Jump to content
2024 Houston Open WITB Photos ×

Thoughts on paying a scouting firm.


Recommended Posts

> @kekoa said:

> I have a friend who started paying a firm to help their kid get on the radar of college coaches. I think the cost is $3,500 and obviously there are no guarantees. I'm interested in your thoughts or if any parents have had success going this route.

 

I was going to write a remark about paying 6.5 million for yale. But asking for $3500 upfront is how these scams start. Obviously the kids needs to qualified but if they are then process is really like getting a job which is hard work and frustrating too. It also good life to skills to acquire job hunting skills at a young age. I would never pay a recruiter for a job so I would never pay agent either for a college scholarship.

 

Start with you who you know and include people like you coach, pga pro's, tour directors and ask them if they know a coach they give you an introduction too. Beyond that just start building your network.

 

If you kid isn't qualified that is another matter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Let the kid be a kid. If he's good enough and putting up results at local tournaments the college recruiters will take notice and he should get a scholarship. Failing a scholarship, he can always try out for the team at his school of choice.

Ping G400 Max driver w/Aldila Rogue 125 Silver
Ping G425 5 wood & hybrid
Ping G30 irons w/Recoil 95

Ping G425 irons w/Accra ICWT 2.0 95
Ping Glide wedges w/Recoil 110
Ping Redwood Anser - the "real deal!"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

> @kekoa said:

> I have a friend who started paying a firm to help their kid get on the radar of college coaches. I think the cost is $3,500 and obviously there are no guarantees. I'm interested in your thoughts or if any parents have had success going this route.

 

 

No direct experience here in golf, but I did have some in my youth as a college football player. Obviously, it was a different time waaaaaaaaaaaay back then. Overall, recruiting service for college golf coaches seems pretty unnecessary, but I guess it depends on the goals. I look at it this way:

 

1. If a junior is good enough, he/she will get noticed by coaches. For example, if a junior simply played in NorCal (JGANC and/or JTNC) their entire junior career and won quite a bit, he/she would have offers from D1 schools. Would the offers be from the tip-top elite schools like an OSU? Probably not, but a ride from UC Davis would be great IMHO.

 

2. I think it is good teaching/upbringing to make a junior "work" for what they want. If they want to play golf in college (and beyond), they are going to need to work at it. This would include building the skills necessary to to organize and market their skills/accomplishments to college coaches.

 

 

It's no fun when the rabbit's got the gun.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As a high school coach who has dealt with college coaches in three different sports, these services are a scam. If your child is good enough and you have done the work on your end to make sure they have the opportunity to be seen the rest will take care of itself. If your child is good enough make sure the college they are looking at knows they exist through a prospective athlete form and have your child contact the coach and it will all be good.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Depends on how old, how lazy, and how good of a player they are. Personally, I think it is a waste of money. They can get you to school, but I don't understand why someone would pay for this when you can do it yourself for free. The other way I look at it, if you are paying someone to do it for you then you probably aren't getting much scholarship money and it is time to move on.

 

You can do everything yourself by emailing college coaches. They can't respond or talk to you until after your sophomore year. The only way I see using a service is if you aren't really good and need someone to find you a good NAIA school to go to.

 

I do know a girl who paid for a service and ended up at a really bad DIII school playing golf. She pays $60,000 a year to go to school there and plays number 5 on there team. She has never broken 100.

I am GenX.  If you really think I care about what you have to say, I don't.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just some background. The kid is 15 and I believe he is a sophomore in HS. Only problem is, he hasn't played in any larger multi day tournaments ie. ajga's or Toyota Tour Cups. Basically, he is a bit behind and trying to catch up via the service. Unfortunately thats all I know about him.

FWIW, I agree with you guys that it is a complete waste do pay for something that can be achieved for free given assuming he has the game of course. Also like what @wildcatden said above about gaining some life skills in the process and making the kid work for it on their own if college golf is really what they want.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

> @heavy_hitter said:

> I do know a girl who paid for a service and ended up at a really bad DIII school playing golf. She pays $60,000 a year to go to school there and plays number 5 on there team. She has never broken 100.

 

This makes no sense, other than from a Singer angle or something. Did she have the grades to get into this school on her own? For $60k a year the school must have some standing, so maybe she got onto the golf team as her only way of getting into the school.

 

 

Ping G400 Max driver w/Aldila Rogue 125 Silver
Ping G425 5 wood & hybrid
Ping G30 irons w/Recoil 95

Ping G425 irons w/Accra ICWT 2.0 95
Ping Glide wedges w/Recoil 110
Ping Redwood Anser - the "real deal!"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

> @kekoa said:

> I have a friend who started paying a firm to help their kid get on the radar of college coaches. I think the cost is $3,500 and obviously there are no guarantees. I'm interested in your thoughts or if any parents have had success going this route.

 

All this tells me is that his coach has zero connections.

There's definitely something more important that I should be doing.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

> @Nessism said:

> > @heavy_hitter said:

> > I do know a girl who paid for a service and ended up at a really bad DIII school playing golf. She pays $60,000 a year to go to school there and plays number 5 on there team. She has never broken 100.

>

> This makes no sense, other than from a Singer angle or something. Did she have the grades to get into this school on her own? For $60k a year the school must have some standing, so maybe she got onto the golf team as her only way of getting into the school.

>

>

 

It is $32,000 a year for tuition and $14,000 a year for room and board. I was 14k off. Still, that is really steep. Acceptance rate into the school is 91%.

I am GenX.  If you really think I care about what you have to say, I don't.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3,500 is a ton, I can't imagine them not producing results for you.

I played soccer in college, and the most productive thing I did was play in showcase tournaments and personally email the coaches I wanted to play for. Depending on how old your son/daughter is, there are rules that limit a coach's ability to contact kids until they reach a certain point in school. I sent several emails out and I can say from experience that it becomes demoralizing because you may not be getting any bites back. However, after being on the other side and walking into my coach's office in the off-season, they love to recruit kids who want to play for them. If it comes down to two kids and one of them has been relentlessly updating them on their scores and grades for the past 8 months, you can guess who they're picking up.

 

Have them write a letter introducing themselves, include their academic interests, why they want to play at that school, and a list of tournaments they'll be playing in. Just like hiring someone, people want to work with people they're familiar with. The wider the net you can cast, the better this will go. Good luck! I can elaborate more if you'd like.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

> @Nessism said:

> Let the kid be a kid. If he's good enough and putting up results at local tournaments the college recruiters will take notice and he should get a scholarship. Failing a scholarship, he can always try out for the team at his school of choice.

 

Not how it works in reality. Local tournaments mean extremely little and most schools do not hold open/walk-in tryouts.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Son is a sophomore and was approach by one such service. It was a 15 minute conference call followed by which package do you wanna buy.

Everything they're doing we can do on our own.

Luckily, we have a tour director that worked with one of the big tours. He has given us a lot of contacts.

 

Also - I feel that most of these services could less if you child gets a scholarship.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lots of information, I agree and disagree with some. But let me start by letting you know about my experience and I'll also answer any questions you have. I used a service for my son and had great success. You also have to remember that everyone has different expectations. I paid far less for my service. I looked around and asked a lot of questions before I picked the service. They also were not pushy and I actually had to get back to him as he didn't know if my son would be a good candidate. Golf at the college level is different than most other sports. Contrary to what people have posted, D1 schools are not going to be contacting you with the exception of a few top players who are playing AJGA tourneys and either winning or placing high. I won't argue about it because I know this to be true and actually very few kids will be approached unless they are doing well in these big tourneys. My son ended up in a cold climate D3 private school. Not the first choice or cheapest for many people, but for my son it's been a great fit. Really good school and he's getting a great education while getting to play golf. As far as cost.......Heavy Hitter eluded to someone paying 60k etc. There are lots of great D3 schools across the country, if you google tuition after aid that is closer to what you'll be paying before you get any outside scholarships. I don't know why they have such big tuition on the web sites, but I looked at schools all across the country and you can find some great ones for much less than 50k. Also, I realize this is a lot of money but consider the school and other outside scholarships too. My son's tuition with room and board was 44k, but after aid and scholarships it was closer to 15k. Staying in state would have been almost as much and the school not as good. There is a lot to consider. If I had to start over I'd have my son focus more on academics as there is much more money and easier to get than through sports money. My recommendation for most is look at D2 or Junior College if your heart is set on playing college golf on scholarship. D2 will often offer a nice package with almost all covered between athletic and academic. There are also some great JC schools and they do offer scholarships. Some people are surprised at how good some Juco programs are. My guess is these are kids who just couldn't quite make D1 so this is the best route and they will end up D1 after JC. To get back to the original question, a good firm should not only know what's out there.....but what the best options are for your child. We knew going in what my son's scoring average was, where he might end up and how much might be covered in a package from a school. If the firm can't do these things I'd look around for one that does or as many have said just do it yourself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

> @2ball said:

> I've been using this guy named Singer out of Newport Beach, CA. But he hasn't been returning my calls?!?!?!

 

I’ve been around playing and now teaching for quite awhile. I’m not saying anything about Singer, do not know anything about em

 

But if you’re in Newport Beach, I’d recommend the ROAD TO COLLEGE GOLF with total confidence.

 

Ted Gleason does a very respected job imo

 

It’s not just playing decent enough to get schools to notice. It’s also learning what type of school the junior is interested in. What major, close to home, warm climate, many variables.

I’ve personally seen Ted with students to play with them, talk to them and try to find a fit. He hasn’t promised them any inflated dream, he has worked to find a correct match with school and golf.

No idea on his prices, I’d assume not cheap, but I’m still confident in his work fwiw

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Our picks

    • 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open - Discussion and links to Photos
      Please put any questions or Comments here
       
       
       
      General Albums
       
      2024 Texas Children's Houston Open - Monday #1
      2024 Texas Children's Houston Open - Monday #2
      2024 Texas Children's Houston Open - Tuesday #1
      2024 Texas Children's Houston Open - Tuesday #2
      2024 Texas Children's Houston Open - Tuesday #3
       
       
       
       
      WITB Albums
       
      Thorbjorn Olesen - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Ben Silverman - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Jesse Droemer - SoTX PGA Section POY - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      David Lipsky - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Martin Trainer - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Zac Blair - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Jacob Bridgeman - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Trace Crowe - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Jimmy Walker - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Daniel Berger - WITB(very mini) - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Chesson Hadley - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Callum McNeill - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Rhein Gibson - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Patrick Fishburn - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Peter Malnati - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Raul Pereda - WITB - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Gary Woodland WITB (New driver, iron shafts) – 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Padraig Harrington WITB – 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
       
       
       
       
      Pullout Albums
       
      Tom Hoge's custom Cameron - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Cameron putter - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Piretti putters - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Ping putter - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Kevin Dougherty's custom Cameron putter - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Bettinardi putter - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Cameron putter - 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Erik Barnes testing an all-black Axis1 putter – 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
      Tony Finau's new driver shaft – 2024 Texas Children's Houston Open
       
       
       
       
       
      • 7 replies
    • 2024 Valspar Championship WITB Photos (Thanks to bvmagic)- Discussion & Links to Photos
      This weeks WITB Pics are from member bvmagic (Brian). Brian's first event for WRX was in 2008 at Bayhill while in college. Thanks so much bv.
       
      Please put your comments or question on this thread. Links to all the threads are below...
       
       
       
       
        • Like
      • 31 replies
    • 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational - Discussion and Links to Photos
      Please put any questions or comments here
       
       
       
      General Albums
       
      2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational - Monday #1
      2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational - Monday #2
      2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational - Monday #3
       
       
       
       
      WITB Albums
       
      Matt (LFG) Every - WITB - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
      Sahith Theegala - WITB - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
       
       
       
       
       
      Pullout Albums
       
      New Cameron putters (and new "LD" grip) - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
      New Bettinardi MB & CB irons - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
      Custom Bettinardi API putter cover - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
      Custom Swag API covers - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
      New Golf Pride Reverse Taper grips - 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
        • Like
      • 15 replies
    • 2024 Cognizant Classic - Discussion and Links to Photos
      Please put any questions or comments here
       
       
       
       
      General Albums
       
      2024 Cognizant Classic - Monday #1
      2024 Cognizant Classic - Monday #2
      2024 Cognizant Classic - Monday #3
      2024 Cognizant Classic - Monday #4
       
       
       
      WITB Albums
       
      Brandt Snedeker - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Max Greyserman - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Eric Cole - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Carl Yuan - WITb - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Russell Henley - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Justin Sun - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Alex Noren - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Shane Lowry - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Taylor Montgomery - WITB - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Jake Knapp (KnappTime_ltd) - WITB - - 2024 Cognizant Classic
       
       
       
      Pullout Albums
       
      New Super Stoke Pistol Lock 1.0 & 2.0 grips - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      LA Golf new insert putter - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      New Garsen Quad Tour 15 grip - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      New Swag covers - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Jacob Bridgeman's custom Cameron putter - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Bud Cauley's custom Cameron putters - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Ryo Hisatsune's custom Cameron putter - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Chris Kirk - new black Callaway Apex CB irons and a few Odyssey putters - 2024 Cognizant Classic
      Alejandro Tosti's custom Cameron putter - 2024 Cognizant Classic
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
        • Like
      • 2 replies
    • 2024 Genesis Invitational - Discussion and Links to Photos
      Please put any questions or comments here
       
       
       
      General Albums
       
      2024 Genesis Invitational - Monday #1
      2024 Genesis Invitational - Monday #2
      2024 Genesis Invitational - Tuesday #1
      2024 Genesis Invitational - Tuesday #2
      2024 Genesis Invitational - Tuesday #3
      2024 Genesis Invitational - Tuesday #4
       
       
       
       
      WITB Albums
       
      Rory McIlroy - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Sepp Straka - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Patrick Rodgers - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Brendon Todd - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Denny McCarthy - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Corey Conners - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Chase Johnson - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Tiger Woods - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Tommy Fleetwood - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Matt Fitzpatrick - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Si Woo Kim - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Viktor Hovland - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Wyndham Clark - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Cam Davis - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Nick Taylor - WITB - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Ben Baller WITB update (New putter, driver, hybrid and shafts) – 2024 Genesis Invitational
       
       
       
       
       
      Pullout Albums
       
      New Vortex Golf rangefinder - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      New Fujikura Ventus shaft - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Tiger Woods & TaylorMade "Sun Day Red" apparel launch event, product photos – 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Tiger Woods Sun Day Red golf shoes - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Aretera shafts - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      New Toulon putters - 2024 Genesis Invitational
      Tiger Woods' new white "Sun Day Red" golf shoe prototypes – 2024 Genesis Invitational
       
       
       
       
       
      • 22 replies

×
×
  • Create New...