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Brad Pluth Golf Academy and Adventure Golf Academy
College Recruiting Guide
Table of Contents
Introduction
3
Tournament Information
4-5
Creating a Personal DVD
6
Your Golf Resume
7-9
Contacting a coach
10-12
Brad Pluth Golf Academy Services
13
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Dear Future Collegiate Golfer,
Let us first start out by saying that the next step in your golf career will be one that you will remember
forever. The Brad Pluth Golf Academy has a proud tradition of fostering young talent. Over the years, we
have taught many young golfers how to reach their true potential. Many of our past junior golfers have
gone on to play college golf for many different collegiate programs around the country. The collegiate
level brings all the top junior golfers from all over the world to compete for many different schools. It can
be a tough choice to make when you think about how many schools there are to choose from. To aid you,
the Brad Pluth Golf Academy has created this file to make that challenging choice much easier. In order
to prepare you for the collegiate level, the Brad Pluth Golf Academy would like to offer you guidance and
advice on how to better prepare you for college golf. Remember, the earlier you start the process
(Freshman and Sophomore year), the better off you’ll be! Don’t worry if you’re a late bloomer, you still
have time but you have a lot of work to do.
This packet offers information about how to present you to college coaches. The information in this
packet will help you show college coaches what you can bring to their team. In this packet, we have
included information on creating a DVD of yourself, creating a golf specific resume, the types of
tournaments you need to play, and more.
There are many attributes that college coaches are looking for in their players. Some of these attributes
include leadership, dedication, hard work, and having a team mentality. When you near the finish of your
junior career, you may be left with questions on how you can be recruited by a college program. Our goal
at the Brad Pluth Golf Academy is to help junior players recognize their true potential and make it
recognizable in the junior ranks. We hope this information will be useful in your recruiting process.
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Key Information
As a young player, there are limits on which tournaments you will be able to play. There are things like
invitation criteria that restrict some players from being able to play some events. If a player is not ranked
very high, it can be hard for him to play in big events. We also understand that the money required to
travel can be a circumstance, but if it is possible, you need to play in big tournaments. College coaches
start with the biggest tournaments and junior tours in the country when they recruit young talent. A
college coach is looking for a player that:
1. Has experience playing big tournaments (most college coaches don’t care how you faired in your
conference matches)
2. A player with a wide tournament based resume (played around the region, if not around the country)
3. Has a solid junior ranking (nationally)
4. Will be a good fit to their program
5. GPA of 3.5 or better depending on the school you are looking into
6. ACT or SAT Scores
Note: We try to put all these into the video.
Tournament Information
We know that there a lot of good junior players out there, but how many have tournament experience? If
a player has played in a lot of events and has done well, this shows a college coach that the player can play
under pressure. Not only do tournaments develop a young player, but it also allows them to take their
game on the road which is what coaches want to see. A college coach wants a player to perform anywhere.
So by doing well in tournaments far away from home, this shows a college coach that a young player has
credibility in helping their program. College coaches are also looking for players that will fit their program.
This means that college coaches want players that play hard, all the way till the last putt falls. When a
player has a rough start to a tournament, but can still post good numbers, this catches college coach’s eye.
The following are just some of the world ranking tournaments that college coaches want
junior players to play in:
1. AJGA Tournaments (www.ajga.org)
2. Both State and Jr. Amateur Championships (your state golf association website)
3. US Jr. Amateur (www.usga.org)
4. MN/WI Cup Matches
5. Plantation Tour
6. Western Junior (www.westernjunior.com)
7. Under Armour Combine (http://collegegolfcombines.com
8. State Open Championship (www.MinnesotaPGA.com )
9. Rolex Tournament of Champions (www.ajga.org)
10. Spirit of America “Junior Division” (www.btcountryclub.com)
11. Junior World Golf Championships (www.juniorworldgolf.com)
12. PGA Junior National (www.pgatournaments.com)
13. Junior Players (www.ajga.org)
14. PING Invitational (www.ajga.org)
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15. Polo Junior Classic (www.ajga.org)
16. Junior Orange Bowl (www.jrorangebowl.com)
The following is a list of websites that list world recognized events in a calendar format. Every event listed
on these websites, for junior events, would be worth playing in. We recommend looking at the following
websites as a reference to check out while deciding what tournaments to play:
1. Scratch Players (www.scratchplayers.org) look at the Master USA Calendar
2. Golfweek
(http://www.golfweekrankings.com/template/schedule.asp?t=/amateur/boys/&u=schedule2008) look at
both the Amateur and Junior Calendar events for the current year.
How to report your Tournament Information
Use and Excel Spreadsheet to record the following data:
Name of Tournament Date Course Distance
Weather Conditions
Fairways
Greens
# of Putts
Start/Stop/Continue
Rank/Place Score
What do you want to start doing? What do I need to stop doing? What do I need to continue doing?
Personal DVD
When it comes to recruiting, not every coach will get a chance to see you play. This is where creating a
personal DVD comes in handy. By sending a personal DVD of yourself, you can give a coach a visual
image of what they can expect if they decide to pursue recruiting you. Regardless if a coach can see you
play or not, the personal DVD is a necessity when it comes to marketing yourself to a college coach. We
highly recommend creating a personal DVD and sending it to each college you are interested in playing
college golf for.
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Creating Your Personal DVD
The following are guidelines we suggest following in creating your personal DVD:
1. Introduction: start your DVD with a simple introduction of yourself. Tell where
you are from, your name, your age, and give some insight to how you practice and
the things you work on while you practice. When filming your DVD, keep your
information universal. There is no need to personalize a DVD for a specific
college. Introduce yourself by saying: “Hello my name is John, and I’m
interested in playing college golf. I am currently attending high school at ___
High School graduating in 20__. I want to play college golf because ______________ and
______________. IMy accomplishments are …..” I’m currently working with __________ on my
__________________ and have been seeing steady progress.
2. Show your swing: make film of your swing on the driving range hitting shots.
Film yourself hitting wedge shots, iron shots (cuts, draws, low, and high shots), drives with 3 wood and
driver. A coach can get a pretty good feel at what to expect when he sees you on film. Also, the coach can
use this film to evaluate your swing to see what your tendencies might be. You can also give insight to
what you have been working on in your swing to improve. It is a plus to inform the coach on how your
swing has progressed, but keep it brief.
3. Show some short game shots: film your putting routine, 10-yard chip shot, 15-yard pitch, 50-yard pitch.
We will post it on YouTube and send you the link and it will be available on your website.
4. Conclusion: this part of your DVD should be you thanking the coach for taking the time to watch your
DVD. Tell them you appreciate their time and you look forward to hearing from them.
Tips when filming your DVD:
1. Show your shots and swings from different angles (face on and down the line). Let the coach see
you from different angles and not the same camera angle on every shot.
2. Use a tripod if possible.
3. If you have an iPhone or iPad, iMovie ($4.99 app) is a great tool to splice and edit your videos.
4. Also, make sure your DVD is not too long. We suggest you keep the DVD around 2-3 minutes
long. Having a 15 minute DVD can be too much for a coach to look at. Remember you are trying
to persuade the person watching to recruit you, so make yourself look appealing (dress nice and
make yourself stand out).
Shots to include checklist
-Interview
Who you are
Where you’re from
Graduation year
Why you want to attend a specific school
Face on and down the line views of:
Putt
Chip
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Pitch
Bunker Shot
7-iron
Driver
Overview picture of the clubs in your bag (note if they were professionally fitted)
Other optional information to include are your distances or a Trackman Combine report.
Keep the videos under two minutes.
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Your Golf Resume
The next step in getting recruited by a college coach is creating a golf resume.We suggest sending your
resume along with your personal DVD to all the colleges that you are interested in. Your golf resume
should consist of the following:
1. Your name and contact information (address, email, home and cell number)
2. Personal Information (DOB, height, weight)
3. Academic Information
a. High School Info (high school attended, high school address, GPA, any
major test scores, graduation year)
4. High School Academic Honors and Organizations
5. High School Tournaments (include event name, score, and finish)
6. Junior Tournaments (include event name, score, and finish)
7. Clearinghouse ID # (Click http://web1.ncaa.org/ECWR2/NCAA_EMS/NCAA_EMS.html to enter
your information and complete registration with the NCAA)
Your resume should be one, maybe two pages.
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Name
495 Pioneer Trail
Chanhassen, MN 55318
Home: (555) 555-5555
Cell: (555) 123-4567
PERSONAL INFORMATION
DOB: 12/15/1984
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 160 lbs
ACADEMIC INFORMATION
High School: Ponchatoula High School
19452 Highway 22 East
Ponchatoula, LA 70454
GPA: 3.012 ACT Score: 22
Total Enrollment: 1500
Class: 5A
Graduation Year: 2003
High School Honors and Organizations
• White Cord Recipient (3.0- 3.4 GPA)
• Charlie Landry Memorial Scholarship Recipient
• Key Club (1999-2003)
• Chaska High School Golf Team (1999-2003)
• Chaska High School Cross Country (19992001)
• Chaska High School Soccer (1999-2001)
High School Tournaments
• MNHSL 5A State Tournament Participant
(2000,2001,2002,2003)
• MNHSL 5A All State Golf Team
• Team Champions and All Conference Selection
(2001,2002,2003)
• MN 5A All State Tournament (72-74) 5th/25
Amateur Tournaments
• 2003 Minnesota Junior Cup Team Member
• 2003 MNHSL 5A All State Golf Team 4/128 78 72
Invitational Match Play Participant Qualifying Scores 71 79
• 2006 Minnesota State Junior Amateur T19/144 74 73 72 74 Exempt for 2007
Minnesota State Amateur
• 2008 Collegiate Players Tour National Championship T33/64 73 75 77
• September 2008 Achieved Official World Amateur Rank (www.randa.org)
Current
• Current MGA Handicappe: +1.0 (August 2008)
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References
You may also want to include the “You at Your Best” page 7 of your Mental Golf Workshop, your shot
chart with your swing data, iPING putter data with handicap, Shot by Shot overview of statistics and spec
sheet of your equipment if you have fitted equipment.
If you are wondering whether or not a college will contact you first, let us tell you that the chances are
very slim. College coaches usually pursue only the highest ranked players in the world. The other players
who play college golf have to contact the coach their self. The point we are trying to make, is that the
illusion of tons of college coaches beating down your door to play for their school, is not always a reality.
As your high school career comes to an end you should be contacting schools on a regular basis. So
believe it or not, but you have a lot to do with being recruited by a college.
There are many ways that you can go about contacting a college coach. Some of the most general ways
recruits contact coaches is through face to face visit, phone, email, or sending a package. Finding a college
coaches contact information is not very hard at all since it is on the school’s website. If you choose to
contact a college coach through phone, you need to be prepared on how to present yourself.
A strong reference letter from your coach or PGA Professional will help tremendously. While the student
should make the first contact, a contact or phone call from your coach goes a long ways.
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Contacting Coaches
Here are some guidelines to follow while contacting a college coach by phone: Rehearse with a friend or
parent before calling. It’s a good idea to video or tape your responses and watch your video before
contacting your coach. Script out your opening if you have to, something I did…
1. Start by introducing yourself: tell the coach your name, where you are from, and
why you are interested in playing for on their team.
2. Do some research on the college: be aware of recent successes that college
program has had.
3. Give the coach a brief description of your accomplishments: tell the coach if you
have played for any Cup teams, tournament wins, high finishes, low rounds, or
any other accomplishment.
4. Tell the coach which events you have coming up: by calling the coach and
telling him/her you are a good player, the coach would want to know about your
future progress. Tell the coach which events you will be playing in the future so
they can track your performance in events.
5. Suggest sending him a package of your information: this package should include
a personal DVD and golf resume.
6. Ask for a meeting or try out (if necessary): scheduling a day to play golf with the
coach is a great opportunity. Visually showing the coach your skills can possibly
show the coach all he needs to see.
7. Don’t start with your top school first. Pick two or three schools and work use the first one or two
phone calls as practice.
Choosing to contact a coach through a face to face meeting is another effective route to take in getting
recruited by a college program. If you choose a face to face meeting with a college coach, the same
guidelines listed above for a phone call should be followed.
Another good way to contact a college coach is through email. I would recommend making contact with
the coach first before e-mailing information. This is probably the most common way to contact a college
coach. Since some schools are located so far away, you can send an email to introduce yourself and let the
coach know you are interested in playing for their program. Go through sample questions with your
coach/parents and be prepared before you call. First impressions are very important. Also make sure you
the student athlete calls, not your mom or dad! Here are some guidelines to follow when emailing a coach:
1. Introduce yourself: start your email by stating your name and where you are from.
2. Tell them a little about yourself: tell the coach your high school name, grade level
and graduation date, your high school GPA, any school honors, etc.
3. List golf accomplishments and tournaments played: let the coach know your most
recent scores from events you have played.
4. Let them know where you will be playing next: tell the coach which tournaments
that you have coming up. Give the coach a website address or someway of
checking your scores from future events.
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5. Why this coach should recruit you: you should end your email by saying why this
coach should recruit you for their team. This can be about two sentences long.
6. Contact Information: list your contact information so the coach can respond to
your email.
Sample Email
Coach John Doe,
I am writing this email because I am interested in playing for your college
program. My name is Steve Jones and I am from Chaska, MN. I am currently a junior at
Chaska High School where I have a cumulative GPA of 3.5. I will be graduating in May
2011 and would like to take my golf game to the collegiate level. To show that I have the
necessary skills for collegiate golf here are some of my previous scores from some recent events:
Tournament A 72 74 71 3rd/75
Tournament B 75 73 77 20th/70
Tournament C 77 69 72 10th/68
Tournament D 71 72 69 1st/73
Tournament E 78 72 73 25th/66
2008 Junior Cup Team
2008 US Junior Amateur Participant
3 year Letterman (El Paso High School)
For the coming season I will be playing in events for the Chaska High School golf team along with
Tournament F (www.tournamentF.com), Tournament G (www.tournamentG.com), Tournament H, and
Tournament I. To keep track of my progress in these events, I have provided the tournament website for
your viewing. I hope you will follow my progress and keep track of my scores because I feel that I can be
a great addition to your college program. I have a very strong work ethic, a goal oriented mindset, and a
will to win, which I feel will help me in college golf. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you for your time,
Steve Jones
123 W. Magnolia St.
Chaska, MN 55318
steve.jones@aol.com
(555)555-5555 cell
(777)777-7777 home
You can also contact a coach by sending a package of things about yourself. This
package should contain the following:
1. A resume: make sure your resume contains both golf and academic information
and that it is updated.
2. Personal DVD: this is the DVD that you make of yourself practicing and showing
your swing.
3. Cover letter: the cover letter should be an introduction telling the coach a little
about you. Should be about 1 page in length. Include your contact information at
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the bottom. Also talk about why you deserve to play college golf.
4. List of upcoming tournaments: create a list of the events you will play for the next
year or so. Show dates, the tournament name, and where the tournament will be
played.
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In closing, we hope all of this information has helped you better understand the
process of being recruited for college golf. The earlier you start (Freshman or Sophomore year) the better
off you’ll be! There are many schools out there that are looking for young, dedicated, hardworking players
and students. By following the information that we have listed in this package, you will be more informed
on how you need to approach being recruited for college golf. We wish you the best and hope you are
recruited for the college that you have dreamed of playing for. If you have any questions, feel free to
contact me.
Brad Pluth
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Services and Programs
90-Minute Discovery Session $99
The Discovery Session will assess your current skills in our six areas to improve (pre-swing
fundamentals, shot making skills, fitness and nutrition, mental game, equipment and set make-up and
course strategy) video and assess your putting, chipping, pitching and full swing. I will also assess your
equipment and help you with any club from putter to driver, even choosing a ball. This is the entry into
any program.
Small Group Coaching- Meet once or twice a week for five to ten weeks with a group of two to four
friends. Visit www.BradPluthGolf.com or call (952) 401-GOLF (4653) for more information.
Clubfitting- Certified fitter for Callaway, Mizuno, Nike, PING and US Kids. Use the iPING app and
Coutour to fit putters. Also fit Titleist Wedges. (I will match or beat any big box retailer and you will
receive a custom fit set!)
Academy Private Lesson Rates- $65-$100/hour
Winter Tournament Preparation Program- $450 for 10 week group program.
Resume and Recruiting Services:
If you would like me to help you creating or reviewing your resume I’d be happy to do that free of charge.
Send your word document draft to pluthb@pga.com.
Investment for creating a video to send to coaches $150 includes professional editing and hosting video
on website and YouTube Channel. View http://youtu.be/SDIgyDcarks or http://youtu.be/-4z_4de8Fu4
for a sample video. Note, I will only do testimonial videos and contact coaches for students that have
been through my programs or I have worked with.
Create a basic webpage for you to host your videos, resume and four tournament and academic updates
per year for one time fee of $150.
Full Package to include all the above and the Mental Golf Workshop overview pages to send to coaches
($65 value), nFlight ball flight numbers (true distance, speed, spin rates, angle of approach, path and face
angle reading or your golf DNA) and assistance in contacting coaches for $299. (Only available to current
students)
Call Brad Pluth at (952) 401-4653 to schedule dates and times or go on-line to
AdventureGolfAcademy.USchedule.com.
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About Brad Pluth
Brad Pluth is a PGA Certified (equivalent to a Master’s degree in college) Director of Instruction at Halla
Greens. He has worked with 94 Top 100 Instructors throughout the country and has travelled
internationally to play golf and learn from the best instructors in the world.
List of Accomplishments Include
 PGA Certified Director of Instruction (only teach golf and run golf events, I don’t fold shirts
or manage the golf course) that serves 4300+ students a year, and yes that means I lead a team
of instructors!
 US Kids Top 50 Junior Instructor/Coach in North America
 Owner of Adventure Golf Academy- Junior golf schools and after school program in 40+
elementary and middle schools in the southwest metro
 ACE Certified Personal Trainer- 20 week program (not just two days like TPI)
 TPI Level II Certified Golf Fitness Professional- program will include a physical workout that
you will be expect to do two or three days a week
 International Youth Conditioning Alliance Certified Coach- Specialty in working with ages 821
 Certified Clubfitter for Callaway, Mizuno, Nike and PING and US Kids. Use PING’s nFLight
software at Inside Edge Golf in Eden Prairie. Have access to Titleist, Taylor Made and just
about anything else you want. Will convert specifications from fitting to match any company’s
specifications. Also customize wedges and putters for Titleist and PING and Coutour Golf.
 Authorized Instructor of The Golfing Machine (GSEM)
 2011 MN PGA Horton Smith Award Winner for Education and Co-Director and Creator of
the Teaching Division
 Mental Golf Workshop Practitioner
I have had students play on the following tours:
Chad Knutson PGA Tour Monday Qualifier, Nationwide Tour
Chris Shaul- Gateway Tour
Numerous PGA Club Professionals
I’ve coach players that have went on to play at the following colleges
Augsburgh
Campbell University
Creighton
Gustavus
Ferris State
Iowa
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Iowa State
Marquette
Methodist
Idaho
St. Johns
Wisconsin
Brad lives with his wife Becky, daughter Raegan and sons Brody, Gabe and Lucas in Chaska, Minnesota.
He is available to speak at your club or seminar and may be contacted by calling or texting (952) 401GOLF (4653), via his website at www.BradPluthGolf.com or e-mail pluthb@pga.com.
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