Recruit PKB: SMU Coach Jeanne Sutherland Interview Part 2

Here is part 2 of my interview with Coach Sutherland about her coaching philosophy and insight in to the recruiting process. 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 "yes". Needless to say they didn't want their baby girl playing college golf halfway across the country. Can't say this small town girl disagreed. But I recently was able to reconnect with Coach Sutherland who after 15 years at Texas A&M took over the head women's job at Southern Methodist University in 2011. What has really impressed me about Coach Sutherland is the insight she provides through [...]

By |2017-09-13T12:08:49-04:00March 6th, 2015|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments
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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 [...]

By |2018-03-06T15:55:47-05:00November 21st, 2014|Player Performance Articles|0 Comments
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Recruit PKB: Putting Line

One of my favorite putting drills from my college and professional days is something very simple but extremely effective at building confidence and putting a little bit of pressure on making those short putts when it counts. There are several different variations of this one drill which is why I like it so much. Below are a few options to get you started. 3, 5, 7, 9ft line - Place a tee at 3ft, 5ft, 7ft and 9ft in a line on one side of hole. Begin with a fairly flat putt. Start at the 3ft putt, if you make it move back to the 5ft putt, if you make that move to the 7ft. If you miss then you must start back at the 3ft putt 9, 7, 5, 3ft line - After you have gone up the line start from the 9ft putt and move [...]

By |2017-09-13T11:46:30-04:00October 10th, 2014|Player Performance Articles|0 Comments
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Recruit PKB: Support Without Pushing Too Hard

žThe next series of "Recruit PKB: Recruiting Process" articles will cover a parent's role in the different aspects of the college recruiting process. 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 how to best support their daughter and work together as a team throughout the recruiting process. žContinue to ask your daughter what she wants out of her golf: First and foremost, it must [...]

By |2017-09-13T12:10:36-04:00August 17th, 2014|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments
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Recruit PKB: Just Say No to Negative Self Talk

Every time you hit a bad shot, have a bad hole or make a mental mistake stop for a second and ask yourself this question. What would I tell my playing partners if they did the same thing? I highly doubt you would tell them "that was stupid" or "geez what were you thinking" or "you're terrible". More than likely you would tell them "it's OK" or "shake it off" and not really have much emotion towards their shot. You may feel bad for them if they are having a rough day but you would never put them down or belittle their golf skills. So why do that to yourself? Why beat yourself up about a bad shot or mental mistake? Shouldn't you be as quick to boost your own self up as you would be to do it for somebody else? We can all be our [...]

By |2017-09-13T11:46:31-04:00March 30th, 2014|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments
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Recruit PKB: Be Different

We were all made to be unique individuals. We all look different, think different and act different. But as a middle school or high school student it can sometimes be difficult to accept the things about yourself that are different. It is so tempting to want to fit in and be part of the popular crowd. But, the truth is, the people who learn to embrace the things about themselves that make them unique tend be the ones that go on to be more successful than those that don't. They are more confident and secure because they know who they are and they know that their uniqueness sets them apart from everyone else. I promise that what you think is popular now will mean very little a year from now and especially once you get to college. Growing up it wasn't necessarily "cool" to be a girl [...]

By |2018-07-19T10:39:11-04:00March 17th, 2014|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments
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Recruit PKB: Find Your Mantra

According to Wikipedia a mantra "means a sacred utterance, numinous sound, or a syllable, word, phonemes, or group of words believed by some to have psychological and spiritual power". Mantras are personal and self-motivating. They are words that inspire an athlete to excel and stay focused. Every athlete should have their own mantra. It can be original or one that is borrowed. It can be one word or a whole sentence. But it must be something that you can remember and always turn to when you need it. It must inspire you to get through whatever obstacles you struggle with both on and off the golf course. Here is a great article on some mantras from athletes in the 2012 Summer Olympics. Two of my favorites from this list are "breathe, believe, and battle" and "if you think you can't, you won't and if you think you [...]

By |2017-09-13T11:46:31-04:00March 3rd, 2014|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments
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Recruit PKB: Where do you begin?

Becoming the Complete Golfer starts with setting goals for yourself. You will hear me talk a lot about goal setting, but maybe not in the sense you would think of with typical goal setting. Goals are normally seen as future benchmarks or achievements. They are what motivate athletes to work hard every day. While you never, EVER, want to dwell on the past, you can also do the opposite and get too consumed with what you want to do in the future. If you are constantly thinking about what you WANT, aren't you taking away from time and energy that should be put into what you can be doing NOW, in the present? We all need goals and dreams that we are striving to accomplish, they are what make us get out of bed every day with a purpose in mind. But if we don’t take care [...]

By |2017-09-13T11:46:56-04:00December 23rd, 2013|College Recruiting Articles|0 Comments
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