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Want to know how
you can play college golf? Here are some suggestions that will apply to
every NJGT member who seeks a collegiate golf opportunity: |
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College coaches recruit more players from junior tours and junior events
than from performances in high school competition. Mainly because so
many high school tournaments are limited to one-day or even nine hole
competitions. An event on the NJGT College Prep Tour will always be a
minimum of 36 holes and competition often comes from several states.
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Build your resume by playing in as many tournaments as possible. The
more tournaments you play, the more scoring opportunities you have.
(Unless you are ill or injured, always finish every event you begin,
even if you are playing poorly. College coaches know you'll occasionally
have a bad round. The question then becomes, "How do you handle the
experience?" Bouncing back from a poor outing with a good performance
the next day speaks volumes about your character and mental toughness.)
If you play six tournaments a year, you have six chances a year to shoot
67-69-136. If you play 15-20 tournaments a year, you triple the chances
to post impressive numbers that can be listed on a resume.
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Play year-round and plan to travel some. Playing just the high
school season and a few summer events will leave you short of experience
and exposure. View the NJGT schedule and choose some events you'd like
to play outside your own area. This will introduce you to "playing out
of a suitcase" and provide you with the experience of playing on new
courses, most the time against new competition. You'll learn to deal
with every conceivable lie, encounter every rules question imaginable,
negotiate different type courses and putt on different surfaces. Even
when you don't score particularly well, you will be gaining something
valuable every time you tee it up. In short, you'll become
tournament-tested and tournament-tough.
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Expect to play in inclement weather and learn to enjoy it. Many
college tournaments are conducted in less than ideal conditions. Your
experience with the NJGT will prepare you for blistering summer heat,
frigid winter air, rain, humidity and everything in between. Remember,
when conditions are bad, your chances of winning increase, if only
because many people cannot play their best in less than the best
conditions. If you train yourself to play good in bad weather you will
be at a advantage in many tournaments and you'll be preparing for
similar conditions in collegiate events.
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Be prepared to have bad days. Expect peaks and valleys in your
tournament scoring efforts. Many players who have receive collegiate
opportunities contribute their success to the fact that they simply kept
battling and refused to give up when times were tough. Refrain from
comparing yourself with other players in the NJGT who are currently
scoring better than you. Understand that they didn't start out playing
at that level. They practiced until they improved. And then they
practiced some more. Get seriously dedicated on the range and on the
chipping and putting green. Chip and putt with friends and create games
of competition to keep things lively.
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Find a trusted teacher and stick with him/her. Expect to struggle in
tournament play when you begin taking lessons from a new teacher and
change your swing. Sometimes you go backward before you go forward.
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Send a resume to two dozen colleges or more, preferably in the late
spring of your junior year. Your resume should include your tournament
scoring record (complete with names of tournaments, yardage played, your
scores each day and total scores, and where you placed in the field).
Your resume should also include sections on your academic record
(include a list of all advanced placement or honors courses you have
taken), including your current and cumulative G.P.A., your ACT and/or
SAT scores, and a copy of your official high school transcript; and your
community service and extra curricular activities. All NJGT College Prep
members have a free profile on the NJGT website you will want to
include. Also add a section on recommendations, listing your high school
coach, your swing coach, and also the Tour Director you play with and
their contact information.
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Send your resume to schools of different size and classification.
Consider Division III and NAIA schools. Some of the nation's best
collegiate institutions fall into these two categories. Some NAIA
schools give excellent golf scholarships. Division III schools, while
not providing golf scholarships per se, oftentimes offer leadership,
presidential and/or academic scholarships to student-athletes who can
contribute to their campus in some way. If you're a male, know the type
of recruits that each level of collegiate program is seeking. Most
Division One Men's Golf Programs begin with rounds in the sixties and
tournaments won as their two first criteria; if you have never won a
tournament or never shot a round in the sixties (for boys) in a ranked
event, you probably will not be recruited by Division One colleges. Send
your resume to Division II, Division III and NAIA schools. If you begin
shooting in the 60's and winning ranked events, you can always send
resumes to Division I schools at a later date.For female golfers, the
number of collegiate opportunities are remarkable. Many college golf
scholarships for girls go unused each year simply because colleges
cannot fill their quota of players.
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Write a cover letter to accompany each resume you send out and
address each one to the individual coach at that college, and use the
coach's name in the salutation. We recommend using the Ping College Golf
Guide, or you might consider purchasing the Annual Blue Book of College
Athletics, which lists all the colleges in North America, their
addresses, emails and the school's enrollment and classification (Div.
I, Div. II, Div. III, NAIA or Community College), and the names of men's
and women's golf coaches. Call 334-263-4436 to order a Blue Book, or .
Most coaches' names and school addresses can be found simply by logging
onto to the college's website, going to the menu button for athletics,
then finding the Staff Directory. This will usually list the golf
coach's name for both men's and women's programs and their emails and
direct phone lines and the athletic department mailing address.
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There are two signing periods for golf, one in November and one in
April (senior year). If a coach calls you or emails you, it is courteous
and professional to respond. If you definitely do not want to attend the
school that the coach represents, be honest and tell the coach exactly
that, but don't let his/her phone calls and emails go unanswered. Do
coaches the courtesy and allow them to move on to other potential
recruits.
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Do an unofficial visit of college campuses with your family when
you're an underclassman in high school. When you're traveling to an NJGT
College Prep tournament, or on any other trip, swing by and see what the
campus atmosphere is like at as many schools as you can. This is a very
valuable experience.
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Register with the NCAA Clearinghouse at www.ncaaclearinghouse.net
during your junior year.
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If you really want to play college golf, then consider attending a
school where you'll get an opportunity to play frequently and soon. It's
not about where you go, it's about what you do with the opportunity once
it's in your hands. Make the most of it. The PGA and LPGA are full of
players who did not play Division One golf in college.
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Keep believing in yourself, especially when things go badly on the
course. Your own self-confidence and sense of purpose are your best
allies.
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