Getting in touch with a college golf coach can be tricky. Not only is their schedule very demanding, but every year they have hundreds of players from each recruiting class vying for their attention. With so much competition, how do you stand out from the crowd?

Well, before we dive into ways to stand out, remember that scores are the most important factor and likely the first thing coaches will look at when considering a player. While the following tips will help you appeal to college golf coaches, they are not a substitute for scores.

RESEARCH

The first step in this process starts as early as your Freshman year in high school. This is the time to begin thinking about qualities you are looking for in a university and make a long list of schools to consider. Things you should be paying attention to in your research include…

• Team results/ranking
• Tournament schedule
• Roster size and class make up – how many seniors will be graduating the year before you arrive?
• Coach’s biography

This info will be useful to determine which programs you should reach out to and will give you discussion topics with coaches.

EMAILING COACHES

Once you have a long list of schools to consider it’s time to fire off some emails. We recommend sending your first recruiting email during your Freshman year to introduce yourself to each coach and place you on their radar. Here are some important things to remember for this email…

• Keep it short and concise – if it’s too long it may get skimmed
• Tailor emails to each coach/program – include info from your research to show your commitment to their program and that you’re willing to put in the effort
• Attach resume (read more about college golf resumes here)

Coaches cannot engage in recruiting correspondence until June 15th after your Sophomore year so don’t worry if you don’t get replies right away. Be persistent in your communication and continue to update coaches on your tournament results via email. Here are some things to remember during this phase of communication…

• Coaches generally prefer when the junior takes the lead with communication – not parents or coaches
• Feel free to add context to your results by including stats or a quick analysis of what you learned from each event, but don’t make excuses for poor play

RECRUITING CORRESPONDENCE

After June 15 (after your Sophomore year) coaches can begin emailing and calling you. This is the time to get to know the coach and begin to narrow down your list of potential schools. Continue to use email as your primary tool to update coaches on your tournament schedule/results, but also try and set up some phone calls with coaches so you can get to know each other. Here are some things to remember when it comes to phone communication…

• Don’t cold call coaches – use email or text to set up calls first
• Stay up to date with the team’s schedule and results – these are good conversation starters and will help you avoid reaching out during team travel/competition
• Be yourself – if you change your personality to appeal to a coach then you might be setting yourself up for failure later on