Does your junior golfer show potential interest in competing for golf? Or maybe they haven’t started but want to learn. The good news its never too late to start your kids in golf. I also want to note that forcing your kids into a sport like golf will not work in the long term. Playing good golf comes down to the player enjoying the challenge and the process of improvement. This is very important to teach any junior golfer that is just getting started. Golf lessons for kids these days have improved so much that the amount of time it takes juniors to excel is far less than what it used to be.
The following is a step by step guide to preparing your young golfer for the college ranks:
Before we talk about anything golf related, playing golf in college makes the junior a student/athlete. Without the classwork and good grades you could be the best on your team you still will not play. Golf takes a long time out of the day. To get good at golf you need to put in even more time. This is time that is taken away from your studies. This ultimately means that your junior will need to sacrifice some of the normal activities other kids do. Remember competing in college is something your junior should strive for and these sacrifices shouldn’t feel as such.
Do your research – Carry out extensive research on golf, and focus on learning about the coach, golf program, and desired college or university so that you can go about the application process in a more directed manner.
Do the paperwork – Just as the case is when applying for a job, the basis of college golf application process is paperwork; more specifically, the resume. Your resume should contain the following
Basic information about the applicant (Name, Address, Telephone, Birth date, Height, Weight, Name of High School, Month and Year of Graduation, Grade Point Average/Class Rank, SAT or ACT Scores, USGA or State Handicap Index, High School Stroke Average, List of other sports and extracurricular activities etc.)
Tournaments played, the positions secured and the highlights. (Event name and location, Number of players in the field, Your finish Course rating and distance, Unusual weather for the event, Yardage for the course etc.)
If you can show coaches that you keep detailed stats of your game they will respect this alot about you. Using the GolfInRed App for strokes gained is a perfect way to track and organize your golfing stats that will also evaluate your golf and let you know what areas need the most improvement.
Start early – Professionals recommend that if you aspire to go to good schools with your golfing abilities, you must start applying in your junior year itself. This helps ensure that they already know your name when you later, in your senior year, send your information to them; thus making the application process easier.
Send your application via email – Emails are, arguably, always a better means of exchanging documents. This is because it is easier to send and receive; not everybody has time to go through their mail and so, email provides a simpler platform.
Remember that golf coaches are very busy people as well. You may not hear back from them your first time. If you know you have something to offer the school be persistent and put yourself out there. They will usually invite you to tour the campus and play with the team to try-out and get the know you. This is advisable as early as possible to start the face-to-face relationship and see whether or not you would make a good fit in the program.
When you are confident that you perform exquisitely, it is not just enough. It is, obviously, vital to convey this to the recruiters too! There are lots of good junior golfers, you need to get your name out there and be different.
Throughout your pursuit, it is important to know exactly what it is they are looking for :
Tournament scoring average. Let them in a little bit of insight on what kind of competition you have faced; even if you haven’t been able to get in a lot of big junior golf events, but have played well in the ones that you were in, you must be good to go. They also need to be sure of your grades. If you don’t have the grades to get in the desired school, no matter how great your golf is, it is pretty much a waste. Moreover, they look for good athletes. Meaning, if you have history of playing other sports on the varsity level, they will surely be interested.
So here is your checklist, get working on it today! Being a student athlete is an awesome experience and worth the work.
