the school and the golf program. As much as I wish I could say this was the easy part, unfortunately, it can be a very stressful time. Even if you take lots of visits, do the research and ask all the right questions, it can still be a tough decision.

Sometimes you may end up having to go off that gut feeling that you get about a particular school, other times it may be an obvious right fit and for some, they may not feel they have found the right fit but are determined to make it the best 4 years of their life. But no matter what, you must do as much homework as possible so that you can make the best decision based on the options that are available. The decision you make will be a life-changing decision so don’t take it lightly and don’t take the mindset that you can always just transfer later if it’s not right.

Below are a few examples of questions to ask yourself in order to determine if it’s the right fit. While you must love the school beyond just the golf program you also must keep in mind that the relationship you have with the coach and team will be one of the most important factors in your college experience. These are the people you will spend majority of your time with during your college years. Try to spend as much time as possible getting to know the coach and players before making your decision.

Take any red flags or bad gut feelings very seriously. Don’t look at the less important factors such as the cool swag you will get, newest equipment or the top of the line van you will get to travel in. If you aren’t compatible with the 5 or 6 other people who are in that top of line van with you, wearing the cool swag, unloading the newest equipment then those road trips, daily practices, workouts and team experiences are going to be very tough to enjoy.

And worse than that, if you aren’t even in the van when it leaves to go to tournaments, then your experience will be very difficult to enjoy. So really consider the possibility of playing time at the school you choose, and how quickly you see yourself being on the travel team. You may not travel for every tournament freshman year, but you need to feel that you have the ability to get in a lot of playing time and develop as a player early in your college career.  If not, it’s very difficult you get back in tournament mode as a sophomore if you spent all of your freshman year at home.

  • Are you compatible with the coach and other team members?
  • Do you feel that you can earn playing time your freshman year?
  • Are the class sizes compatible with your personality?
  • Can you see yourself attending the school if you weren’t playing golf?

 

If you would like more assistance with making your final decision or getting started with the process please feel free to contact me at bjackson@pkbgt.org.