If you are a high school golfer, chances are you have sent tens if not hundreds of emails to college coaches. However, for many of you, the number of emails you send does not always equal the number of replies you get. Check out some of the tips below to help ensure your emails to coaches are read and receive a reply.
Subject Line
This is possibly the most important piece of your email to a coach. College coaches receive hundreds of emails every day from interested athletes, make your subject line stand out. Remember, this is the first thing a coach sees when opening your email. Focus on putting tangible information such as stats, tournament averages, rankings or academic achievements.
Example of a good subject line:
Name – Graduation Year/State – Tourn. Scoring Avg. – GPA or ACT/SAT Score – Video
Length of email
Less is more! Your introduction email should only be about 3 paragraphs in length. The first paragraph is a quick introduction to yourself talking a bit on your golf game and academics. The second paragraph focuses on answering the question, why do you want to go to that school and why would you be a good fit for their golf team? The third and final paragraph opens up the dialogue by thanking the coach for their time and asking questions that require a response from them.
Swing video
Emails that do not include a link to a swing video are much less likely to be opened or viewed by a college golf coach. Keep in mind that you can make your own swing video and link back to it in your golf resume. It’s important to have a swing video if a coach has never seen you play before and wants to get an idea of your fundamentals and overall game.
Punctuation & Grammar
Nothing looks worse to a coach than an email filled with poor grammar or improper punctuation. Lean on your parents or teachers at school to help proofread your emails before sending out to a coach. Using resources such as Grammarly can help if you don’t have an adult to read your emails.
Time of day
The best time of the day to email a college coach is between the hours of 4:00 – 8:00 p.m local time. Coaches are typically winding their day down, finished with practice and cleaning up emails for the evening. Avoid sending emails on Monday, rather, try your best to send mid-week since coaches won’t be playing catch-up from the weekend.
Season
The two best seasons to send college golf coaches emails are in the winter and the summer. Golf coaches are their busiest in the spring and fall season, so be strategic if you choose to email when they are in season. Take a few minutes and review their schedule, avoiding sending an email on a day they are at or coming back from a tournament.
To be successful when contact a college golf coach, keep your emails short and to the point. Be sure to do your homework on a school or program to show your interest is genuine, and strategic on timing when sending off your emails.