What is the RecruitPKB platform?
The path to collegiate golf can be difficult and intimidating. The first step in the recruiting process is establishing a game plan. That is where we come in. We are here to help you understand the process and help you achieve your dreams of playing college golf.
RecruitPKB offers a way to connect current PKBGT players with opportunities in the collegiate game. This new service offers advice from our college consultant, insight into the recruiting experience and ways to become a more complete golfer. Our network of over 650 PKBGT alumni in the college ranks along with our resource center can help you on your way to playing college golf.
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Recruit PKB: SMU Coach Jeanne Sutherland Interview Part 1
At the start of each year I sit down and brainstorm ideas on new and creative ways that I can educate, motivate and inspire young golfers who want to play at the next level. One of my top goals for this year was to get into the minds of college coaches and let them give their insight and tell their story. I hope everyone enjoyed the last few weeks of Q and A with Furman University Coach Kelley Hester. I promise not all of the RecruitPKB articles will be college coach interviews but I have another great one to share over the next 2 weeks. My first encounter with SMU Coach Jeanne Sutherland goes back to a funny story that my parents like to tell. When Coach Sutherland was the Texas A&M head coach, she watched me play and asked my parents if she would be wasting her time getting a SC girl to come play golf in TX. They quickly replied with a [...]
Recruit PKB: Furman Coach Interview Part 3
Coach Kelley Hester took over the Furman women's golf program in 2012. She has since brought the winning tradition back to the program with 2 wins in the fall at the Golfweek Program Challenge and the Furman Invitational and a recent win at the Florida State Matchup. The team also finished ranked 26th in the Golfweek rankings. She sat down with Recruit PKB College Consultant Brandi Jackson to discuss her coaching philosophy and advice to junior golfers going through the recruiting process. Check out part 3 of the interview. What are good questions that a player should ask a college coach? It is good for players to have information about tournament schedule, what kind of schedule is a team going to be playing? How does a coach determine who is going to go to the tournament? Are the players qualifying? Is a coach going to pick some? How far are the practice facilities? How much time am I going to be in the car? [...]
Recruit PKB: Furman Coach Interview Part 2
Coach Kelley Hester took over the Furman women's golf program in 2012. She has since brought the winning tradition back to the program with 2 wins this fall at the Golfweek Program Challenge and the Furman Invitational. The team also finished ranked 26th in the Golfweek rankings. She sat down with Recruit PKB College Consultant Brandi Jackson to discuss her coaching philosophy and advice to junior golfers going through the recruiting process. Check out part 2 of the interview. What do you look for with a resume? Well I like to see scores and I like to see you where you finished in the field in relation to the size in the field and I like to see yardages. I don't need a lot of commentary about weather or wind. I can certainly look up and see what the other scores were for the tournament but a lot of times we will see things that say “I finished first in this tournament or [...]
Recruit PKB: Furman Coach Interview Part 1
Coach Kelley Hester took over the Furman women's golf program in 2012. She has since brought the winning tradition back to the program with 2 wins this fall at the Golfweek Program Challenge and the Furman Invitational. The team also finished ranked 26th in the Golfweek rankings. She sat down with Recruit PKB College Consultant Brandi Jackson to discuss her coaching philosophy and advice to junior golfers and parents going through the recruiting process. Check out part 1 of the interview. What do you love about being a college coach? Well I loved college golf as a player. I mean I loved every minute of it so much that I graduated in four years and stayed for a 5th year because I red-shirted my first year. So I love helping kids have a great college golf experience, the opportunity to help kids navigate through that process and have a great college experience. The time that you spend in college is huge, 18-22 are extremely [...]
Recruit PKB: Take Visits
All steps of the recruiting process are necessary in order to successfully find the right college fit, however taking college visits is when the process really begins to take shape and you can actually see what the ultimate goal will look like. You must be assertive and take the initiative to try and set up visits early in the process. Visits will not only give you an opportunity to meet with a coach but they also help you begin to figure out what you want in a school and help to motivate you to work hard in order to reach the level it takes to play at those particular schools. Also the more comfortable you get with speaking with coaches, then the more confident and prepared you will be on future visits. It can be difficult for freshmen and sophomores to set up visits since coaches can't reply to emails or return phone calls, but with a little persistence you can make it happen. [...]
Recruit PKB: Contact 75+ Schools
The topic of contacting schools is a question that I have been asked numerous times throughout recruiting seminars and individual consultations. As with many parts of the process this tends to be very specific to where the individual recruit is at in his/her own recruiting process. Obviously the higher ranked players don't have to work as hard to contact coaches because they are being sought after by many coaches and will generate enough interest through a smaller number of intro emails. However as you move down the rankings list, the number of coaches you need to contact in order to insure you find the right fit increases. While some will be able to contact a small group of schools and generate enough communication and interest, it is rarely that easy. I recommend contacting 75 or more schools initially. While this may seem like a lot, from my experience of working with players, they will get about a 20-30% return in regards to receiving a [...]
Recruit PKB: Recruiting Videos
Recruiting videos are a very important part of your resume. While golf tends to be more objective in regards to tournament results, a recruiting video will give a coach an idea of your swing and short game fundamentals. Many times a coach may not be able to get out and watch you play before he or she can decide if you are a potential recruit for their program. Sending a recruiting video along with your resume with provide them with an idea of your game to hopefully entice them to come out and watch you play. When filming a recruiting video make sure you take the shots from directly in front of the player and directly down the line. The wrong angle can create a distorted view of the swing and setup. It is recommended to shoot full swing with 3 different clubs, along with some short game shots that can include pitches, chips, lobs, bunker shots and putting. Do your best to hold [...]
Recruit PKB: Building a Resume
Building a quality resume is one of the most important steps in the college recruiting process. While your game will speak for itself out on the course, your resume will be the first insight a coach has into you as an all around person. Having an online resume that contains all of the necessary information is the preferred method by most coaches. This makes the information accessible and easy to navigate. You don’t want a coach to have to go out of their way to find the information they need to know about you. Their time is very limited and valuable. You want to capitalize on the one chance you may have that a coach reads your email. If you have to resend a swing video, test scores or tournament results they may overlook that second email and never see it. If a coach has to open 5 different attachments to one email they may not take the time to look at all of [...]
Recruit PKB: Get an Evaluation
“Be realistic with your ability and what level you are on when identifying schools.” - Division 1 Women’s Coach Getting a qualified, unbiased 3rd party evaluation will help a junior golf family develop a better game plan so their daughter can achieve her goal of playing college golf. Many families do not understand the realities of what it takes to play at the college level so they have no direction when they begin the process. They may end up wasting a lot of time, money and resources focused on the wrong schools, camps, tournaments and travel. It's ok to dream big but when it comes to the recruiting process and what it takes to play at the college level many times a family doesn't understand the demands and commitment that comes with it all. An evaluation will give a family a realistic assessment of the player's overall game, resume, academics, goals and expectations in regards to the college recruiting process and the timelines associated [...]
RecruitPKB: Setting Goals
Goal setting is an important part of the college recruiting process both for your game as well as the recruiting process. The most important thing to remember is that a goal is useless unless you set a specific plan of action to achieve it. Set realistic goals - There is nothing wrong with wanting to reach for the stars but you want to give yourself goals that are realistically obtainable. If you aren’t able to reach your goals in a timely manner, you will easily lose sight of them and not work as hard towards achieving them. Set process goals, not just outcome goals – Set goals that you can accomplish in the present. When you put so much emphasis on results you forget to focus on what it takes to get there. Set your goals based on what you need to be doing NOW. The outcome will take care of itself if you commit to fully working towards it each day. Stay focused [...]