high school golf

Over the next few weeks, I am going to share some coach responses from a recent survey I did to ask coaches their opinions. Please remember that coaches look for different things and have varying opinions, but I tried to compile some of the most common and relevant responses. Question: What is your biggest piece of advice for young ladies going through this process? Be open-minded I would suggest that they not play tournaments strictly with a focus on college placement. It starts to feel like work and generally leads to worse results. Just play the game with passion and let the chips fall where they fall. Stay open. Communicate. Network with players at schools where you want to attend. Enjoy the process and don't forget to be a kid and enjoy your time in HS. Too many show signs of too much stress and not enough [...]

Over the next few weeks, I am going to share some coach responses from a recent survey I did to ask coaches their opinions. Please remember that coaches look for different things and have varying opinions, but I tried to compile some of the most common and relevant responses. Question: What is the biggest red flag you see among the girls and/or the parents? Too much focus on big name schools and parents too involved Big turnoff to me if I sense that a profile is created and managed by a parent (parent email addresses, etc.). It's important to see that the athlete is ready to step out as a young adult without parents hovering. Parents taking over the process. They won't be playing for us. Too much parental involvement. And not enough excitement. Don't be afraid to tell a coach you love their school if you [...]

While this process has a great deal of subjectivity to it, I've come to appreciate data and numbers more over the years. This is a chart compiled of the average scores for the top 5 individuals from a mix of DI and DII  programs (through May 15th of the 2024-2025 season). Typically, collegiate tournaments for mid and top DI plus top DII programs are played from approximately 6000-6200 yards, with lower DI and lower DII played slightly shorter. Also, collegiate tournaments are set up more difficult with pin placements, faster greens, and overall tougher conditions given the time of year that collegiate golf is played (not summer golf weather). And the added pressure of your coach and teammates counting on you heightens the stress level just a bit when you step on that first tee each time. So, a typical rule of thumb isa  2-3 stroke difference [...]