21 03, 2018

PerformPKB: How Should I Spend My Practice Time – Part 1

By |2018-03-29T10:08:52-04:00March 21st, 2018|Player Performance Articles|0 Comments

Practice is essential in improving, but most players fail to practice effectively or efficiently.  I look at data to help analyze how I can help improve a players practice.   Every tournament player that I coach I suggest them to use ShotbyShot.com, a statistical analysis program designed by Peter Sanders.  By tracking data, we receive similar data to what the PGA Tour players can get.  Through analyzation, we can track tendencies, in particular, knowing the distances they play the most strokes from. We coach a lot of tournament golfers; whether they are Tour Players, top amateurs, or junior golfers hoping to play in college, the goal is the still the same: they want to know how to improve so they can shoot lower scores in competition. To truly accomplish this, we must measure.  I have developed the Precision Coaching Program to measure practice similar to the way you [...]

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15 03, 2018

RecruitPKB: Parent Role at Tournaments

By |2018-03-21T20:35:56-04:00March 15th, 2018|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

This week's Recruit PKB: Recruiting Process article from the series "Parent Role in the College Recruiting Process" will cover a parent's role at junior golf tournaments. I cover parent behavior quite often throughout my seminars and articles because I know the influence it can have on a young girl's golf career. I also know the influence it can have on a college coach's decision to recruit a player. One of the first experiences a coach will have when recruiting a player is the interaction that they see between a parent and child at a junior golf tournament. Below are a few tips on ways to ensure your role at a tournament is a positive one for both your daughter and a college coach. Don’t hover when they are warming up: Try not to hover over your daughter while she is warming up to play. It is ok to [...]

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8 03, 2018

RecruitPKB: Parent Role in Supporting without Pushing

By |2018-03-21T20:31:14-04:00March 8th, 2018|College Recruiting Articles|1 Comment

A few years ago I took everyone through a series of articles to cover a parent's role in the different aspects of the college recruiting process. I wanted to revisit many of those topics with a fresh new take, so over the next weeks, along with some college coach interviews, we will revisit these different topics. The first topic addressed is one that I get asked very often from parents who are concerned with pushing their daughter too hard, but who also know their daughter needs some guidance and structure in order to stay on track towards her goal of playing college golf. I am not a parent myself but I do understand that there is a very thin line between pushing too hard and just trying to keep a young girl motivated to succeed. Below are 5 recommendations that I believe can help a parent understand [...]

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7 03, 2018

RecruitPKB: College Tournaments

By |2019-03-22T09:25:35-04:00March 7th, 2018|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

This is an assignment that I can not emphasize the importance of enough, go watch college golf tournaments. Some teams have already played 2 or 3 tournaments but there are some great opportunities ahead to plan a trip to a college golf tournament. If you are in the midst of the process and talking with several coaches then you need to go watch them "in action". It is one thing to sit across the desk from a coach and ask questions, maybe even chat by phone and get to know each other, but you MUST get a better feel for how they are when they are coaching during a tournament. There are a lot of different coaching styles and not all are going to be ideal to your personality. If you get the chance to watch, pay close attention to how they interact [...]

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1 03, 2018

RecruitPKB: Be Honest About Your Commitment

By |2018-03-02T14:45:25-05:00March 1st, 2018|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

I have recently had discussions with several of my players who are nearing the point of making their college decision so I wanted to address a few things to think about as you navigate both the early and later stages of the process. I receive a lot of feedback from coaches about what happens once a player gets on campus in comparison to what was discussed during the recruiting process. Many times what a player tells the coach during the recruiting process isn't what they are willing to do once they get to school. The decision to play collegiate golf is a life-changing decision. If you end up at a school or program that doesn't match up to your goals, work ethic, and expectations then it can end up being a long 4 years for you, the coach and the team. Yes you "can" transfer and in [...]

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22 02, 2018

RecruitPKB: Coach Interview with University of Albany

By |2018-02-22T10:43:12-05:00February 22nd, 2018|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

Coach Colleen McSween, University of Albany Head Women's Golf Coach, gives us her insight about college recruiting.   Do you prefer that a recruit fills out the online questionnaire or sends their resume? Or both? Personally, I prefer a personal email with their resume.  Our questionnaire is very generic, but if they have filled it out then at least I know they have looked through our website. What do you look for when observing a recruit on the course? Demeanor is important to me on a course.  Keeping emotions in tack.  Looks confident.  Walks tall.  Acts like they know what they are doing (even if they don't) :)  Also, I like kids that carry their golf bags.  I'm old school.  I realize push carts are maybe the future, but I still like to see the golfers picking up their bags.  I also like to see them walking off [...]

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15 02, 2018

RecruitPKB: What NOT to do with an intro email

By |2018-02-15T12:27:52-05:00February 15th, 2018|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments

This past week I received a message from a college coach who wanted to share an email she had received. This email had so many things wrong with it that she wanted to make sure others knew and didn't make similar mistakes. I won't share the actual email but I do want to list out the mistakes that both myself and the coach concluded were necessary to address. Keep in mind this email was considered an "introductory email" where you are trying to make the best impression on a coach. The email was written and sent by the parent and not the player, a major turnoff to most all college coaches The email was typed on a phone and not a computer, leading to numerous formatting, grammatical and spelling errors. Simple words like "you" and "and" were shortened to "u" and "n" The very first sentence addressed [...]

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8 02, 2018

RecruitPKB: Are You an Athlete?

By |2018-02-08T12:37:48-05:00February 8th, 2018|Player Performance Articles|0 Comments

Are you an athlete or do you just play a sport? This is a question that I have struggled with honestly answering for a lot of my life. For a long time, I thought I was an athlete simply bc I had the physical ability to play sports. I grew up playing basketball, softball, volleyball, and golf. I only played basketball until my sophomore year of high school but continued playing volleyball and of course golf throughout high school. I thought that because I was pretty good at them that meant I was a good athlete. And I thought because I went on to be a collegiate and professional golfer that meant I was a successful athlete. Now, years later, I finally realize what being an athlete really means. Every day, through my actions and decisions, I strive and sometimes struggle, to continue to become a better athlete in hopes that [...]

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1 02, 2018

PerformPKB: So Many Tournaments… Which Ones to Play in 2018?

By |2018-04-05T11:18:58-04:00February 1st, 2018|Physical Performance Articles|0 Comments

by Chris Finn, MSPT, CSCS, TPIMP - Founder, Par4Success   I had the recent honor of speaking to a large group of junior golfers and their parents down in Pinehurst and one of the topics we discussed was the all-important question of "what is the point of a tournament?" I was very pleasantly surprised at the answers I received from those in attendance as they ranged from having fun to learning how to compete and everything in between.  The #1 goal of playing in a competitive tournament is to learn.  If you are playing competitively, your goal needs to be to assess your game in the competitive environment and take away something from the experience that propels your game forward. Unfortunately, many kids and parents are so concerned with winning that if they don't win or shoot a higher score than expected the totally miss out on [...]

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1 02, 2018

RecruitPKB: Q and A with Western Kentucky

By |2018-02-01T19:36:59-05:00February 1st, 2018|College Recruiting Articles|1 Comment

RecruitPKB College Consultant Brandi Jackson recently conducted Q and As with college coaches at all division levels across the country. Here is some insight from Coach Adam Gary, Head Women's Golf Coach at mid-ranked DI Western Kentucky University.   Do you prefer that a recruit fills out the online questionnaire or sends their resume? Or both? I really like to have both. It's nice to have all of the player's information in one place with our questionnaire database, but I like to get more detailed information from the resume also. What do you look for when observing a recruit on the course? I look for how a player interacts with their parents, players and host facilities. I think it's important to have good body language and show gratitude toward parents/volunteers. Obviously, I'm interested in technique, power, course management and short game skills as well. How important is it [...]

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