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Coach Sparling talks with two parents of junior golfers about the shared experiences of guiding your child from high school into college golf.

On this episode of the PGIC Podcast, the coaches talk with two parents of successful junior golfers to learn their unique challenges.

They discuss helping kids find their passion, maintaining the joy of the game as kids grow up, and the importance of playing in tournaments.

They also expand on successfully transitioning into college contacting, contacting college golf coaches, and
how to not get overwhelmed in the process.

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Coach Sparling is also a dad. In this episode, he talks about how to get young golfers on the right path by starting with the basics and making it fun.

This edition of the Play Golf in College Podcast talks about how we teach golf to our kids.

For very young kids, it’s got to be a lot of fun. If it’s fun, they will want to play. Start with a good grip, tee the ball up, and let them learn the joy of the game first.

Get more tips, including the importance of failing, why young golfers should play other sports, how learning music helps your child’s golf game, and why you should never ever carry your kid’s clubs.

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The Play Golf in College Podcast talks with Zac Zedrick, the head  men’s golf coach at Miami University.

Zac Zedrick is in his seventh season as the RedHawks’ head coach. After leading Miami to its first Mid-American Conference Championship in 19 years in 2015, Zedrick has the ‘Hawks on track to make their presence known on the national stage over the next few seasons.

Zedrick led Miami to the 2015 MAC Championship, winning the 72-hole tournament by eight strokes. The RedHawks went on to participate in their first NCAA Regional since 1998. As a result, he was named the MAC’s Kermit Blosser Coach of the Year.

Zedrick also saw his golfers earn several awards during the past few seasons. Patrick Flavin has been named to the All-MAC First Team each of the past three seasons earned a spot on the PING All-Midwest Region Team in 2016., Brian Ohr earned a spot on the All-MAC Second-Team in 2017.. During the RedHawks’ championship in year in 2015, Flavin was named MAC Freshman of the Year, as well as taking spots on the PING All-Midwest Region Team and All-MAC Tournament Team. Scott Cahill was named to the All-MAC Second Team and All-MAC Tournament Team. Jack Sparling was named to the All-MAC Tournament Team.

Zedrick came to Miami after spending three seasons as an assistant coach at Wichita State. While at Wichita, he helped lead the Shockers to the Missouri Valley Conference Championship each year. They also participated in the NCAA Regional each season and three golfers earned All-America status. Zedrick aided in all aspects of recruiting for Wichita, while serving as the tournament director for their home tournament, the Diet Pepsi Shocker Classic.

Prior to his time in Wichita, Zedrick spent two seasons as a Graduate Assistant Coach at Toledo. While there he helped with all aspects of recruiting as well as providing on-course instruction during competitions.

Zedrick was a four-year letterwinner for Michigan State University. He served as team captain in each of his final two years. He was a member of the Academic All-Big Ten team in each of his final three seasons with the Spartans.

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The Play Golf in College Podcast talks with Jamie Green, head men’s golf coach at Duke University about recruiting players who are motivated on the course and in the classroom.

In nine seasons, Green’s Duke teams have qualified for NCAA Regionals eight times and advanced to the NCAA Championships on five occasions, including a national semifinal appearance in 2011. The Blue Devils have claimed 18 tournament titles under Green’s watch, the third-most by a coach in program history.

Duke has also excelled in the classroom with Green at the helm, as 20 student-athletes have earned All-ACC Academic honors at least once in nine seasons. The Duke men’s golf program has produced nine Academic All-Americans during Green’s tenure.

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Play Golf in College Podcast welcomes Erik J. Barzeski and Dave Wedzik, authors of The Lowest Score Wins. In this book, Erik and Dave explore what they call Separation Value to guide your practice and how you can use Shot Zones to help you determine your GamePlan for every shot you play.

Erik J. Barzeski serves as the Director of Instruction at Golf Evolution and also as the Director of Instructor Development for 5 Simple Keys® at Medicus. He also owns one of the most widely trafficked and popular golf sites on the Internet, TheSandTrap.com.

Dave Wedzik is a former Web.com and PGA Tour player who has played over 500 professional tournaments, including five trips to the biggest pressure cooker in all of sports: PGA Tour Qualifying School.

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Doug Martin, the Men’s Golf Head Coach at the University of Cincinnati, joins the Play Golf in College Podcast to talk about how he evaluates student golfers, toughness, and developing “a game that travels.”

PGIC founder Coach Brad Sparling and Coach Mark MacDonald discuss Coach Martin’s development strategies and how to transition from junior golf to college golf.

Coach Martin joined the UC program as an assistant coach prior to the 2006-07 campaign and was promoted to head coach three seasons later.

He has found success on all levels of golf, beginning with his days as a junior golfer in the mid-1980s. During that time, Martin was a two-time AJGA All-American and was ranked No. 1 in the nation in 1984. He moved on to more success on the amateur level, ascending to the No. 1 national ranking in 1989.

From there, Martin moved on to a successful collegiate career at the University of Oklahoma. While at OU, Martin won five individual titles and was a three-time All-American. In 1989, he finished second in the NCAA Championship to current PGA star Phil Mickelson.

Martin played for eight years on the PGA Tour, and earned a pair of professional victories. In 1995, Martin lost a five-hole playoff to Vijah Singh at the Buick Classic. Since retiring from the tour in 1999, Martin has been involved in golf instruction and course set-up. He is also manager and part-owner of The Golf Ranch in Burlington, Kentucky.

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Scott Fawcett, the creator of the DECADE Course Management System, joins the Play Golf in College Podcast to talk about optimal strategies to save incremental strokes on every hole. 

Play Golf in College founder Brad Sparling and Coach Mark MacDonald are big fans of the DECADE system and use it with their own golfers.

The DECADE Course Management System has solved golf strategy by combining shot distribution patterns and PGA Tour scoring statistics. When Scott combined those two data sets, he created a simple way to optimize target selection.

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Mike Small, Head Coach of the men’s golf program at The University of Illinois, talks with PGIC Founder/Coach Brad Sparling and Coach Mark MacDonald.

Coach Small’s team has dominated the past decade, winning nine of the past 10 Big Ten Conference Championships with two individual NCAA Champions and numerous All-Americans. His golfers play in the PGA Tours in America and Europe.

Coach Small talks about creating a winning culture, how players get better, how to practice correctly, and much more on this special edition.

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PGIC Founder and Coach Brad Sparling and Coach Mark MacDonald talk about the recruiting mistakes that parents and junior golfers make while they are planning on moving to the college level. 

Coaches Sparling and MacDonald share their warnings and advice not only as mentors with Play Golf in College, but as college players, college coaches, and parents themselves.

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Jon Sinclair, the owner and Director of Instruction at Sinclair Golf near Dallas, talks with Play Golf in College founder Coach Brad Sparling and Coach Mark MacDonald about the importance of the mental game and how technology has improved training.

Sinclair Golf is one of the most technologically advanced teaching centers in the country containing AMM 3D with TPI Reports, GEARS (motion capture 3D), 4D Motion (motion capture 3D), JC Video (high speed 2D video), TrackMan 4 Launch Monitor, SAM PuttLab and SAM BalanceLab.

Jon is on the Advisory Staff for Edel Golf, 4D Motion and TPT Golf. His certifications include Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) Level 2 Biomechanics and Fitness, TrackMan Level 2, SAM Puttlab Level 2 and SAM Balance Lab. In 2015 he became a Master as a Golf Motion Capture Specialist as certified by Phil Cheetham. He completed Dr. Kwon’s Golf Biomechanics Instructor Training Program – Level 1.

An accomplished player, Jon played professionally for 7 years (1993 – 2000). As a player he was introduced to GolfPsych – Dr. Deborah Graham and Jon Stabler. Dr. Graham had a tremendous influence on Jon as a player and later as an instructor. He became a Master GolfPsych Instructor in 2004 (one of only three in the world (Henry Brunton and Lou Solarte are the other two).

Listen and subscribe on iTunes Pat Goss, Director of Golf and Player Development at Northwestern University, talks with Play Golf in College founder Coach Brad Sparling and Coach Mark MacDonald. Coach Goss has developed numerous All-American men and women golfers, including Luke Donald, who has been ranked the number one golfer in the Official World Golf Ranking and named PGA Player of the Year. In this interview, Goss shares his methods of player development, recruitment, the importance of measuring improvement, and the "intentionality" of practice. See more at www.playgolfincollege.com More about Pat Goss Goss is an alumnus of Golf Magazine's "Top 100 Teachers in America" list. In addition to being named the Illinois PGA Teacher of the Year in 2012, Goss has written instructional articles for Golf Magazine and Golf Digest, and has made multiple Golf Channel appearances. As both head coach and director of golf, his accomplishments include seven Big Ten titles (1999-2001, 2006, 2013, 2015-16) and 14 top-30 NCAA national finishes in the last 22 years, as well as six top-10 finishes. Goss has led the men's team to the final pairing of the national championship (1999) and has helped the women's team to the final of the national championship match play (2017). In 2017-18, the men's and women's golf programs both reached the NCAA Championships, becoming the only Big Ten school to send both teams to the Championships. The women's team made it to their second-straight match play, while the men's squad set a Karsten Creek course scoring record in the first round and finished in 16th place. These achievements have solidified Northwestern as one of the nation's top programs, and perhaps the elite program in the Midwest. A four-time Big Ten Coach of the Year (1997, 1999, 2000, 2001), Goss' Wildcats have won six individual Big Ten Championships (Luke Donald, 2000 and 2001; Chris Wilson, 2006; Eric Chun, 2009; David Lipsky, 2010; Sarah Cho, 2015).