College Placement 101: Selecting the Right Golf Camp

Depending on your sport, a camp can be a crucial part of your recruiting process. College coaches want to see high school recruits attend camps for several reasons. One of the more important reasons being the third-party verification of your skills and abilities. Any recruit can claim they are ready for the next level but an outside organization will help verify.

How do you decide which camps to go to? There are hundreds, if not thousands, of options to choose from. Just remember the Four E's:

Exposure

Many camps have many connections to college coaches and able to assist with your recruiting process. Camps also conduct tournaments to add to your resume which helps you get noticed by collegiate programs.

Evaluation

Most coaches are not able to travel and watch you play so they rely on reports from camps to evaluate distant athletes. Insert these comments into your resume. Take advantage of having detailed statistics about your game to share with top coaches.

Education

Going to a camp is beneficial to high school athletes in many ways. Being able to see exactly what college coaches are looking for is crucial. Training with some of the top recruited athletes is a huge advantage, as you can see what it takes to reach the next level. Camps also help determine your strengths and weaknesses so you have an idea of what you need to improve.

Exercise

Training year-round is important so use the camp as a goal to hit your peak fitness level to help you perform in front of coaches at the highest level. The exercises and drills you see at camps are similar to those in collegiate programs. Take detailed notes and work on them when you return home.

About Ann Maness

Ann Maness is the Director of College Placement at Hank Haney International Junior Golf Academy (Hank Haney IJGA) on Hilton Head Island, S.C. She has an intimate knowledge of the recruiting process and played collegiately at Coastal Carolina University.

During her freshman year, Ann came from six shots behind in the final round of the Big South Conference Championship, firing a 68 to claim the individual conference title and still stands as the single-round record for the women's golf Big South Championship. She was a four-time Big South All-Conference selection and eight-time Big South "Player of the Week."

To contact Ann, e-mail her at Ann.Maness@juniorsports.com. Follow her on Twitter at @DCP1AManess.

Hank Haney IJGA is the world's only academy to combine training, competition and academics for serious junior golfers (grades 5-12). Director of Instruction Hank Haney - coach to winners of every major championship on the PGA TOUR - and his elite staff train junior golfers from more than 25 countries across six continents.