How To Get Recruited For College Golf

The college golf recruiting process is a daunting one, which is why we want to answer all your frequently asked questions and clarify NCAA regulations and timelines. While Junior Golf Hub is an app that will help connect you with the right college golf coaches, we’re also a resource for all your golf recruiting needs.

How To Get Recruited For College Golf

From when you realize you want to play college golf to the day you sign your National Letter of Intent, you have quite a few steps to follow. However, don’t let the college recruiting process discourage you; the Junior Golf Hub app streamlines this process in an easy-to-follow format.

Whether you’re looking to play college golf or are a parent or legal guardian helping a soon-to-be college golfer. It’s never too early to start thinking about recruiting, so we recommend kicking off this fun adventure your freshman or sophomore year of high school; even though communication with golf coaches starts the summer before your junior year, golf coaches are already looking at you starting freshman year.

Finding the Right College Golf Program for You

The next step is aligning college golf programs with your game and your preferred college experience. Junior Golf Hub really steps in here and helps you find colleges looking for your scoring average, among other data points. With college golf coaches on the app, this is an easy way to get noticed.

Setting up your player profile is a crucial step towards attracting college coaches’ attention. You can include your tournament schedule and history, junior golf ranking, golf swing videos, and academic transcripts. The more highlights you share on your page for coaches to see, the better idea they’ll have of your game, personality, and potential.

Another way to preview the life of a college golfer while also building connections with the coaches is to sign up for college golf camps. This experience gives you the opportunity to show off your game in person, usually in front of several different colleges while also giving you more time to get to know each coach. College camps can be found on the schools’ websites, and you may get a few brochures in the mail.

College Golf Training Programs at Academies

Attending a golf academy is one path that some players and parents choose to take. At boarding schools like Achieve Golf Academy, their college golf training programs allow you to improve your academic performance and golf skills simultaneously.

In addition to assisting you with your game, physical fitness, sports psychology, and nutrition, the coaches at Achieve Golf Academy will help you optimize your player profile for college recruiting and provide you with a full tournament schedule that you can play in to raise your junior golf ranking.

NCAA Golf Rules on Recruiting

The college golf recruiting process can sometimes be a web of NCAA rules and regulations. Junior Golf Hub breaks down the basic rules as well as how to interact with college coaches when the time is right.

Standard NCAA Golf Recruiting Rules

NCAA golf regulations are the same for men and women but differ slightly by school division. When planning campus visits, beware of dead periods where no contact is allowed with coaches, typically around holidays. In order to be considered for college play, you also must register with the NCAA Eligibility Center, which reviews your amateur status and high school transcripts.

For both men and women looking into Division 1 schools, you’ll see the following regulations:

• Freshman and sophomore year of high school, you can have no communication with college golf coaches or the athletic department until June 15th after your sophomore year. Beforehand, you may receive college golf camp and recruiting brochures, and you can make unofficial visits to college campuses as long as you don’t speak with anyone from the athletic department, tour the athletic department or accept free tickets to home games until August 1st before your junior year.
• Communication after June 15th after your sophomore year includes unlimited calls, emails, texts and more forms of electronic messaging. You can initiate the phone calls, and golf coaches can call you.
• After August 1st before your junior year, you can also meet with coaches off campus, usually at golf tournaments. You can also start your official visits, where you can visit up to five schools, one time each. Unofficial visits are still unlimited. You may receive a verbal offer during this period.
• Senior year is largely the same as the period after August 1st before your junior year, though off-campus contact and evaluations are limited until you sign a National Letter of Intent (NLI), another written commitment or you put a financial deposit down on the college.

For both men and women interested in Division 2 schools, you’ll notice the following differences:

• You can take unofficial visits at any point in your recruiting journey.
• After June 15th after your sophomore year, you have unlimited official visits to Division 2 schools, though there is still a cap on one official visit per college.

For both men and women interested in Division 3 and NAIA schools, you’ll notice the following differences:

• College coaches can begin contact with you at any time during high school, and you can go on unlimited unofficial visits during that time.
• You can have off-campus contact with college coaches after your sophomore year.
• After January 1st of your junior year, you can start going on official visits. Official visits to Division 3 schools are unlimited, though there is still a cap on one official visit per college.

College Recruiting Sites

Finding the best college golf recruiting service will take a ton of pressure off your plate. While the recruitment process can be stressful at times, it’s an exciting opportunity to play golf at the next level.

Apps and sites like Junior Golf Hub can consolidate your player profile, golf swing videos, tournament history, coach communications and more into one place. You can focus on your golf game and figuring out what you want your college experience to look like; you will still have to make an effort to reach out to college golf coaches, but we make it easy and fun.

Conclusion

Finally, where in the nation do you hope to attend college? Your golf season is influenced by your location. For example, if you attend school in Florida, you can play all year long. If you attend school in New Hampshire, on the other hand, your spring season could not begin until April, and your summer training will primarily be done indoors. Now that you have all the information need to ace college golf recruitment, go out and have fun with it.

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