Over the last few weeks, across the country, teams and individuals battled it out for the title of Conference Champion. Below are the teams, their average score, and the yardage they played from - keep in mind conditions such as wind, cold, elevation and location were all different. Click on each image to enlarge.
If there is one thing I can't emphasize enough it is that coaches talk to each other. Many of the coaches have known each other since we all started playing junior golf over 20 years ago. The college golf world can be a very small world and while the coaches are competing against each other both on the course and with recruiting, they are still going to talk among themselves. It can certainly be a cut-throat process but for the most part, the coaches have respect for one another and will be honest about the details of particular players recruiting process. There are some exceptions on the coaches end as well where some dishonesty takes place so always make sure you ask the right questions. You don't have to tell a coach every detail about the offers you have from other schools but NEVER lie about it. [...]
Time management is a recurring topic that many college coaches say their players struggle with on a regular basis. So why not prepare now for that transition. Once you get to college you will have to manage classes, workouts, practice, meetings, laundry, social activities, studying and traveling. It may seem easy to manage your time now, but you won't have your parents there to help keep you on track and there are many more distractions once you get to college. You will be responsible for yourself, your time and your priorities. Your college coach will determine much of your schedule but during the season they are only allowed to schedule 20 hours/week of practice, qualifying, workouts and meetings and 8 hours/week during the off season so you will have to manage your time during the other hours of the day. And most coaches will expect you to put [...]
Maybe you have sent out some intro emails but you haven’t gotten any responses, or maybe you have been communicating with some coaches through email but don’t feel like you are getting anywhere? The next step you must be willing to tackle is to pick up the phone and call the coaches. It is very easy to sit behind a computer and send emails, and often times coaches will prefer to communicate that way, but they will all be expecting you to take the initiative to pick up the phone and call them. They want to see that you are willing to make the extra effort to call and speak by phone. This not only shows your seriousness about playing for their program, but it also provides them insight into your communication skills. Coaches are looking for players with maturity, assertiveness and interpersonal skills, so a phone call [...]
This past week on social media I shared a clip from Jason Day's post-round interview after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Unfortunately, the clip isn't available online anymore but when asked about his win, Jason emphasized 4 main areas that I thought were important to share. He says that his physical training and nutrition are two areas he has really focused on improving recently. He trains hard in the gym and he eats to fuel his body for the grind of competition. Also, he said that he spends 3.5 hours a day working strictly on short game, where he said that he writes everything down in a notebook, as in everything. He tracks the drills that he does, how he performs during those drills and he analyzes his results from one practice to another. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect a junior golfer to have 3.5 hours [...]
I serve as a guest blogger for WomensGolf.com and they recently asked me to write an article about my experiences from playing on tour. I thought I would share that as part of my Recruit PKB article this week. I hope you enjoy some of the stories and lessons from a few of my favorite experiences both on the LPGA and Symetra Tour. You can read all about them HERE.
I have re-posted almost every blog that Coach Sutherland from SMU has written because the information is so insightful and valuable for junior golf families. I was honored to have her complete an interview for me last year which you can find Part 1 and Part 2. But this week she shared some details about the team's practice schedule that should give you some great ideas on how to set up your practice as well. You can check out the article HERE. Personally, this article was very satisfying for me to read as I just started a 4-week challenge with my full-time players that included some very similar drills that Coach Sutherland uses in her practice. The girls have a specific plan of action each week, they track their results, they WRITE THEM DOWN, they work on their weaknesses, and they have something specific to focus on improving the [...]
"7 in 10 girls believe they are not good enough or do not measure up in some way, including their looks, performance in school and relationships with family and friends." – Real Girls, Real Pressure: National Report on the State of Self-Esteem, Dove Self-Esteem Fund As we recently celebrated the universal day for "showing love" it got me thinking about the importance of also learning to love yourself. No, I'm not talking about the theme behind the new Justin Bieber song "Love Yourself". I am not encouraging you to love yourself to the point of being conceited or thinking that you are better than anybody else, but it is extremely important to simply love yourself. I know as a young pre-teen or teenager this is a very hard concept to grasp. You are going through different stages of maturity, you are dealing with different social environments, you [...]
Over the weekend, I traveled to DC to be the guest speaker during the Mid-Atlantic College Golf Day at Congressional CC. I was honored and excited to join a group of great coaches that included the Virginia Tech men's head coach, Marshall women's head coach, Towson men's and women's head coach, Naval Academy men's head coach, Bridgewater College coach, McDaniel College coach, Shenandoah University coach and several others. After presenting my talk, I was fortunate to have the chance to sit in on the breakout sessions that were led by the college coaches and I wanted to take a few minutes to share some of the highlights of those sessions that I feel would be valuable information for you. When comparing your scores as a junior golfer to a collegiate player's scores you should add 4-5 shots more to make it a fair comparison. Courses aren't just longer but they are [...]
Social media can be a very useful tool to utilize during the recruiting process but it can also be a way to cost you opportunities if you don’t use it wisely. While there are rules on the coach’s end for connecting with recruits through social media, they can still do their homework to investigate what you are posting about, what your friends are posting about, and how you present yourself when you aren’t in front of them. However, if you use social media wisely, it can be a great way to learn more about the coach, the golf program, and share your own progress throughout your junior golf career. Furman University Head Women’s Golf Coach shared her thoughts on the use of social media: “We are a little limited on who we can friend and things like that, but there’s probably a good chance that I [...]
