Are College Golf Camps Worth It?
College Golf Camps are becoming more and more popular these days — more camps are being offered and more kids are signing up. But are they worth the investment of time, travel, and money?
Here’s some important information for you to consider as you are deciding whether a college golf camp is right for you…
Coaches don’t often use college golf camps to recruit
I’ll cut right to the chase here — most college golf camps aren’t about recruiting. Sure, many camp organizers pitch their camps by highlighting “exposure to coaches” — and don’t get me wrong, you will get exposure to coaches — but coaches aren’t often using camps to recruit.
More often, coaches are looking to recruit kids who don’t need to attend a camp to get a coach’s attention.
Think about it… if I’m a coach, I want to recruit somebody who’s out there shooting great scores. And when that kid emails me to set up a time to talk about my program, I’m going to make time to meet with that kid.
The kid who’s shooting mediocre scores… coaches aren’t gonna go out of their way to make themselves available to that kid. And these are the kids who FILL college golf camps… kids who want to get a coach’s attention, who want to get recruited to a certain school or group of schools, but aren’t shooting the scores necessary to get the coach’s attention.
This doesn’t mean that college golf camps aren’t worth it, or that attending a camp won’t help you in your recruiting process. It just means that you need to be realistic about the benefit for you in your personal recruiting situation. And to help you get a better sense of what is a realistic outcome for your recruiting process, I recommend downloading a copy of the School & Scholarship Finder.
How do coaches typically use college golf camps?
If coaches aren’t using camps to recruit, why are they offering camps? There are two common reasons why college coaches offer camps…
To help junior golfers learn about college golf
- While you might not get recruited out of a camp, camps are a great way for younger junior golfers (rising 9th and 10th graders) to learn about the experience of playing college golf. You’ll learn about how teams practice, how they balance school and golf, how college golf tournaments are run, and you’ll get good tips on how to prepare for the recruiting process.
- Coaches are COACHES — they enjoy the sport and have made a living out of helping players perform well. You will learn from attending a camp. College coaches often take a less technical approach (they won’t teach you how to swing a golf club) but they will help you develop your course management skills and learn how to practice more effectively.
To supplement their income
- Most college golf camps are expensive. In part this is because golf is expensive, but the markup can also be quite high. If the camp isn’t about getting recruited, you need to really think about what you are paying for and whether the camp is worth the investment.
College golf camps are great for younger golfers to see colleges and learn about college golf programs, as well as learn from college coaches. College camps are often inspiring and help motivate junior golfers to keep working on their game so that they can one day have a chance of playing golf in college.
Do coaches ever use college golf camps to recruit?
Yes, this can happen even though it isn’t the norm. While most coaches don’t use camps as a primary recruiting ground, I have seen kids get recruited out of camps. Here are the two most common ways it happens…
Scenario 1
You’re a solid golfer and you attend the camp of a school that you are really interested in. The camp is run by the college golf coach and maybe one other coach from a nearby school. You’ve had several good email exchanges and phone calls with the coach, and the coach has talked about getting you a pre-read with admissions. As you and the coach are comparing your schedules, you realize that the best chance for a coach to see you play and get to know you more (both essential if you eventually want to get an offer), you determine that the best way to do this is to attend the camp. So you go to the camps and spend multiple days with the coach. At the end of the camp, the coach has confirmed that you are a strong candidate for his/her team and gives you an offer to verbally commit to the school. In this case, attending the camp effectively takes the place of attending a tournament where the coach can see you play.
Scenario 2
You want to go to a top academic school. You have the grades and test scores to be qualified for this kind of school, and it seems like your golf scores are in the right ballpark. But the coach hasn’t given you much attention. Maybe you got a few replies, but you can tell that their interest isn’t strong. When you ask to set up a meeting with the coach, you don’t get a reply. Or, maybe the coach has written to you saying that you are not a top candidate for their team. Either way, you know that you are “on the bubble” at best. In this case, attending a camp gives you the opportunity to get in front of the coach — to showcase your game, demonstrate your potential, and show that you have the personal qualities to be a great addition to their team. The coach might not be able to help you get into his/her school, but they are MUCH more likely to offer you a spot on their team if you gain admission “on your own”.
Conclusion
College golf camps can be a great option, but you need to be sure that you have realistic goals for the camp to ensure that it will be worth your time. Here is a list of some of the best college golf camps I have come across:
Boston College “Ever to Excel” Golf Camps
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