Is NSR worth it?

[BigUnit68]

Was told by a friend to have my son sign up for NSR - National Scouting Report to get college looks. Anyone have experience with it?

 

He is a Junior in high school and has only played local (within our state) golf tours to this point and wants to play in college...I contacted them and it is $3500 one time fee and they do everything for you (set up a tournament schedule, online profile, contact schools, etc).

 

Is it worth it since he is only known locally at this point?

[heavy_hitter]

Was told by a friend to have my son sign up for NSR - National Scouting Report to get college looks. Anyone have experience with it?

 

He is a Junior in high school and has only played local (within our state) golf tours to this point and wants to play in college...I contacted them and it is $3500 one time fee and they do everything for you (set up a tournament schedule, online profile, contact schools, etc).

 

Is it worth it since he is only known locally at this point?

 

No.

 

At this point the $3500 is probably not going to hep him get a college scholarship. He can do what they are going to do at no charge. At this point most programs at the D1, D2, and D3 levels aren’t going to start looking at new players. They start putting kids on the radar at 8th and 9th grade. He probably at this point needs to look at the NAIA, JUCO, or club to have any shot at playing collegiately.

 

There are a lot of good players that play regionally who don’t get offers and don’t play in college. To play in college you have to play at minimum state and regional junior and amateur mens events.

 

To be honest, his chances at playing college golf at this point are slim and none without having a JGS ranking. To put this into perspective, my son is 12 and we have already started the process.

 

To me, I think recruiting services are scams.

[iteachgolf]

What are his scores and results locally? Where do you live? If he shoots good scores his chances are better than heavy_hitter is implying. But if he’s not shooting really good scores and winning regularly locally it’s gonna be tough.

 

Joining that site is absolutely a waste of time and money. He needs to play as much as possible in bigger events.

[BigUnit68]

Live in PA. He is a 1 hcp. He has 4 wins this year in local tours and regional high school events. Won a tournament recently shooting -2 (70).

 

I am glad I asked because I was told by some locals this is the way to go at this point since we are late to the party.

[iteachgolf]

Live in PA. He is a 1 hcp. He has 4 wins this year in local tours and regional high school events. Won a tournament recently shooting -2 (70).

 

I am glad I asked because I was told by some locals this is the way to go at this point since we are late to the party.

 

Needs to play multiple day events to get a JGS ranking but he’d have a chance to play at a school like LaSalle. Need to play ranked events in order to prove it on a bigger stage though. Spend the money on tournaments, there’s a good AJGA in state and several other good events in that area.

[heavy_hitter]

Live in PA. He is a 1 hcp. He has 4 wins this year in local tours and regional high school events. Won a tournament recently shooting -2 (70).

 

I am glad I asked because I was told by some locals this is the way to go at this point since we are late to the party.

 

What yardages do they play from? How far does he hit his drives? How many putts per round?

 

A 1 capper that is only playing local events will be playing at the D3 or NAIA level. College coaches don’t care about a handicap.

 

He needs to play in multi day events with fields that has better players.

[BigUnit68]

Live in PA. He is a 1 hcp. He has 4 wins this year in local tours and regional high school events. Won a tournament recently shooting -2 (70).

 

I am glad I asked because I was told by some locals this is the way to go at this point since we are late to the party.

 

Needs to play multiple day events to get a JGS ranking but he’d have a chance to play at a school like LaSalle. Need to play ranked events in order to prove it on a bigger stage though. Spend the money on tournaments, there’s a good AJGA in state and several other good events in that area.

 

I really appreciate the advise! I will begin doing my homework on tournaments. So you still think there is time if he spends 2018 playing in these events and doing well?

[heavy_hitter]

Live in PA. He is a 1 hcp. He has 4 wins this year in local tours and regional high school events. Won a tournament recently shooting -2 (70).

 

I am glad I asked because I was told by some locals this is the way to go at this point since we are late to the party.

 

Needs to play multiple day events to get a JGS ranking but he’d have a chance to play at a school like LaSalle. Need to play ranked events in order to prove it on a bigger stage though. Spend the money on tournaments, there’s a good AJGA in state and several other good events in that area.

 

Making an assumption that he can play D1 golf

by a one round score of 70 without knowing the distance he played from, the rating of the course, what his swing looks like, and how far he can drive the ball is pushing it. LaSalle top 5 average 76 or better in tournament golf from 6800 yards.

[BigUnit68]

Live in PA. He is a 1 hcp. He has 4 wins this year in local tours and regional high school events. Won a tournament recently shooting -2 (70).

 

I am glad I asked because I was told by some locals this is the way to go at this point since we are late to the party.

 

What yardages do they play from? How far does he hit his drives? How many putts per round?

 

A 1 capper that is only playing local events will be playing at the D3 or NAIA level. College coaches don’t care about a handicap.

 

He needs to play in multi day events with fields that has better players.

 

I believe all yardages are under 7000.

 

He hits driver 280ish. His putting in the second half of this year has greatly improved and he regularly is in the high 20's...he rarely shoots above 75 from 6600-7000 if that helps.

 

I know they don't care about caps but I through it in to give a peramiter.

 

 

[iteachgolf]

Live in PA. He is a 1 hcp. He has 4 wins this year in local tours and regional high school events. Won a tournament recently shooting -2 (70).

 

I am glad I asked because I was told by some locals this is the way to go at this point since we are late to the party.

 

Needs to play multiple day events to get a JGS ranking but he’d have a chance to play at a school like LaSalle. Need to play ranked events in order to prove it on a bigger stage though. Spend the money on tournaments, there’s a good AJGA in state and several other good events in that area.

 

Making an assumption that he can play D1 golf

by a one round score of 70 without knowing the distance he played from, the rating of the course, what his swing looks like, and how far he can drive the ball is pushing it. LaSalle top 5 average 76 or better in tournament golf from 6800 yards.

 

I said he’d have a chance. I didn’t say it was a sure thing or even probable. I happen to know the LaSalle coach quite well and just had one of my students commit there. Likely to be their top player or one of the top players. Btw he’s only played a couple FJTs and some Hurricane Tour events and his ranking isn’t very good. But he’s shot mutiple tournament rounds in the mid 60s including in regionals this year and rarely shoots over 76. LaSalle is going to be getting better but right now they aren’t anywhere near the top of D1 golf.

 

What his swing looks like is really irrelevant

[wildcatden]

1. Now is the time of year to get on a coach's radar (you should have last year or the year before, but it's never too late).

2. Put your golf resume together.

3. Put your planned tournaments for the rest of 2017 and all of 2018 on a schedule for the coach to see.

4. Mail/email get this information to college coaches that you would like to play at.

 

As others said before, you need to play serious competition this coming year. It's not over. It's NEVER too late. Spend the $3,500 on tournaments. If he wins or finishes top 5 all the time, you'll greatly increase your odds at getting picked up. Just win baby!!!

[heavy_hitter]

Live in PA. He is a 1 hcp. He has 4 wins this year in local tours and regional high school events. Won a tournament recently shooting -2 (70).

 

I am glad I asked because I was told by some locals this is the way to go at this point since we are late to the party.

 

Needs to play multiple day events to get a JGS ranking but he'd have a chance to play at a school like LaSalle. Need to play ranked events in order to prove it on a bigger stage though. Spend the money on tournaments, there's a good AJGA in state and several other good events in that area.

 

Making an assumption that he can play D1 golf

by a one round score of 70 without knowing the distance he played from, the rating of the course, what his swing looks like, and how far he can drive the ball is pushing it. LaSalle top 5 average 76 or better in tournament golf from 6800 yards.

 

I said he'd have a chance. I didn't say it was a sure thing or even probable. I happen to know the LaSalle coach quite well and just had one of my students commit there. Likely to be their top player or one of the top players. Btw he's only played a couple FJTs and some Hurricane Tour events and his ranking isn't very good. But he's shot mutiple tournament rounds in the mid 60s including in regionals this year and rarely shoots over 76. LaSalle is going to be getting better but right now they aren't anywhere near the top of D1 golf.

 

What his swing looks like is really irrelevant

 

The connection to him going there was you. A high profile swing coach with a connection to the University goes a long way into getting a kid like that into school. That kid is the exception, not the rule. The competition you get in FJT's are as good or better than AJGA's in some states.

 

You know as well as I do that a 70 today can be an 90 tomorrow depending on ball striking and mental fortitude. Local kid here shot a 69 in a two day tournament on day 1. Day 2 he couldn't find the ocean and shoots an 89. He was 5 on the high school golf team as a senior and not going to school to play golf.

 

Fact of the matter, it is late in the game for junior. Too late? Pretty close. The enemy is time.

[CTgolf]

Live in PA. He is a 1 hcp. He has 4 wins this year in local tours and regional high school events. Won a tournament recently shooting -2 (70).

 

I am glad I asked because I was told by some locals this is the way to go at this point since we are late to the party.

 

Needs to play multiple day events to get a JGS ranking but he'd have a chance to play at a school like LaSalle. Need to play ranked events in order to prove it on a bigger stage though. Spend the money on tournaments, there's a good AJGA in state and several other good events in that area.

 

Making an assumption that he can play D1 golf

by a one round score of 70 without knowing the distance he played from, the rating of the course, what his swing looks like, and how far he can drive the ball is pushing it. LaSalle top 5 average 76 or better in tournament golf from 6800 yards.

 

I said he'd have a chance. I didn't say it was a sure thing or even probable. I happen to know the LaSalle coach quite well and just had one of my students commit there. Likely to be their top player or one of the top players. Btw he's only played a couple FJTs and some Hurricane Tour events and his ranking isn't very good. But he's shot mutiple tournament rounds in the mid 60s including in regionals this year and rarely shoots over 76. LaSalle is going to be getting better but right now they aren't anywhere near the top of D1 golf.

 

What his swing looks like is really irrelevant

 

The connection to him going there was you. A high profile swing coach with a connection to the University goes a long way into getting a kid like that into school. That kid is the exception, not the rule. The competition you get in FJT's are as good or better than AJGA's in some states.

 

You know as well as I do that a 70 today can be an 90 tomorrow depending on ball striking and mental fortitude. Local kid here shot a 69 in a two day tournament on day 1. Day 2 he couldn't find the ocean and shoots an 89. He was 5 on the high school golf team as a senior and not going to school to play golf.

 

Fact of the matter, it is late in the game for junior. Too late? Pretty close. The enemy is time.

 

To be fair, the OP never mentioned playing D1.

 

I'm sure there are options for his son to play at the college level sans scholarship.

[heavy_hitter]

Live in PA. He is a 1 hcp. He has 4 wins this year in local tours and regional high school events. Won a tournament recently shooting -2 (70).

 

I am glad I asked because I was told by some locals this is the way to go at this point since we are late to the party.

 

What yardages do they play from? How far does he hit his drives? How many putts per round?

 

A 1 capper that is only playing local events will be playing at the D3 or NAIA level. College coaches don't care about a handicap.

 

He needs to play in multi day events with fields that has better players.

 

I believe all yardages are under 7000.

 

He hits driver 280ish. His putting in the second half of this year has greatly improved and he regularly is in the high 20's...he rarely shoots above 75 from 6600-7000 if that helps.

 

I know they don't care about caps but I through it in to give a peramiter.

 

He has the distance to play. Here is what he and you need to do.

 

1. Put together a resume. Colleges do not care about high school golf. Since you don't have much to go on, you should include high school golf accomplishments and Academics. Academics are just as important as golf. Junior Golf Scoreboard has a nice resume format, but you have to be a member for that. Think it costs $100.00 or so.

 

2. He has to put together a swing video. Driver, Iron, Wedge, Putter both down the line and front view.

 

3. He needs to make a list of schools he is interested in and send them his resume and video to the coaches along with his tournament schedule. He also needs to call the coaches to let them know he is interested. If you don't get a hold of the coach, leave a message and try back again in a week.

 

4. Schedule tournaments that are played near the colleges he wants to attend and make sure you email coaches when he will be near the college playing.

 

5. Be realistic. At this point you are behind what thousands of boy's have been trying to do since they were in the 8th/9th grade years. D3 and NAIA schools are going to be the most realistic. Not saying to not send of put D1 or D2 schools on the list. Just saying that you need to be realistic at this point. Schools will always have an opening for what they think is a hidden gem that no one else knows about. He may not get offered any money at all, but there may be an opening.

 

6. Understand that Golf is an Equivalency Sport. They get 4.5 scholarships at a D1 school for how ever many the coach has wants on the team. If the coach wants 6, 7, 8, 9 or whatever is what he gets and he can divide those 4.5 scholarships up any way he likes. The likelihood he gets any money from a D1 or D2 at this point is highly unlikely. D3 school give no athletic scholarship money.

[iteachgolf]

Live in PA. He is a 1 hcp. He has 4 wins this year in local tours and regional high school events. Won a tournament recently shooting -2 (70).

 

I am glad I asked because I was told by some locals this is the way to go at this point since we are late to the party.

 

Needs to play multiple day events to get a JGS ranking but he'd have a chance to play at a school like LaSalle. Need to play ranked events in order to prove it on a bigger stage though. Spend the money on tournaments, there's a good AJGA in state and several other good events in that area.

 

Making an assumption that he can play D1 golf

by a one round score of 70 without knowing the distance he played from, the rating of the course, what his swing looks like, and how far he can drive the ball is pushing it. LaSalle top 5 average 76 or better in tournament golf from 6800 yards.

 

I said he'd have a chance. I didn't say it was a sure thing or even probable. I happen to know the LaSalle coach quite well and just had one of my students commit there. Likely to be their top player or one of the top players. Btw he's only played a couple FJTs and some Hurricane Tour events and his ranking isn't very good. But he's shot mutiple tournament rounds in the mid 60s including in regionals this year and rarely shoots over 76. LaSalle is going to be getting better but right now they aren't anywhere near the top of D1 golf.

 

What his swing looks like is really irrelevant

 

The connection to him going there was you. A high profile swing coach with a connection to the University goes a long way into getting a kid like that into school. That kid is the exception, not the rule. The competition you get in FJT's are as good or better than AJGA's in some states.

 

You know as well as I do that a 70 today can be an 90 tomorrow depending on ball striking and mental fortitude. Local kid here shot a 69 in a two day tournament on day 1. Day 2 he couldn't find the ocean and shoots an 89. He was 5 on the high school golf team as a senior and not going to school to play golf.

 

Fact of the matter, it is late in the game for junior. Too late? Pretty close. The enemy is time.

 

He had several D1 offers and big D2 offers from top 20 programs. All without my intervention. My knowing the coach certainly influenced his decision but he would have had plenty of opportunity without my involvement.

 

A kid who rarely shoots above 75 can play low level D1 golf especially as the 8 or 9 man on the team and try to work his way into the lineup. There are plenty of terrible D1 golf programs. There’s a ton of D2 schools that would welcome those scores for a non scholarship player.

[Noles]

Probably a great get for La Salle. North Philadelphia is not exactly a magnet for great golfers.

[heavy_hitter]

This post also brings up something else, which is, what is an offer? What are you looking for out of an offer? Is an opportunity all that you want? An offer can be that the College will pay for books to full tuition, room, and board. Had the opportunity to hear Brooks Koepka's mother speak to prospective college golfers a few years ago. Brooks had his books paid for at FSU and that was it. He had better offers out there, but he liked FSU and it really worked out for him. Not all scholarship opportunities are going to be equal. A kid needs to pick a school because he likes the school first, players/teammates second, coach and program last. Notice I didn't say anything about picking a school because of athletic money. That part is just icing on the cake after he/she picks where they want to attend.

 

There are plenty D1 programs that are terrible. Those programs are usually the programs that are under funded, have a hard time of finding a great coach because they are under funded, as well as they don't fun all 4.5 scholarships.

[BigUnit68]

You guys have been extremely helpful to this point. I really appreciate it. The reason I am behind at this point is because my kid played baseball up until last year and was a helluva pitcher...and for awhile, I thought that was the route he was going to go...he also played golf but was shooting around 80 for the most part splitting time with baseball. He dropped baseball and said he wanted to focus on golf this past year and he took off with it. He can't be the only kid that has ever fallen in this situation.

 

I am realistic about him. He is not a Div 1 golfer at this point. He is very good for our area and local tournaments but I prefer and I think he would as well, that he goes somewhere he can actually play anyways....the other problem (I guess it's a problem) is he plays HS basketball and is currently not playing golf because of it. So he won't even be able to play golf until his bball season is over.

 

It is starting to look like he is going to have to hope for an academic scholly and hope to get on the golf team...he's a 3.9 so maybe that's where we should focus our efforts.

[iteachgolf]

You guys have been extremely helpful to this point. I really appreciate it. The reason I am behind at this point is because my kid played baseball up until last year and was a helluva pitcher...and for awhile, I thought that was the route he was going to go...he also played golf but was shooting around 80 for the most part splitting time with baseball. He dropped baseball and said he wanted to focus on golf this past year and he took off with it. He can't be the only kid that has ever fallen in this situation.

 

I am realistic about him. He is not a Div 1 golfer at this point. He is very good for our area and local tournaments but I prefer and I think he would as well, that he goes somewhere he can actually play anyways....the other problem (I guess it's a problem) is he plays HS basketball and is currently not playing golf because of it. So he won't even be able to play golf until his bball season is over.

 

It is starting to look like he is going to have to hope for an academic scholly and hope to get on the golf team...he's a 3.9 so maybe that's where we should focus our efforts.

 

Go look at the scores places like Savannah State, which is D1, shoot. The top D2 and D3 schools would destroy the bottom level D1 programs.

[reborod]

My son is a senior. He signed his NLI with an NAIA school. This is what we did:

 

He played in some of the JGS tournaments during his Sophomore and Junior years. We knew he wasn't headed D-I, but small schools and JUCO's were in the mix.

 

Spring of his Junior year, we made a swing video. There are a bunch of them on youtube if you want to see how they work. His was about 5 minutes long. Then, we made a list of 12-ish schools that he was interested in. Five of them were 2-year, five of them were NAIA, and two of them were D-II schools. We heard back from four of the 2-year schools out of the five. We heard back from three of the five NAIA schools. We heard back from neither of the D-II schools.

 

Then, during the summer, we went out and visited the schools that had contacted him. We took college tours, visited with a few of the coaches, stayed in the town overnight, etc. We felt this was waaay more important than just signing somewhere site unseen. We are really glad we did this as a couple of the colleges he did not like as they didn't have his academic program or a few of the other things he/we wanted in a college.

 

We didn't send his stuff to D-III schools as they don't give athletic awards, just academic. He could have gone to some of these as he is a good student, but many are kinda pricey, at least in our area. Some of the NAIA schools are also a little out of our price range as well, even with golf athletic monies.

If I were offer a suggestion, go to the school's athletic webpage and fill out their questionnaire. Also, send an email to the coach with a link to his swing video. Also, the information in the posts above this one are spot on.

 

Then, a coach will usually contact your son and get some more information. Then, a tryout can be set up.

 

Good luck.

[Momofgolfer]

No.  My son is a junior in HS and is verbally committed to D1 college golf.  

You can invest the $3500 or get him lessons with that to improve his game.  College coaches want to see the scores, ranking, and wins.  The juniors golfers and seniors we know who are committed to D1 did not use any recruiting company.  You can contact and learn from parents in grades ahead of your son’s grades for free.