TRUE linkswear (TRUE), creator of ultra-comfortable, modern golf footwear designed for walking on and off the course, announces a new NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) platform, TRUE U, for junior golfers, collegiate golfers, and collegiate coaches. TRUE will offer 96 total NIL deals to junior golfers (48 boys and 48 girls) who participate in College Golf Experience (CGX) Tournament Preview Camps and have the best finish at the corresponding tournament or qualifier.

As a tournament-within-a-tournament, one boy and one girl winner from each event will receive a one-year NIL deal with TRUE that nets them a $400 package including $100 cash plus a $300 gift card to truelinkswear.com.

As part of the partnership, CGX, the leading educational golf camp company exclusively endorsed by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA), has designated TRUE as its official footwear provider of all Tournament Preview Camps. TRUE officials will work hand-in-hand with CGX to further develop the TRUE U program.

Jason Moore, founder and CEO of TRUE linkswear, sees a tremendous upside. “We are always talking about how to support the future of golf, because the next generation of players is important to us,” says Moore.

“We represent a lot of things that today’s youth want to experience, as far as culture and the form of golf that we believe in. And for us, it’s just a natural partnership to get our brand out there and support junior golfers and collegiate programs. It’s all such a cool idea. Having played competitively since I was a little kid, I wish this type of program existed back then – to be able to represent a brand, get some product, and even get paid to help support and endorse a brand. And TRUE is already strong with younger demographics.”

CGX will provide visibility of the TRUE U NIL platform at camps, via email, and on social media. And the program will get continued support from the TRUE TOUR team which includes Tour pros Ryan Moore, Chris Kirk, Joel Dahmen and Mark Hubbard.

“CGX is honored to be a pillar of TRUE’s NIL initiative, which provides incentives for junior golfers who participate in tournament preview camps and the corresponding tournaments. Preview Camps, where players experience their practice rounds with college coaches, can be invaluable to a junior golfer’s on-course development,” says Joshua Jacobs, Founder and CEO of CGX. “NIL has the opportunity to unite players, families and brands; and right now, its integration into junior golf is only scratching the surface.”

Also, as part of the TRUE U program, CGX will initially identify 10 collegiate coaches to be official ambassadors of the brand. Coaches who demonstrate the TRUE ethos on and off the course, and help athletes excel as chosen by TRUE, will receive cash compensation, multiple pairs of TRUE shoes, and a percentage off retail pricing for their collegiate team members to purchase from truelinkswear.com.

“Partnering with TRUE – given its story and trajectory – is a great fit for us,” says Jacobs. “When you couple Ryan Moore’s storied amateur and professional career and his brother Jason’s brand and style vision, it’s a recipe for success.”

To find a Tournament Preview Camp near you, visit collegegolfx.com/camps

It’s difficult to explain the thoughts that go through your head as a father when you see your son standing on the practice range being coached by a man who has won 13 NCAA Championships.

It was early, and chilly, this Saturday morning at Mission Inn Resort in Howey in the Hills, FL during the first day of the College Golf Experience (CGX) Division III Boys Exposure Camp. My son Brady and I were there to see how his skills stacked up against the other juniors and to go behind the scenes with college coaches. He was always a baseball player who dabbled in golf but started to take the game more seriously four years ago.

CGX has not been on the scene long, but the popularity and growth of its engaging camps led by college coaches, has been spreading rapidly nationwide and inspired our family and Brady to check it out. And we were not disappointed.

The camps bring junior golfers, parents, and college coaches together to learn from each other, gain exposure, and educate young men and women on the college golf landscape and the path to get there through transformational events. These events help players and parents understand the path to finding their ideal fit and program. This includes learning about the unique DIII recruiting pathway, Q & A sessions, simulated college golf practice and tournament rounds, on-course management and strategy sessions.

By mid-morning, Brady, a 17-year-old high school junior, had already worked on bunker shots with Emory coach John Sjoberg and had moved to the full-swing portion of the skills sessions. That’s when Methodist College legend Steve Conley rolled up to Brady and started a conversation.

(Full disclosure: I have talked with Conley at least a dozen times in a previous life where my job was to write previews and recaps of the Division III season. But we hadn’t been in touch in probably 15 years.)

Conley diffused any nervousness with Brady by being playful and telling jokes, as he’s prone to do. Brady had been battling a right miss off the tee, so he hit a couple drives to show the coach, who got to work to diagnose the problem. Within five minutes Conley had Brady hitting beautiful draws unlike anything I had ever seen him hit. It was wonderful to see, knowing that Brady knew Conley was a big deal in college golf circles, but truly not aware of his unrivaled resume which includes nine NCAA titles in a 10-year span in the 1990s, and his 13th title coming just two years ago.

“This is my first experience with the camp,” Conley said. “I really like it for a lot of reasons. You can interact here vs. a regular tournament, where typically you can’t speak to a kid. You get to see their skill level, they get some idea about how you coach and teach, you can share philosophies, work on course management and you still get to see them play in a competitive environment.”

The first afternoon was spent with coaches rotating holes to make sure that they got a look at each camp participant for at least a couple holes. The star-studded coaching lineup on the men’s side included Conley, Sjoberg, 2023 NCAA champion coach Dan Rodgers from Carnegie Mellon, 2019 and 2021 NCAA champion coach Jim Ott from Illinois Wesleyan, Christopher Newport’s Jamie Coleman, Wittenberg’s David Wetterich and University of Redlands’ Jamie Zantua. Each coach was informative and helpful, while keeping the round as light as they could.

Brady worked through a situation with Conley where he, of course, wanted to go for the green in two on a par 5, his ball sitting just into the light rough 230 yards away from a back pin. Conley let Brady pull the trigger but didn’t question his decision or club selection. Brady thinned it, left the ball way short, finding water.

Conley calmly asked Brady which club he used. And here is the conversation:

Brady: 4-iron
Conley: How far do you hit that?
Brady: 225 yards
Conley: How far was it to carry the water?
Brady: 180 yards
Conley: Which club would you use that would easily carry 180 yards?
Brady: 6-iron

Nothing else needed to be said.

“It was a great weekend, and the coaches were so helpful,” Brady said. “I left there knowing what I need to work on to get better, starting with course management.”

Sunday included a competitive 18-hole round where coaches again acted like they would during a regular round for their own squad during a tournament. They were involved, helping players through club selection, judging wind directions and providing overall strategy. This time though, there were nervy moments because a score was being recorded.

“I would pass on a player that might be better statistically than someone that I know would fit better that has potential,” Carnegie Mellon’s Rodgers said. “That kid may pull others up, may be a great teammate or a great encourager. That’s where I’ve found that these camps are great for that.”

“Generally, I’m trying to see if I can be in the van with them for four years,” Rodgers continued. “That’s a big deal. I think we don’t talk about that enough. I plan to be there a long time. So this new person is coming in to be part of our extended golf family. How do they fit with us? It’s not us fitting with them. That’s a bad move.”

The most eye-opening portion of the weekend, however, came Saturday after dinner. Parents were on their own when the campers had dinner with the coaches but afterward there was a question-and-answer period where everyone could attend. Most were tired from a long day with an early start, but each coach was so helpful and answered question after question with great depth and sincerity. It was refreshing.

College athletics is such a cut-throat business, but the coaches who have won each of the last five NCAA Championships, among the others, had no problem answering openly and honestly. What do they look for in an email? What they do not want to see in an email. What sort of events do they expect you to play? What type of grades do you need? When is a good time for a campus visit? When do they typically finalize their team rosters for the next year? The pros and cons of social media.

No questions were off limits. In fact, one coach specifically gave Brady incredible advice on how to communicate with the coach of a school that he had been wanting to contact.

Illinois Wesleyan’s Ott, when explaining the benefits of playing Division III golf, had one of the best lines of the night. He’s passionate about his school, he’s passionate about his team and he’s passionate about students finding a place to play that fits them. He knows Division I is the top dog and he’s well aware of the aura that surrounds playing for one of those schools. His pitch however: why go to a Division I program and struggle to get playing time if you can go to a top Division III program, play more often, and participate in “meaningful golf.”

With those two words, a lightbulb came on in Conley’s head. He’s been coaching his Monarchs since 1987 and hadn’t heard this explained quite that way.

“Meaningful golf,” he said. “I’m writing that one down.”

It probably seems like you’ve spent your entire academic life adding achievements and activities to your academic resume in preparation for college. If your goal beyond high school, though, is to make it onto a college golf team roster, you should be building a unique kind of resume targeted at impressing the right College Coaches.

Ensuring that your college golf resume hits all the proper notes and is presented in a way that stands out to coaches involves a delicate combination of art and science. Therefore, we asked the experts, some of the top college golf coaches in the country, what an ideal golf resume should contain so it rises above the sea of emails coaches regularly receive.

“I love to hear from kids who are competing and moving up to higher and higher-level tournaments so they’re pushing themselves to play against better players,” said Jim Ott, Men’s Head Golf Coach at Illinois Wesleyan. “Academics are important, too, because that shows you about the kid’s discipline, organization, and responsibility. That tells you a little bit about their personality and shows how conscientious, organized, and responsible they are. You know if they’re bringing the full package together.”

The most common advice we heard from coaches was to keep your golf resume simple and concise but thorough with the right data. For example, a solid tournament resume will include scores, the par, yardage, and course rating of the golf course where each tournament was played, the size of the field, and where you placed. Hey, if you keep data on the fairways and greens that you hit in regulation and your strokes gained numbers, that’s great. But just give the coach a synopsis or average, not a round-by-round deep dive. They should be duly impressed that you’re tracking your results and trying to improve.

Coaches encourage aspiring college golfers to include EVERY score, even the highest rounds. “I want to see how young players handle adversity, so knowing how they handle a round when things aren’t going their way tells me a lot about that player’s maturity on the course and maybe even if they have leadership potential,” said Dan Wesley, Men’s Head Golf Coach at the University of Rochester.

Coaches want to see the caliber of tournaments you’re playing and the kind of competition you’re competing against, so include accurate, searchable details on the tournaments and the organizations hosting them. You might get the chance to play in front of college coaches, so it’s good to know what they’re looking for beyond how you swing and what you score. “I want to see how a player accepts good and bad shots, and I want to see how they interact with other players, rules officials, and the people running the golf tournament. The ideal candidate for our roster is a good person who is also a good player,” Wesley adds.

For all of the coaches who won’t get to see you playing in person, consider adding videos to your college golf resume. You can speak directly to the camera to give coaches a taste of your personality and your goals, and brief golf swing videos or shot highlights can also be a big asset to your resume. “We definitely tend to click on the videos, so more and more, that’s a vital part of how outreach from a potential player stands out to a coach. If they want to include a link to their golf-specific social media page, that’s informative, too,” Wesley says. “And, bear in mind, we’re looking at the golf content but we’re also looking at how you portray yourself online in what attributes of your personality and character you’re choosing to show.”

One coach says he pays attention to who the player uses as a swing coach because “if the teacher has a proven track record of helping players reach the next level, the family has done their homework and committed to a working plan to play better and progress as a competitor.”

Coaches also stress that the first part of being a student-athlete is the “student” component, so provide an up-to-date academic transcript and a concise description of what you intend to study in college. Many coaches prefer to see this information prominently displayed in the résumé so they know immediately that the candidate meets the academic requirements at their institution.

Along with your tournament record, coaches will be impressed to see that you attend coaches’ camps like CGX Top25, Preview, or Prospect Camps because it shows the willingness to learn more about the pathway to college golf and an eagerness to spend quality time with college golf coaches. Including this information on your résumé will indicate to coaches that you’re going the extra mile to prepare for thriving in the right fit on a college golf roster.

To find a camp near you, visit our upcoming schedule.

“Learning from college coaches, being able to ask them anything you ever wanted to know and seeing how a college golf practice works is incredibly valuable,” said Ott. “Then, going on the course with coaches and seeing how the practice applies to playing and scoring is huge. Between the on-course learning and the deep-dive Q&A sessions, players leave with a ton more confidence than they had when they arrived. The benefits from attending these camps can be an absolute game-changer for families.”

Other advice coaches give on building a college golf resume that will resonate with the right coach includes being careful to proofread and be sure you’re addressing the correct coach by name. If you’re sending several coaches the same basic message all at once, be sure to personalize and properly address each coach. Proper grammar, punctuation, and clarity of thought might not register as highly as hitting towering drives and being able to maneuver iron shots both ways, but good communication does show that you are academically prepared for the next level.

Coaches encourage young players to reach out when they have something significant to share with them. Don’t be shy. But, get to the point quickly and don’t undervalue the opportunities to go one-on-one with several top coaches at a CGX camp. It’s the perfect environment to ask any question you want answered by the ultimate experts. It’s also going to give you a clear impression of the kind of coaches and schools that are the best fit for your game, your personality, and goals. The education and networking opportunities you get from a camp will carry you a long way toward your dream of playing college golf and help put you on the college golf radar.

“Coaches definitely talk to other coaches, and we go into CGX camps with notes on certain players that we add to those notes throughout the camp and beyond. I might have already completed my recruiting cycle, but I’m always talking to other coaches about players, and the more we know about a player, the more we are in a position to suggest a fit that could be amazing for them.”

You can learn more about college golf resumes and the recruiting process at an upcoming CGX camp. We want to hear from you and any questions you might have about setting yourself up for ultimate success on the next level. Email us anytime!

There wasn’t one “aha” moment for Dartmouth women’s golf coach Alex Kirk, but rather a series of encounters and observations that all led to the same conclusion – that Caroline Chung would be a great fit for his Division I college golf team.

Kirk loved how Chung handled herself when they first met in early 2022 at a College Golf Experience camp in Carlsbad, California, and the relationship grew. Connections like this shine a light on the unique opportunities found at CGX camps and how coaches and players engage in an atmosphere that simply does not exist elsewhere. The quality time spent on the course with coaches and in seminar sessions with parents and attendance lets players and coaches get to know each other in practical and meaningful ways. Seeing how each other works, communicates, and conducts themselves on and off the course can put both parties in a comfort zone to make all-important recruiting decisions.

“Remembering Caroline’s personality that she exhibited at the CGX Camp, more than anything, really resonated with me,” Kirk said. “Watching her hit shots. She’s talented, had good poise, was coachable out on the golf course. Then it drew me to go look at her body of work.

“CGX camps are great because they always knock barriers down. At tournaments, players are on pins and needles. Here they find out that the coaches are just people.”

[Registration is open for the next Ivy Golf Institute Camp – click here]

While Kirk was doing his research on Chung – an 18-year-old from Yorba Linda, California, who is affectionately known as CC to her teammates – she was doing research of her own on Kirk and Dartmouth.

“The biggest takeaway [from camp] was how I got to see the various coaching styles,” Chung said. “Everyone brings their own unique attitude. It was huge. Going into the camp I was considering Ivy Leagues but didn’t have a clear picture. The picture became clearer that week.”

Another thing that was crystal clear to Chung, which she noted in one of her first meetings with Kirk, was that he promised never to make his team wake up early for a workout. It may seem like a small thing, but to young adults trying to find their way on a college campus, while adjusting to life as a student-athlete, it’s a huge thing.

“Sleep is more important,” Kirk said. “I know they’re up studying late. I’d rather them be rested.”

Kirk and Chung remained in touch after that initial camp meeting, but Chung had already made up her mind.

“I knew immediately,” she said. “I was driving home with my dad and said, ‘I really want to go to Dartmouth, that’s my top choice.’ Three months later I visited the campus and I spontaneously showed up. We had a great day looking around, coach showed me the golf facilities and that was it.”

Well, not quite.

When Kirk first saw Chung the morning of her campus visit, he noticed that she was wearing a red sweater, the exact shade as the colors of fellow Ivy League foe Harvard. Kirk made mention of it. When he saw Chung later in the afternoon, her attire had changed.

“She literally went straight to the bookstore,” he said, “and the next time I saw her she was wearing a Dartmouth sweatshirt.”

The decision for Chung has worked out wonderfully. Sure, she was nervous to leave California to attend college in a remote area of New Hampshire, but she has thrived outside her comfort zone. The Big Green played in three events last fall and Chung qualified for all three, twice finishing inside the top 10 individually.

The magic of CGX Camps connecting players and coaches is making a big impact on the landscape of college golf recruiting. “Players and parents want to get in front of and access college coaches,” says CGX Founder and CEO Joshua Jacobs. “They want to learn about college golf and the recruiting process. Parents want to be able to provide opportunities for their kids to fulfill their dreams. That’s what these camps do. We are the connective tissue between junior golf and college golf. It’s our mission to be the leading source of college golf information on the recruiting process and everything from how to communicate with a coach, when to communicate to a coach and how to figure out where you fit.”

Entering college has been a relatively smooth transition for Chung. “You don’t know how people are going to react,” Kirk said. “But Caroline has hit the ground running. She’s really put the effort in and has been a dream.”

Said Chung: “I was really stressed out at first. What if I don’t click with the team? What if they don’t like me? Once I relaxed a little, all my fears were for nothing. People are generally very nice and sweet. I was overthinking the season. I’ve had the most magical experience.”

Jacobs reminds us that Chung’s success story is one of many CGX will share as more and more players find their fit and enroll in college to embark on their realized dreams of playing collegiate golf. “What gets a high school golfer a spot on the team is who they are as a golfer and a person, both on and off the golf course. And that’s what the coaches are looking for. Until CGX came along, there wasn’t an opportunity on a widespread level to bring together players, parents, and college coaches in a camp setting where relationships can be built and knowledge can be bestowed about college golf and the pathway to get there. But now? Buckle up!”

College Golf Experience (CGX), the leading educational golf camp company exclusively endorsed by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA), is proud to announce a partnership with the IMG Academy Junior World Championships – the world’s largest junior golf tournament – to provide CGX Exposure Camps for the participants and their parents on the front and back ends of the tournament. CGX camps connect junior golfers and their parents with college coaches for opportunities to gain exposure, learn from each other, and receive education about the college golf landscape and the path to get there.

In 1968, the San Diego Junior Golf Association founded the Junior World Golf Championships to connect young golfers from around the globe – providing a one-of-a-kind, premier golf experience, and ultimately encouraging cultural unity and understanding. The IMG Academy Junior World Golf Championships now attract 1,250 participants from 56 countries and 42 states and is the world’s largest international junior golf event. The finals are held annually at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego.

“Just as Junior World unites competitive players from around the world, this partnership directly connects juniors and their parents to college coaches as many of the talented competitors are dreaming of playing college golf,” said CGX CEO Joshua Jacobs. “Together with Junior World, we will create an environment of excitement and education around the college golf landscape, while providing camp attendees the chance to develop relationships with college coaches, and garner skills and insights that will continue to impact their journey to finding their spot on a college team.”

The CGX Junior World Exposure Camps will take place in the San Diego area in the days immediately leading up to and after the Junior World Championships. The first camp, scheduled for July 6, will take place at the Temecula Creek Inn, and the second camp will be held on July 12-13 at Carlton Oaks Golf Club.

“The IMG Academy Junior World Golf Championships annually welcomes over 130 college coaches to Torrey Pines to recruit the best junior golfers in the game. We are proud to host an event that continues to be a difference maker in the recruiting process for players and college golf programs. Our partnership with CGX will not only enhance the overall experience for the players and their families but give them an incredible opportunity to interact directly with coaches and learn about the recruiting process,” said Megan Mahoney, Executive Director, San Diego Junior Golf Association and Junior World.

Designed for young men and women ages 12-18, CGX camps feature educational seminars led by college coaches on all aspects of college golf and the pathway to get there – including open Q&A sessions for parents. CGX camps also include college golf practice sessions with skill development and challenges, and 36 holes of on-course coach and player engagement. Parents are invited to participate every step of the way at CGX camps.

To learn more about CGX camps, visit COLLEGEGOLFX.COM.

What do you prefer about camps vs. tournaments in terms of learning more about a player and why they might make a good recruit?

Camps offer a really unique situation or a unique environment for coaches to be able to interact with players, while also watching them play and hit shots, and assessing their skill set. At the same time as we’re assessing them, we can also get a really good feel for their personality, attitude and motivation. So, it’s really nice – we don’t necessarily get to do that when we’re out watching golf tournaments.

In a camp like CGX, you give a lot to the kids in terms of personal training and expert advice. But what do you get out of the experience that supports your recruiting goals?

We get to look at a snapshot of the type of players who are interested in us and schools like us. We get to see each of these kids is good at, what they might need to work on, and what skill sets will translate to being ready to play college golf at this level versus what might not be there. And then there’s the personal piece, as well. I’m getting to tell whether each kid is going to fit in with our team and program.

Do you feel like camps now play a bigger role than ever in recruiting players?

They definitely can play a bigger role, and I think it’s dependent on a coach and his or her preferences for recruiting and recruits. It’s a really good idea for some recruits to or for any kid to attend a camp like this because you get to choose a subset of schools that you’re interested in, and maybe attend a camp or showcase and see what the coach is all about. My feedback from the kids who attended our camp was that they were really eager to see my coaching style, to see my personality, and to get a feel for what practicing under me looks like. I really do think that it’s a game-changer. And I think that more student-athletes can benefit from this experience, as well.

What’s an ideal balance between going to camps like CGX and playing tournaments if a player and their parents really want to find the right fit?

It’s extremely important to still play in tournaments and post competitive tournament round scores. That’s still a necessary piece of the recruiting process for us. It’s not like you can put all your eggs in one basket and just go to a bunch of camps. We’re going to still want to see how you play in tournaments, and want to see a number of different tournaments so we have more data. The more tournament rounds we get to look at, the more we feel like we can rely on what we’re seeing from your scoring average and your scoring differential and all of that.

So, it’s still vitally important to play tournaments, but I think there’s probably something to be said about taking weeks off from competing and maybe fill in those with a few different camps that are of interest to a recruit. For us, it’s important to find kids who are looking for us as well, and it’s not always easy. I think camps bridge the gap between the communication. For kids, it’s important to test the waters and see a lot of different types of schools, see how they fit in there, and have conversations. Camps really just marry those two pieces.

Beyond measurable golf skills, what attributes do you look for in a good candidate for your team?

Good personality, good attitude, and these things that you can pick up on from the interactions. I can tell what a kid is like by watching them interact with the kids around them at camp and interact with their parents. It’s important for us to get kids with really good attitudes who are personable, and who are going to fit in here. The academic piece is also really important – not that you necessarily get that out of a camp. But in my messaging in the camps, seminar, and recruiting portion, we talk a lot about academics. We talk about a lot of the opportunities that academics can open up for players and I think that they’ll see that we want to see kids who are engaged who want to be here, who ask questions during our coaching sessions and our seminars that are good, thoughtful questions and not necessarily just kind of checking the box to ask it. Show me you’re actually paying attention to what I’m saying and ask questions about that.

Do you think camps will play an increasing role in golf recruiting in the future?

I do think they will because coaches are looking to find ways to really get to know kids in the recruiting process, and camps uniquely offer that. In the recruiting landscape today and in NCAA sports today, it’s more important to develop personal relationships with recruits and with their parents, and also have them get to know you personally. And through that process, it starts to build loyalty and a relationship that’s going to last. With the transfer portal and NIL and everything that goes on with all the opportunities that are out there. Coaches are looking to develop their niche recruiting markets, their niche type of kids that they’re looking to get, and the ones who come to a program and are successful in that environment. You can’t see that necessarily in a tournament recruiting setting or necessarily a one-on-one campus visit either, but I think camps offer that unique environment to be able to do those things.

What would you tell a fellow college golf coach about whether going to a CGX Camp is a good investment of their time or a habit they should be into doing regularly?

I would tell everyone and anyone who can get involved in camps like this to do so. It’s well worth your time. It’s well worth the effort to get to see some kids in your recruiting market and see the type of interest that you might have outside of what you really think your market is. CGX helps connect you with players who might be interested in you that you never would have thought, and those things are huge and a really huge benefit that we get out of it. It helps you redevelop your recruiting efforts, giving you context to the kids that you’re talking to and kids that might not be there, versus kids that are there. And you see how they practice, how they plan, how they’re developing, and it’s an extra set of variable details that you can get out of kids. And it’s honestly a fun day or two. CGX really supports running the camp so it’s not a huge burden marketing the camp and everything. It will open up more recruiting opportunities for all coaches who decide to do it.

For years, there was a blueprint for the most effective way for college coaches to recruit players to their respective universities: Identify a player, find that player’s tournament schedule, go watch that player compete. While the process is not quite that simple, the point is, that junior golf tournaments and the most prestigious events around the country historically have been where you would find the top college coaches in the country searching for players to fill their rosters.

While that still is the case, college coaches now attend specialized college camps, where talented juniors can showcase their abilities via simulated practice and tournament rounds with coaches on hand to provide real-time feedback. There is also time to visit one-on-one with coaches and sit down and have a meal with them and the player’s family.

College Golf Experience (CGX) is dedicated to connecting college coaches and juniors aspiring to play college golf through these unique events. In the last two years, the CGX team has run nearly 100 camps across the country and CGX is scheduled to run more than 100 in 2024.

“College coaches can be intimidating to junior golfers and parents and add pressure to junior golfers when they scout at junior tournaments,” CGX CEO Joshua Jacobs said. “Engaging with and playing in front of college coaches at camps helps junior golfers get comfortable talking to them on the phone, during recruiting visits, and seeing them at tournaments.”

While the process is valuable for the junior golfer, coaches also reap benefits and enjoy spending time with players in an environment that has not typically been traditional.

“I would advise every young player’s parent to send their kid to at least one camp per summer and then they can also play in a couple of golf tournaments per month,” said University of Washington Men’s Head Coach Alan Murray. “At camps, we as coaches get to see and talk to the players, which is huge for us. I can get to know players and how their brains work. We can understand their personalities and their strengths and weaknesses more than we ever could in tournament conditions alone. The get to ask any questions they like at a camp and take advantage of the collective wisdom of the top-level coaches who attend these camps.”

Said Princeton Women’s Head Coach Erika DeSanty: “The opportunity to learn from the best coaches out there? You can’t put a price tag on it. That’s an amazing experience and that may only happen in that setting. What they learn could change the way they navigate course management or their practice habits moving forward. From a parent’s perspective, from a player’s perspective, they get an unbelievable opportunity to learn from the best in the business and really have interactions that are meaningful.”

The camps are designed for everyone – from the top players in the country to those just beginning to explore the process. Boys and girls ages 12-18 of all abilities aspiring to play in college are urged to register.

“We’re listening to what players and parents want and need,” Jacobs said. “Players and parents want to get in front of and access college coaches. They want to learn about college golf and the recruiting process. Parents want to be able to provide opportunities for their kids to fulfill their dreams. That’s what these camps do. That’s what we provide.”

We get it. When you grow up going to football and basketball games at your parents’ alma mater and you’ve been wearing that university’s colors since birth, it’s hard to imagine going anywhere else after you graduate high school. If your dream is to play college golf at that school, there’s a lot more to consider than making it into that one program you’ve put on a pedestal for so many years. Two golf coaches share their insights:

BE OPEN-MINDED IN YOUR JOURNEY

TCU Associate Men’s Head Coach Cole Buck often calls on his own experiences as a collegiate player when advising juniors on their path to college golf, suggesting that fit involves more than choosing the very best team that will take you. Going where there’s a chance to play throughout one’s college career should play a big factor in the decision process, he suggests.

“If I could go back and have a conversation with 15- or 16-year-old me, I would favor being more realistic or understanding of what I was getting while selecting a program,” says Buck. “I was super excited for the opportunity to play college golf for TCU. They were a top-10 team at the time, but if I was being honest with myself, I wasn’t that caliber of player right then. I thought being around elite college players for a couple of seasons automatically would make me ready to fill that role my senior year. That’s a lot harder than it sounds because it’s a lot harder to improve when you’re not playing. You want to get as many tournament reps as you can get to stay sharp.

Now, having coached college golf at every level, I see that programs at every level have great facilities, outstanding coaches, and opportunities to play. You want to go to a program where you can play and get better and have camaraderie in the van with your team versus falling for the flash of top 10 programs and maybe missing a rewarding playing experience.”

GO WHERE YOU CAN PLAY

Former UCLA Women’s Head Golf Coach Carrie Forsyth says there can be a peril to a Dream-School-or-Bust mentality as juniors weigh their collegiate options. “Go where you can play and compete” is a common refrain from coaches who understand the best college golf experience is one in which players can enjoy every phase of college golf life, including a great education and on-campus lifestyle.

“I met a young girl once at a camp we did on campus, probably 10 years ago,” Forsyth shares. “I was talking to the group, saying there’s a place for everybody if you’re willing and able to look beyond just your dream school. Sure, everybody wants to go to Stanford. I was saying to the group, ‘Some of you guys, your game isn’t the level that needs to be to play high-level Division I or, academically, maybe it’s not the right fit for you. Look into these other programs.’

So, flash forward to me receiving this letter from this very, very successful woman who is writing me to say thank you for that message because she says, ‘I went to your camp, and I thought I wanted to play at UCLA, my dream school.’ She basically wasn’t good enough to go to UCLA as a golfer and we encouraged her to look into other options. She ended up at a small school like Amherst, somewhere on the East Coast. She focused on academics and played golf for that program – actually got to play – and she had an amazing experience. She got her degree and now she’s a super-successful real estate agent, and she writes me this letter just to thank me for telling her there are other places to go.

Just because School A is your dream, doesn’t mean this is the right place for you. Don’t be afraid to look somewhere else, because you can find your perfect fit and you can be successful. That was just the nicest gesture.”

When we speak to junior golfers and their parents about the recruiting process and the path to playing college golf, they often tell us, “We don’t know what we don’t know about the process, but we’re willing to learn.”

Fortunately, we recently helped assemble an extraordinary brain trust of men’s and women’s college coaches at the first-ever CGX Top100 Camp and asked many of them what juniors can do to pursue a path that leads to the ideal fit in the college golf program where they can best thrive.

Across the board, these elite Division I coaches had sterling advice and a thoughtful range of helpful tactics for getting on their radars. Here’s a sample:

IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY TO NETWORK

So many junior athletes think they have to wait until June 15 after their sophomore year of high school to start building relationships with coaches, but through camps, that process – and the realistic path to college golf – can begin much sooner.

“If you’re willing to work, you can find a place to play college golf and have an amazing experience, no matter what level. You just have to be open minded about the places that you consider and what you want to study. Then, just get after it. Make sure that you’re in front of these coaches when the time comes and when you have opportunities to go to a camp like this,” Former UCLA Women’s Head Golf Coach Carrie Forsyth says. “It’s an amazing chance to get your name out, to get us knowing you. We know so many of the other college coaches, too. Even if maybe you’re not a fit for UCLA, I know a lot of coaches and maybe I can help you or guide you to a program that I think might be a great fit for you as a player.”

UNDERSTAND WHAT COACHES LOOK FOR IN A RECRUIT

It’s easy to assume college coaches chase the highest-ranked players they can get on campus and that scoring averages trump all other metrics. The coaches we spoke to, though, stressed the value of cultural fits, preserving team chemistry, and connecting with players who show growth potential.

“Anyone we’re recruiting, we have to weigh the impact of what it means to bring this guy into our program and how it affects the group dynamic,” says University of Washington Head Men’s Golf Coach Alan Murray. “We work hard to create positive energy and a can-do spirit amongst our group for my team to be able to beat the caliber of teams we face. We can’t afford to miss on the right fits in recruiting. Our recruits have to be guys who make our team better. Maybe not in Year One, but when he gets into the program and around the guys, it should be clear he’s the best fit for our ongoing success and team chemistry.”

Coach after coach at the CGX Top100 Camp advised against putting too much stock in rankings and scoring averages, while understanding that coaches value players who are good to be around, fit their personality, and will contribute to the overall team dynamic.

IN OUR NEXT FINDING YOUR FIT ARTICLE … Coach Forsyth and Stanford University Men’s Assistant Golf Coach Cole Buck Talk Candidly about ‘The Dream School Trap’ … STAY TUNED!