Learn From Our Experts
RecruitPKB: Looking to a New Year Ahead
As we look to say goodbye to 2024 in a few weeks, it's also a great time to reflect on what you learned this year. This is a great topic to share with the coaches that you have been reaching out to and give them some insight into your year. While you want to focus on the year ahead, take a few minutes to [...]
RecruitPKB: Handshake Tips
Making a good first impression on a coach (or anyone) is such an important skill to master. Start by practicing your handshake. Here are some tips: Smile: A big smile always makes a good first impression Hearty Hand: Firm grip but don’t overdo it Address: Address them by name if you know it. Or just introduce yourself by name and say “nice to meet [...]
RecruitPKB: “I Grew Up Through This Process”
A few years ago, one of my graduating seniors shared this with me for what how she felt when she looked back on the recruiting process. “I feel like I grew up so much through this process” - High School Senior At the end of the day, there is no guarantee for finding the perfect fit, or even a college golf fit period. There [...]
RecruitPKB: The Coach Never Responds
First, we are going to assume the NCAA rules allow the coach to respond (current 2025 and 2026 recruits). Once that is established there are several reasons why you may not get responses with the most common usually being that you aren’t being realistic with the strength of the golf program. But here are a few reasons why the coach may not be responding [...]
RecruitPKB: Aren’t Scores Just Scores
A dad recently commented to me "Aren't scores just scores?" regarding the field size and field strength a player is competing against. While that may initially sound like a simple answer, it's not so simple when you really think about it. Imagine the difference in playing your club championship on your home golf course vs playing the US Open on your home golf course. [...]
RecruitPKB: Excellence not Perfection
"Perfection is motivated by fear. Excellence is motivated by love." One thing I've noticed in the 14 years of consulting, evaluating, and watching female golfers, is their tendency to seek perfection and overachievement in the game of golf. The girls have a mentality that creates fear because they are motivated by perfection. That if it's not perfect then it's not good enough and the [...]
RecruitPKB: Are You an Athlete?
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 [...]
RecruitPKB: Growth or Fixed Mindset?
How do you handle adversity, challenges, and setbacks? With a fixed mindset or a growth mindset? One of my favorite and most influential books is Carol Dweck's Mindset. She has conducted numerous studies and research on the difference in those who possess a fixed mindset and those who have a growth mindset. This past weekend I had the opportunity to sit down with a top 50 [...]
RecruitPKB: Hula Hoops
Growing up I was a master hula hooper. I could keep a hula hoop going for hours if I had to, even two or three at a time. My hips don't move quite as fast as they use to so I've found a new purpose for hula hoops these days. They are awesome, inexpensive practice tools. You can use them for a number of [...]
RecruitPKB: Ceiling of Improvement
"If you don't do the things you're not good at then you'll never get better" This doesn't just mean practicing or working on those things a little to say you did it, it means dedicating time to actually get better at those things! - One of the earlier years of being on Symetra tour, my college boyfriend, who was a pretty good golfer, was caddying [...]
RecruitPKB: Find Your WHY
Motivation can be tough at times for athletes of all levels. You can get tired, burned out, frustrated or simply just lose focus. To help make sure you stay motivated everyday take the time to figure out your "why". Why do you play golf? Why do you practice? Why do you play tournaments? There isn't necessarily a right or wrong reason but everybody needs to know their why. For [...]
RecruitPKB: 6 Things to do Before the 1st Tee
Many times you may get to the first tee of a tournament round and be nervous and anxious to play. The last thing you want to worry about are the tedious things you could have done before you stepped onto the first tee. Here are 6 key tasks to remember to do before you get to the first tee so that you don’t forget [...]
PerformPKB: Strength Training Will Destroy Your Game -True or False?
If you’ve been playing the game for long, you’ve probably been told that strength training for golfers will get you bulky, restrict your mobility and can even get you hurt so that you can’t play the game. But how true is this argument? This is a contested topic on many media platforms and even among coaches and golfers themselves. The curious part of this [...]
PerformPKB: Range Practice is Hurting You – Do This Instead
The driving range is the biggest barrier to a golfer's success. Period. It is a place where quantity is king, and quality is the court jester. Repeating swing after swing in a blocked practice format actually breeds repetitive injuries and ends careers. Minimal carry over onto the course from the range is what keeps handicaps and frustrations high, while contributing to the high number [...]
PerformPKB: Eccentric Training- The Professional Golfer’s Secret Weapon
By Physical Performance Consultant Chris Finn of Par4Success Introduction Many have probably heard the saying, “You have to train fast to be fast.” In the world of sports performance, however, very little is that cut and dry. In the past month, my athletes have been training very slowly, particularly in the lowering phase of their lifts, known as the eccentric phase. I am currently [...]
PerformPKB: 7 Stages of Long Term Athletic Development for Golfers
Individuals can experience failed attempts to participate in organized sports when too much emphasis is placed on competition and not enough attention on developing proper athleticism (appropriate movement skills). If you have limited movement skills, you stop participating. This leads to decreased interest in physical activity and a failure to develop physical literacy (proper training to improve athleticism) in a sequential and progressive manner. [...]
PerformPKB: So Many Tournaments… Which Ones to Play in 2018?
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 [...]
PerformPKB: 5 Golf Fitness Myths
This article is part of a guest series to the RecruitPKB "Complete Golfer" program by Chris Finn, MSPT, CSCS, owner of Par4Success in Cary, North Carolina. 1. I'm not a football player, I don’t need to weight train? The golf swing is a fast, explosive, and powerful motion. Power is an application of force. You need to have force to be able to apply [...]
