South Carolina golf

“She shot 72 in her practice round, why can’t she do that in tournaments”. As a long-time competitive player, I simply want to say, “it’s just not the same thing” and expect people to take that as an answer. Obviously, it doesn’t work that way so let's see if I can create some of the feelings of playing tournament golf that just can't be simulated in practice rounds. Even if you take your practice round seriously, count every stroke, and play with intent there are still no consequences to your shots and decisions. From the minute you wake up on tournament day there is a different mentality and feeling in your body. This can vary based on which day of the tournament it is, the caliber of the tournament, where you stand on the leaderboard, your playing partners, and the potential for college coaches to be [...]

Based on the timing of the NCAA rules, with the COVID dead period recently ending, you will need to schedule and take visits so that you can meet with the coaches and get a chance to see if it’s going to be a good fit. While visits, especially official visits, are more often being offered on the coaches’ end, you can still request to take an unofficial visit. Be prepared for your visits if you are meeting with the coach. Use the research you did before to have topics of discussion. Be sure you are up to date on how the team played this past season. Make sure you have questions to ask and that you are prepared for any questions you may get asked. Get to know the coach as much as possible. Be observant and attentive. Be gracious and courteous. Say thank you. Sit [...]

As you may know, the Covid implemented Dead Period will end on May 31, which means for the first time in over a year DI college coaches can recruit again! This also, means you can take visits that will allow you to meet the coach and athletic staff. For the next couple of weeks, I am going to do some refreshers on these areas to help you better prepare for these exciting experiences! Since you as parents may be out of practice or it will be a new experience to have a coach watch your daughter, I want to give a few tips on what the coaches look for and hope to see in potential recruit's parent behavior. Don’t hover when they are warming up:  Try not to hover over your daughter while she is warming up to play. It is ok to watch her hit balls [...]

As you may know, the Covid implemented Dead Period will end on May 31, which means for the first time in over a year DI college coaches can recruit again! This also, means you can take visits that will allow you to meet the coach and athletic staff. For the next couple of weeks, I am going to do some refreshers on these areas to help you better prepare for these exciting experiences! For many players, this may be the first time you will have a college coach watch you play. It may be the first time you really get those nervous jitters on the golf course. It can be tough to concentrate and focus on your game. You feel the pressure that you need to play well or else you may lose your chance to impress that coach.  So many thoughts and emotions can go [...]

I've been having some discussions recently with some of my players about how they get caught up in their score and wondering how they can prevent that. And my answer was, you can't! In my opinion, it's just part of getting better and knowing that you’re close to shooting a new low round. It is just part of the process. You can't really just ignore the obvious at that point, which is your score. To expect a young golfer to not think about their score when that is really the ultimate goal they are aiming for is really tough to ask. But thankfully, each time it happens and you are aware of it, then it gets easier the next time. So I recommend giving yourself a little bit of a break from thinking that it’s such a negative thing right now. When you’re in those moments, [...]

Based on the NCAA rules that apply to the current period for your grad year, once you get a resume put together and do some research on schools and programs, you should begin to send out intro emails to coaches. A well-written intro email (by the student-athlete) is the first step in contacting the coaches. This email needs to provide some insight about you as a player, student, and person and have your resume/video attached or linked. You can use the same format for all of your intro emails but make sure they are specific and personal to each coach. Use your research notes! You can send intro emails at any point, there are no rules or restrictions on players sending emails to coaches. But a coach can not reply to emails or answer phone calls until June 15th prior to junior year so keep that [...]

A good quality resume that a college coach can easily access and get all of the important information they need to see is a critical step in the process. This is typically the first impression you are going to make on them. There are several ways you can create a resume. It can be online via a personal website, you can use a resume service such as the one that @juniorgolfscoreboard offers, or you can do a simple document/pdf. Any of these options is perfectly fine, but most importantly keep in mind this is a resume, so it needs to be professional and easy to follow. Don't be afraid to have a little fun and be creative with it, especially if that is your personality, but if you go overboard it may turn a coach off. Most importantly, it needs to be clear and concise with all [...]