College Golf Recruiting Services

5 things you should consider if you’re thinking about hiring an advisor

College golf recruiting services are growing in popularity — which is no surprise given how complex and competitive the recruiting process has become! When I started advising junior golfers and their families through the recruiting process in the spring of 2015, there were just a few other folks like myself out there.

Today, with the recruiting process becoming increasingly competitive, it seems that having an advisor in your corner who offers college golf recruiting services is the norm. 

Here are five qualities you should look for in an advisor if you are thinking about college golf recruiting services…

 

Understands the competitive junior golf landscape

Junior golf is a maze. Playing in the right tournaments (and building the right experience) is just as important as how you are communicating with coaches in the recruiting process. Because if you don’t have the right experience, how you communicate doesn’t matter. 

Working with someone who can help you develop a competitive schedule is essential. But it isn’t just about playing in a pre-set group “right tournaments”. There is so much more to it than that. A huge part of successfully navigating junior golf with the goal of getting recruited depends on where your game is, and what is appropriate for you, not to mention how you practice and prepare for tournaments. Plus, taking a strategic approach to junior golf tournament selection can help you build your AJGA status and gain access to better tournaments in the future.

That said, one of the biggest mistakes you can make in the college golf recruiting process is playing in events that are too competitive for you.

It’s a catch-22 at times… to be qualified for certain schools you need to play in top competition… but playing in that highest level of competition isn’t going to help your game or confidence, nor will it help you get recruited, if you shoot high scores there.

Working with someone who not only understands the landscape of competitive junior golf tournaments but also knows how to help junior golfers develop can make all the difference in the world… It makes for a better junior golf experience and a more fruitful recruiting process.

 

Knows the demands of college golf 

In order to learn about the different college golf options out there and determine what kind of environment/experience is right for you, you’ll want to work with an advisor who understands what college golf is really about, especially at the kinds of schools that you are most interested in. 

College golf is a massive time commitment at every level– in fact at the DI, DII, and DIII level, it is routinely one of the sports that requires the biggest time commitment. It’s hard to believe, but you actually have less time to practice in college than you do as a junior.

If you want to play golf in college, you should start working on your time management skills as soon as possible. This means both improving your ability to juggle multiple commitments as well as learning to become more efficient with your practice. 

Finding a recruiting advisor who can help you start this process now will make a big difference when you get to college, and college coaches know this.

 

Has seen the recruiting process from both sides, as a player and a coach

Be sure that the person you are working with knows what it’s like to work through the recruiting process from start to finish, on both sides, as a junior golfer and as a coach. I learned a lot when I went through the recruiting process as a junior in high school, but I learned SO. MUCH. MORE. when I was a coach.

When I was a coach at Harvard, I was lucky that I got to oversee the recruiting for both the women’s and men’s golf teams. I learned about the differences between men’s and women’s recruiting, and I read twice as many emails from interested candidates.

There’s no substitute for reading all of those emails….sorting through and responding to hundreds of emails every week, building relationships with kids over the course of the recruiting process, and seeing how those hundreds of prospects get pared back and winnowed down to just two recruits per team each year. I gained a whole new perspective.

Through this process, I learned so much about what coaches are looking for, and what it takes to get their admittedly limited attention. 

 

Has experience helping kids attend the kinds of schools you want to attend

To the extent that you can, try to identify the kinds of schools that you’re interested in, and then seek out a college golf recruiting service that specializes in helping kids get recruited to those kinds of schools.

Because working with a college golf recruiting service has become more common, it’s also more common for different services/advisors to have more specialized experience. For example, based on my experience coaching at Harvard, I work primarily with students who are looking at the top academic schools — NESCAC, Ivy League, and Ivy-like schools. 

We focus a lot more on academics and talk about things like pre-reads, likely letters, and support for admission. 

 

Connects well with you

At the end of the day, the recruiting process should be fun, and it will be a lot more fun (and successful) if you work with someone that you can connect with. You will get more out of your work with a college golf recruiting service/advisor if you can completely trust your advisor and feel like they understand you and your goals, and can help you get into the school that will provide you with the best experience possible.

 

Conclusion

The recruiting process is often complicated, confusing, and extremely competitive at top universities. Engaging with an advisor who offers college golf recruiting services can help alleviate stress while also helping increasing your chances of achieving a great outcome. Be sure to look for an advisor who understands the junior golf landscape, as well as how junior golfers improve, and has been a coach at the kind of school you are looking to attend.