Girls Golf College Scholarships

Odds of Getting a Girls Golf Scholarship

2012-01-30T09:31:00.000-08:00

I lot of girls playing golf in high school in even younger wonder what the odds are of getting a girls golf scholarship.

Well, there are two ways to answer this question. One is the conventional answer that you might read somewhere (like here) that can be calculated rather straightforwardly. The other is more specific to an individual's current situation and more difficult to calculate, but a figure can be zeroed in on.

First, I'll briefly run through the methodology of the more broad calculation. The most basic way to calculate the odds that a person gets a girls golf scholarship is simply to divide the total number of people with girls golf scholarships by the total number of people. Like this:

Total number of girls golf scholarships / Total number of people = Odds of getting a girls golf scholarship.

This simple calculation is pretty silly for a couple of reasons. The most obvious is that it includes boys (in the "Total number of people") and obviously they're not going to get girls golf scholarships.

So we can immediately improve the relevancy of the results simply by making this quick change:

Total number of girls golf scholarships / Total number of women = Odds of getting a girls golf scholarship.

This is better, but it still leaves a lot to be desired.

At this point we'll start making some assumptions to narrow down the parameters.

For starters let's assume that it's safe to say that nearly all (if not all) of the people who have girls golf scholarships are not only women (obvious), but also played varsity high school golf.

Certainly there could be exceptions and just because a girl didn't play golf for her high school team doesn't automatically exclude her from being allowed to play golf for a college team. There could be a really unusual circumstance where a girl went to a high school that didn't have a golf team, or she just started playing golf when she was 18 and was a miracle phenom.

At any rate, for our calculation purposes let's just narrow the field to females who played varsity golf in high school.

As recently as 2010 it was estimated that there are about 600,000 women playing golf in the US between the ages of 6-17. Obviously only a relatively small percentage of that population actually made the cut (or is old enough) to play on a girls high school varsity golf team.

As a side note: the number of boys in the US playing golf between the ages of 6-17 is about 1.9 million as of 2010. Assuming there are as many boys golf scholarships as girls golf scholarships the figures immediately indicate that it's likely more than three times as hard (based strictly on the sheer volume of competition) to get a golf scholarship as a male than as a female.

Getting back to topic the new equation would look more like this:

Total number of girls who play varsity high school golf / Total number of female golf scholarships = odds of getting a girls golf scholarship

If you want to narrow the parameters even further to suit your own personal situation, you can narrow the fields even more by factoring in a number of points that describe your situation. Some of these factors might include parameters like:

girls who play varsity high school golf and have a handicap below 5
girls who play varsity high school golf, have a handicap below 5, and were all-state
girls who attended golf camps that increased their exposure to college golf coaches

The list goes on and on.

At the end of the day the most important aspect of this exercise isn't to nail down a precise percentage, but to identify the traits that give you the best chance of achieving your goal of getting scholarship money to play golf in college.

The most obvious thing is that the better you are at golf, the better your chances are of getting a scholarship. However, beyond that you might find other attributes while doing your research that can help. Reading this website and getting as much information as possible is a great sign that you're the sort of person who is going to give yourself the optimal chance to succeed.

As was briefly mentioned earlier some other important things you can do simply besides being good at golf involve competing (and doing well) in tournaments, visiting golf camps, getting exposure to coaches, etc.

It's really up to you to market yourself as well as you can. Make it easy for the coaches/recruiters to know you're out there and give them reasons to say yes to you, like by being a good student in addition to being a strong golfer. Show leadership abilities in other organizations, and demonstrate that you're a coachable golfer who would be a great asset to most any college golf team.

Golf Scholarships For Girls

2012-01-24T10:31:00.000-08:00

Golf scholarships for girls are a blessing for many families trying to save money on college tuition. Fortunately these athletic scholarships exist and are a great find for the parents as well as the children that get to enjoy the financial benefits.

There are actually numerous reasons to go after golf scholarships for girls besides the obvious monetary boost. I'll quickly list a few of those reasons and then go into greater detail about them. If you're simply looking for direct information on how to get in contact with female college golf coaches, looking to understand what score does a girl need to shoot to get a girls golf scholarship or just have general questions like what's the best advice for a girl to improve her golf score all of those questions can be answered in other posts on this blog.

Reasons to be on a college golf team:

Scholarship money. This one is obvious but I had to list it first because it's the first thing on most of my readers minds. Dollars pay the bills and although college athletes are amateurs in some since they are getting paid to play their sports in the form of scholarship money that often can equate to saving tens of thousands of dollars a year, and that's before factoring in all the interest that would be paid on student loans over many, many years.
Make friends. It's been my experience that the young ladies on college golf teams are generally exceptional women with strong backgrounds. Think about it, these are the sorts of girls that (a) want to go to college, (b) had access to golf growing up, and (c) are strong women with self-confidence as a result in excelling in their sport to the point of being able to play it in college.
Future career boost. Lots of businesses rely on relationships and relationship building. A lot of this relationship building is done on the golf course. In the old days it was mostly men, but now women are taking over. Think about the difference from a competitive business standpoint to be a woman who can beat or at least hang with the executive men, or to be the gal that's embarrassing herself on the golf course or missing out on networking opportunities because she's too shy to go out there and play with the boys. Would you rather be the woman that all the executives want on their scramble team or the person relegated to just driving the cart.
Job interview ammunition. With so many resumes out there it's hard to stand out. One of the best ways to do so when applying for jobs is to (a) have something that the other applicants don't have on their resumes that catches the interviewers attention and (b) be into the same things as the person hand picking candidates and doing the interviewing. Being a college golf team is an excellent way to nail down points (a) and (b). As a former college athlete myself I can't tell you how many interviews I've been on that where driven conversationally by my experience playing sports in college. Employers doing the hiring like to know that they're getting well rounded people who even more importantly can handle multiple tasks (like school and sports in college), are team players, and can perform under pressure.

I hope you found this post helpful. Feel free to check out the rest of the site and come back soon for regular updates. Hopefully, you'll come across at least one piece of information motivates, sparks a connection, or in just some general way plays a part in living a more enriched life by landing a girls golf scholarship.

Girls Golf Scholarships

2012-01-23T13:08:00.000-08:00

I was surprised we didn't already have a page on this website called "Girls Golf Scholarships" but it turns out the confusion was because I was thinking of the first post called girls golf college scholarships.

Before I get into the real substance of this post I'd like to point out that the first post on this blog is from back in November of 2009. That means that later this year this blog will reach it's 3 year anniversary of helping young women achieve their goals of getting girls golf scholarships. That's a feat we're quite proud of, and not surprisingly one we bring up at parties or basically any opportunity we get to boast about ourselves and spread the word about the helpful content on this blog. In fact, if you find this information helpful or know either a young female golfer or someone with a daughter interested in golf please do us all a favor and forward or share this information with them. After all, if our message isn't getting out, we're just spinning our wheels.

There are really three main things on the minds of both aspiring college female golfers and their families that want to see them be successful.

Can you get money for college by playing girls golf
How good to you have to be at golf to get money for college
How can I get good enough to get a golf scholarship for girls

Interestingly, as we've outlined in other parts of this blog there are lots of girls golf scholarships unused every year. This is because despite the fact that the game is a great lifetime sport, there are typically more available spots that go unused than are actually filled.

A big reason why so many girls golf scholarships go unused is because not everyone has access to golf courses on a regular basis. It stands to reason that almost everyone can compete in a sport like track and field or find a basketball hoop somewhere, but golf not only requires expensive equipment and access to golf courses (generally also expensive), but countless dollars spent on driving range balls, possibly money spent on professional coaching from golf pros at local courses, etc.

It's a great game, but no one is arguing that it's cheap. Certainly, it can be done in an affordable manner for most household budgets, but compared to some other sports there are clearly more barriers to entry.

In some parts of the country and in society in general golf isn't considered a cool sport for kids to play. Tiger Woods changed that to some extent, but Tiger has aged and his indiscretions off the course have made him even less popular with America's youth today, and particularly young women.

Are America's best female athletes playing golf?

Not really. However, all that means is that it can be easier to excel in this sport because the competition is lighter. It's like the old saying that "the fishing is best where no one else is fishing." While there are certainly some flaws in the logic in this old saying the gist is that it's easier to thrive in environments or places that have less competition.

Is there more competition for a girl's basketball scholarship than a girl's golf scholarship?

Yes. Because more girls are playing basketball. However, the actual value in terms of scholarship money to a college or university is the same whether a young lady is playing basketball or golf.

Those are just some things to keep in mind. Please come back to visit this blog for more information and continuous updates.

Best Advice For Getting A Girls Golf Scholarship

2012-01-20T16:18:00.000-08:00

Practice everything from 100 yards and in.

That's the best way to quickly improve your score aka the bottom line.

Golf Scholarships For Girls

2012-01-20T15:57:00.000-08:00

A lot of people ask what score does a girl have to shoot to get a college golf scholarship?

The short answer is, it depends.

So what does it depend on? Well, the short answer to that question is that it depends on a number of factors.

Okay, I'll stop playing a game of semantics and get right to the point and tell you exactly what you want (and NEED) to hear.

Basically, there's a difference between the lowest golf score you've ever shot and being able to consistently shoot well, especially when the pressure is on. College golf teams don't just want to head someone tell them how low of a score they shot one time, they want to see actual results from tournaments and things of that nature.

It's no secret that almost every girl with a college golf scholarship played on her high school golf team. In reality this isn't that much different than getting a basketball scholarship or when boys get football scholarships (yes - I know there have been a few female college kickers).

In short, you need to impress with consistently good scoring in tournament conditions (and without the help of the occasional foot wedge).

In addition to the actual final number on your scorecard after it's tallied and signed universities will consider how difficult the courses you're playing on are. Not surprisingly slope rating is factored into the equation because someone who can shot par on an incredible easy course might actually struggle to break 100 on an extremely challenging course.

In addition to actual scoring you can do other things to improve your odds like network and demonstrate your friendly demeanor and willingness to be coached. Of course your actual golfing ability and potential will carry the most weight in the eyes of women's college golf coaches, but keep in mind that there are lots of girls competing for these spots who put up similar scores to yours. The difference maker, whether you like it or not, could come down to your personal connections and personality. Teams need leadership and they don't need cancerous attitudes that make things harder on teammates. Coaches are aware of and look for these things. It makes there teams better and their jobs easier.

Being a well-rounded person with good grades, solid test scores, and an involvement in other activities will help your college applications in general. I'm not saying you need to be the president of your high school chess team, because again your actual golfing ability is what'll earn you a spot on a team. As an aside since we're talking about chess and golf, interestingly they're too of the easiest "sports" to cheat at (guess you can consider chess a mental sport). In fact, even though most people aren't aware of how to cheat at chess it's amazingly simple. You can read all about it through the link in the previous sentence.

I'll close by saying that the golf score you need to shoot to get a college scholarship varying depending on the college. Obviously the colleges competing for Division-I national championships are going to require a lower score and higher caliber of golfer than lower tier colleges on the collegiate golf totem pole.

Generally to go to the most competitive schools you'll need to shoot around par and maybe have a handicap of around 2.

Deciding on which College to Play Girls Golf

2010-06-08T13:09:00.000-07:00

For any young lady and her parents the process of deciding on a college to play girls golf at is a very important decision to be made as it will not only likely shape the next four or five years of the young woman's life but in many respects will dictate what direction the entire future course of her life will be like. In the short term this decision means the difference between carrying around an Ohio State golf bag or a Boston College golf bag but in the long run it could very well impact the person you end up marrying, the cities you live in as an adult, and what career you up with.

The decision is an extremely personal one as every individual is different in their preferences. A suggested strategy is to sit down with someone who knows you well and whose opinions you trust to lay out a list of priorities and then weigh those priorities against one another. For many young golfers the person that they sit down with will likely be a parent or coach. It's important to keep in mind that the listed priorities need to be those of the girl who is soon going off to play golf in college and not the adviser.

While preferences and priorities obviously vary some classically universal ones include:

proximity to home
size of the college
level of academic emphasis
small town versus urban metropolitan
intensity of the golf program
academic programs offered

After listing all of the relevant priorities break up their importance by distributing the percentages of importance to each item. Evenly divide 100% between all the priorities to determine the weights. Given the highest percentage to the most important issues. For instance an example list might look like this:

Close to home (within a 5 hour drive home) (10%)
Not a small school (more than 5,000 students) (15%)
high academic reputation (25%)
In or close to large city (15%)
Very successful golf program (5%)
Offers undergraduate architecture program (30%)

Now for each school you're considering see how it stacks up with this criteria by giving a particular school scores in each category from 1-10.

For instance if a school is very close to home/parent's house then give it a 10 if it's only 30 minutes away. If it's an 8 hour drive from home give it a 1. If the school has 2,000 students and you want a larger school give that category a score of 2. If the school is reasonably close to a big city give it a 6 or 7 in that category, and so on.

Eventually you'll have scores for every category and then you'll multiple each score by the percentage you assigned for the category. The aggregate score will be your weighted score for one particular school. You can then repeat this process for the other colleges you're considering.

The beauty of this method is that it allows you to mathematically compare competing choices that have differing pros and cons.

Girls Golf College

2010-01-11T23:21:00.000-08:00

Girls golf and college can coexist if you're an organized student. Many people who have never been student athletes in college have a hard time understanding how in addition to the time spent studying and doing everything else required in college someone can also balance a full time athletic commitment that often includes travel. The truth of the matter is that some students are more successful with these circumstances than other students. Interestingly for some students the structure of having other activities filling their schedule has proven to lead to greater levels of success. There is a saying that idle hands have a tendency to cause mischief. Furthermore having a routine that is constantly filled with positive and productive structure is extremely helpful for some people of all ages. While the idea of balancing traveling around the country for girls golf tournaments while at the same time studying for midterms and trying to balance a normal college social life sounds like too much to handle don't worry because for many people what is considered to be distractions are actually aids for living a more productive life. Many students find the time traveling to be an excellent time to set aside for studying when they might otherwise be wasting time hanging out on campus. There is of course a certain population that can not handle doing multiple things like golf and college as well as other segments but ultimately people learn to adjust to whatever they need to. Some how people are programmed to be able to handle as many things as they need to (in most cases). A saying states that for someone who doesn't do anything even doing one thing seems like a big chore. It is interesting to observe and learn how men and women deal with adversity and challenges.

Girls golf scholarships can be both a blessing and a curse in terms of opportunities that also carry additional responsibilities. It should be pointed out that in order to have a successful girls golf college career an athlete must do everything possible to prepare her body for optimal results. Exercise for golf is not always on the front of people's minds when they think about toning their mind and body for the best possible results but the truth of the matter is that flexibility is king when it comes to consistently hitting a golf ball long and straight. It would serve every female golfer well to spend even just a few more minutes every day working out a good limber stretch so that they can unleash on the golf ball.

Many girls might not choose to play golf in college if it weren't for the scholarships for non traditional students that they are in line to receive. While many women loving playing golf there is of course a certain percentage that are for a lack of a better time just doing it for the money. This is a sad state of affairs because when the situation becomes one in which it feels like a job to be out there every day quality of play and quality of life both suffer. Unfortunately for better or worse this is the world we live in where for at least short moments in time almost everyone is faced with moments in their life where they have to evaluate making sacrifices for the better good of their long time life objectives. Giving up something today for your future self to be happier is the sort of mantra that most successful people live by. Attending a girls golf college is what the pressures of playing on a division one golf squad can feel like if the mentality of the golfer is correctly suited for the position.

Exercise For Golf

2009-12-07T15:35:00.000-08:00

The appropriate amount of proper exercise for golf can be the difference between earning a college scholarship and being forced to get even more resourceful with regards to paying for college. While lesser motivated golfers may lazily fall into the argument that if John Daly (pictured to the left) could be a successful golfer in the PGA for over a decade despite being an obese three hundred pound man who smoke and drank then clearly optimal physical fitness is not of the utmost importance.

John Daily himself would admit that he should not be a role model for anyone and that his physique is clearly the exception in an increasingly competitive field where even the slightest edge can mean the difference between winning a tournament by a stroke and advancing to the next stage in a prosperous career or coming up short and never realizing untapped potential for success. We'll never know how good John Daly could have been if his physical fitness and personal life would not have dragged down this man with uncanny talent.

PGA, LPGA, and NCAA rules mandate that all players, baring a physical handicap, walk the entire 18 holes that comprise every round of golf. For most players this means walking anywhere from four to five hours per round. Despite hills and varying terrain this physical exertion should not be confused with the physical conditioning required to complete an iron man triathlon. Having said that a healthy body and sharp mind are the best ways to insure that fatigue will not play a predictably negative role in competitive play.

For many female golfers one of the most challenging aspects of maintaining a consistent year round workout routine is inclement weather. Perhaps it should be no surprise that a disproportionate amount of successful golfers come from warm climates like Florida, Hawaii, and Southern California. Year round golf weather means both more days out of the year for actual practice as well as an increased amount of opportunities for traditional cardiovascular exercise like jogging and cycling.

There is good news though for the majority of golfers who do not live in the select few year round temperate climates. The encouraging news is that there are a surplus of exercise routines at home that can be performed year round from the comfort of a young golfers living room that will help put them in the best position possible for long term success. Aside from the obvious tools like treadmills and stationary bicycles for cardio exercise there is the extremely simple yet often overlooked routine of regular stretching. While cardio exercise and general strength training are essential components to maximizing golf potential perhaps neither one is as important as the underrated act of a consistent stretch program.

Golf is no different than negotiating with regards that most of the power is derived from leverage. While the world of negotiating is dictated by positions and trade offs, leverage as it relates to golf is purely a physical attribute as it pertains to flexibility and torque. Hitting a drive over 300 yards almost always has less to do with muscle mass or how much a golfer can bench press and almost everything to do with flexibility and the whipping action that occurs when a well trained ball striker uncoils her hips and swings open her shoulders and chest while the driver rapidly wraps around the torso and smashes the golf ball off the tee and into the fairway. For many golfers the previously described swing in conjunction with the pure sound of the ball being perfectly struck on the sweet spot is complete golf nirvana.

Complete exercise routines at home that incorporate, strength training, cardio, and flexibility are the best way to ensure year round performance in the tee box.

Scholarships For Non Traditional Students

2009-11-09T13:49:00.000-08:00

Everyone needs to find a way to pay for college and for many people that don't come from rich families or have the top test scores in the state scholarships for non traditional students are the best way to earn a college degree and in doing so open the doors to a successful life through education. Higher education has long been hailed as the great equalizer amongst the classes. A strong, growing, and thriving middle class is a mainstay in the most successful societies the world has ever seen. A nation that offers upward mobility to its citizens is well positions for sustained success and a standard of living that will make it the envy of all of the world. A tremendous amount of effort is put on education and particularly advanced education but for many students even in the twenty-first century finding ways to pay for the much desired college diploma can still be extremely difficult. Attending a major university has always been expensive and the costs quickly spiral out of control when considering the additional expenses of attending an out of state university, a private college, and then once you've factored in books, room and board, and all the other expenses the price tag can easily double or triple from what it currently starts at.

The best bet for so many people looking for scholarships for non traditional students is to find scholarships in areas that are less competitive. This website focuses on the accessibility of finding girls golf college scholarships and the surprising ease that many young women are able to pay for college once they realize that every year literally hundreds of golf scholarships go completely unused because there's a lack of awareness about the importance of grabbing up these scholarships that can in many instances literally save families tens of thousands of dollars. Often times students who are able to get their foot in the door through unique scholarship opportunities lay the foundation to pursue advanced degrees like an online MBA program later on in life. The best strategy for any non traditional student looking for scholarship money is to focus on the less competitive niches. Girls golf is definitely an underutilized scholarship source but there are others for people that don't qualify either because they're men or because they have absolutely no golf experience. Finding unique opportunities for paying for college can be a very rewarding experience if it ultimately pays off.

For many non traditional students scholarships can be found by doing something off the beaten path, something that can be considered non traditional. While it's very competitive to get a football or basketball scholarship there are many other sports and other activities that offer the same opportunity but with greatly reduced competition. Consider alternatives like marching band, diving, ROTC, playing the violin, and numerous other unique situations like girls golf that don't have the same kind of competition. There are also lots of scholarship funds established for various ethnic groups to help even the playing field in what's largely been higher education opportunities for majorities in the past. Consider looking into local programs for scholarships for non traditional students as they can be very accommodating with local businesses and schools in many instances contributing to the overall good of the community by making college an option for more and more families.
There's a tremendous emphasis put on how important college scholarships are but the real value of a college education is surprising to a lot of people . While there is certainly something to be said for learning a trade like engineering or putting yourself in position for graduate school like attending law school the greatest asset that college offers is more unique than any of these single factors. The truth of the matter is that in all honesty you can get the same book education with a free library card that you can at a private Ivy League university that charges forty thousand dollars a year for tuition. For many students getting out of high school can be the first major obstacle to working towards a non traditional scholarship. For these students CAHSEE preparation for California students and similar exit exam programs in other states provide the gateway for eventually earning a much needed and deserved scholarship. The real value in attending college is not in what's taught by professors on blackboards or what's found in textbooks that the whole world has access to thanks to amazon.com. College tuition has grown many times faster than the rate of inflation and yet despite the high price tag schools are still bombarded with more qualified applicants than they can accept. Consider that the real reason college is worth the expense is because of the quality of people that a young impressionable mind gets to spend time with. It's almost impossible to put a price tag on lifelong friendships and the value that's derived from getting to know a wide spectrum of people that bring unique life experiences to the table. Colleges have historically been and will continue to be places to open minds and free them with free will and the idea that someone should never mistake a different way of doing something with a wrong way of doing something. America may be faltering in some global success measures but our higher education system is still the envy of the entire world. Affluent families from around the globe send their brightest children to American universities to receive the best education ever offered at any time on the planet. There really is a lot of value in a college education that goes way beyond book smarts. While finding scholarships for non traditional students does require effort and we would all like to come from rich families where college costs aren't an issue the truth of the matter is that we should all feel blessed to live in a land of opportunity and upward mobility.

Girls Golf College Scholarships

2009-11-04T19:03:00.000-08:00

Despite golf's growing popularity there are still a surprising amount of parents and their daughters that don't know the first thing about girls golf scholarships - information like the fact that colleges are scouring the country trying to find people to take the money that they're giving away.

Unlike sports such as basketball, volleyball, or track where size and speed play critical roles in both recruitment and collegiate success female golfing prospects are not confined by physical genetic restrictions. The two biggest factors keeping high school aged girls and their families from taking full advantage of scholarship money that universities leave just sitting on the table is (1) a lack of exposure and (2) a lack of confidence. With regards to self-doubt the truth of the matter is that a women doesn't have to play at Annika Sorenstam's level to have her school paid for. The confusion regarding a lack of understanding of the minimal ability needed to get a foot in the door with a small time college program is a reflection of the tight budgets that these sorts of programs are working with. What I'm saying is that women's golf teams at all but the largest division-1 schools have limited budgets that prevent them from recruiting outside of a very close network. Without the proper tools to adequately recruit women golfers from a wider area the coaches become limited in who they can contact and the golfers and their parents are oblivious to college golfing standards because the system isn't conducive to them coming in contact with college recruiters unless their daughter is a blue chip standout player that receives wide exposure. No one expects regional colleges with at best modestly successful women's golf teams to have recruiting budgets that rival the football budgets of Ohio State and the University of Texas but the fact still remains that these schools do have scholarships to hand out and believe it or not many of them do in fact go unused because the current system is so flawed and ineffective. The good news though is that by coming across this site and reading this far you've put yourself in a great position to take advantage of the systems shortcomings. Yes, while it is a shame that more families aren't aware of this unique form of financial aid the truth of the matter is that while you certainly aren't responsible for the current state of affairs you are completely within your rights to exploit this situation in which the competition is artificially low. The burden of finding a girls golf scholarship for better or worse falls on the player herself and if she's lucky enough to have one, her supporting family. When all of the dust settles regardless of the attention that national signing day garners for top flight basketball recruits and young men signing to play football at the University of Florida at the end of the day a full ride men's football scholarship is worth the same amount as a full ride women's golf scholarship. Same value of scholarship, just without the concussions.

How do you know who to talk to about college golf scholarships?

Once alerted of the inequalities in the distribution of girls golf scholarships the first question that most people ask is who they should talk to in order to take advantage of this opportunity to literally save tens of thousands of dollars. The answer might surprise you when I say that you need to be talking to all the people that you would imagine you should be. If there is a high school golf coach at your school then certainly start there. Even if your daughter hasn't played for this particular coach don't be afraid to contact him or her for help. Unlike high school football where a standout recruit must almost certainly be an active member on his high school varsity team this is not as necessary with other sports, most notably golf. Don't just stop with speaking to your school's golf coach, in fact this is only the beginning. Personally speak to all of the golf coaches at the surrounding high schools and explain your situation and conclude every conversation with a request for a referral so that you can continue to spread your message to an increasingly wider circle of connections. Expand your search to include informal discussions with local golf pros that teach lessons and manage courses in the area. These individuals tend to have vast networks of friends in the golfing business as the sport has likely been their livelihood for their entire adult lives.

The degree of success that the above approach of contacting local leaders in the golf community has for your particular situation is dependent upon what sort of area you live in. Surprisingly both ends of the spectrum can be less than ideal when considering an area where golf is either not popular at all or one in which the game is extremely popular. One option typically has a lack of knowledgeable resources while the other has such an abundance of qualified individuals that the competition can quickly increase to repressive levels. The best option if you live in a less than optimal spot (and even if you do) is to take advantage of the internet to broaden your search to a level that will almost undoubtedly ensure your success. Assuming you're not opposed to the idea of going off to college then I implore you to broaden your search and be proactive when it comes to contacting the golf programs at the colleges beyond your immediate area. While I encourage you not to unnecessarily sacrifice your academic or quality of life standards you should keep in mind that the more options you open yourself up to the better the chance will be that you'll find a scholarship offer that you can slide into. Begin by identifying as many as one hundred colleges that you're both interested in and that seem like plausible options. Visit each college's websites and find contact emails for the women's golf teams (look under the athletic department section). Create an email account specifically for handling these girls golf scholarship inquiries and keep it organized as such. Draft a template message that you can quickly send to each golf program. By designing the email message to only require a few alterations for each school. You'll greatly minimize the time that it takes to contact all of the college programs by following this template strategy. To avoid bombarding the women's golf coaches with an excessive amount of unsolicited information keep your message short, direct, and to the point. While you should have additional information available let it be known in your introductory email that if there's some interest and a possibility of a match then you can pass along the complete set of information.

What information should you send to college golf coaches?

While there isn't a blanket recruiting package that is standardized across all colleges at every level it is safe to assume that many of them want to know the same things. Namely, (1) how good the golfer they're looking at really is, (2) how well she'll get along with teammates and the coach, (3) her level of interest in the school and golf program.

For simplicities sake let's discuss those points in the reverse order that they were presented in. Regardless of your attempts at being impartial some school are just going to rank higher in terms of person preference and that's not only natural but it's the way it should be. Academic standing, location, amenities, and other intangibles play large roles in effecting which schools are the best fit. Not surprisingly, student athletes excel the most in the classroom and on the playing field (course) when they're happy and comfortable with their quality of life. During this very impressionable time in a young women's life many beliefs, feelings, and ideas that will last a lifetime begin to take shape. Clearly I'm saying that selecting the right fit when it comes to both a golf team and a college are decisions that shouldn't be taken lightly. Having said that I'm going to advise you to approach the initial round of contact during the golf recruitment period the same way you should approach job interviews. Make every potential golf coach (employer) believe that their team/school (company) is one that you're extremely interested in joining. I'm not suggesting that you be over the top dishonest but at the same time you don't want to shut any doors before they're even opened. Put yourself in the golf shoes of the coaches. Like everyone else on this planet they have limited time and don't want to use what little they have chasing after someone who doesn't even want to be at their university. If you want to optimize your chances of getting a golf scholarship be openly receptive to each and every program, even if it isn't your first choice. Many would be student athletes have been left scrambling when for whatever reasons things didn't work out at the school that was their first choice and they learned the hard way that you should always have a back up plan (or three).

Impress upon the golf coaches you're speaking to that you are a very coachable person that is also an encouraging and good teammate. Whatever slight edge you can gain in terms of desirability when only help you when you're competing for a limited number of spots on any particular college's golf team. For starters take extra precaution to be particularly courteous when directly engaging with coaches either in person, over the phone, or via email. While this behavior may not win you a spot on a roster it certainly can lose a spot if the behavior is especially difficult or uncompromising. Ask relevant personalities in your life to write you letters of recommendation that you can include copies of with your recruitment packages. These letters don't need to be formal but should focus on your positive qualities as they relate to being a productive team player. If you don't have a golf instructor in your life to pen a recommendation consider other coaching figures that you've had in your life. Perhaps a softball coach or a middle school volleyball coach. A favorite teacher or prominent member in your community that can write on your behalf can help your cause. Don't be afraid to ask for these letters of recommendation. Most people will be flattered that you consider them enough of a significantly influential role model to deem their blessing valuable. The final thing that I'll recommend that you do to establish yourself as the sort of golfer that any coach would love to have is to dig through your network to find out if you might have connections that are at least acquaintances with any of the coaches on your list. I realize that this is the most difficult option we've discussed because it's predicated on already knowing well connected people so I will say that while this sort of rapport would go a long way in terms of helping your scholarship chances it by no means is a requirement. If high school graduation isn't right around the corner it would probably be a good idea to start thinking about how you can lay the foundation for these types of relationships that could really help your cause down the line. I'm not a proponent of recklessly using people. I'm just saying that it would be beneficial to begin preparing yourself for the future by making the effort to genuinely get to know the people that can help you move in the right direction.

No matter how many influential personal recommendations you have or how much your burning desire to attend the college of your dreams is all that you can talk about the bottom line is that your golf scores will ultimately play the largest role in determining your options. If you've played for your high school golf team then a lot of your scoring will be well documented. If those scores aren't as good as you'd like them to be you can work on your game and make a point of explaining what you've done to improve. There are golf tournaments all the time that require nothing more than a modest entry fee to compete in. If you're someone that didn't play for a girls high school golf team (maybe your school didn't have one) then competing in some of these tournaments is an excellent way to prove that you can shoot competitively when in playing in a tournament format -exactly what college scouts want to see. While there are many exceptional players in almost any tournament this shouldn't be intimidated. Just concern yourself with competing within your division (age and sex) and everything will be fine. For a number of reasons girls generally tend to embrace competition differently than boys do. This probably says something about our society but for the purpose of discussing girls golf college scholarships it's relevant because most young women never even give themselves a chance to be successful because they're too concerned with the possibility of failure. I can unequivocally tell you right now that the standards for playing golf at many lower tiered schools aren't as high as most people think. There are many opportunities out there. You just have to know where to look and then to put yourself on the line. I'm pretty confident that most girls desperately in need of a way to pay for college would gladly trade being a lower level contributor on a mediocre women's golf team in exchange for a free exchange from a top flight academic institution. If you're not shooting where you think you need to be in order to attend the schools you want to go to don't worry. Later in this website we'll talk about simple ways that girls can improve their golf game to increase their chances of receiving college scholarships.