Back Nine With Brad McMakin: Part Two

What do you look for in a “Junior” player when you’re recruiting for the University of Arkansas?

Recruiting is a difficult process because there are so many really good high school players.  We play in a very competitive conference (SEC). The golf is really strong and our conference produces a number of Tour players. 

From a golf standpoint, we look for young men that can drive the golf ball in the fairway (accurate hitters) and can chip and putt.

Beyond the playing part, we look to see how a young man handles/carries himself on the golf course.  I like to have the opportunity to watch a potential recruit play poorly and gauge his reaction.  Everyone has a great attitude when things are going well but can a young man cope when things aren’t going so well?   We want to know that our recruits are coachable and will get along with their teammates and the coaching staff, in good times and bad.

What would cause you to put on the brakes and back off of a potential recruit?

We see it all the time; young men, with poor attitudes that do not respect fellow competitors, coaches, officials and parents.  Golf is an individual sport however on the college level it is also a team sport.  A player with a poor attitude will most likely not be a good teammate.

What makes the University of Arkansas a great place for a prospective recruit?  Do you feel you have a niche’?

Our competitors all have quality facilities however the University of Arkansas is truly a step ahead as our facilities/golf course are something special.  The combination sets up apart from a golf standpoint.

The quality of our education at the University of Arkansas is incredible.  The Walton Family Business School is an example; a tremendous resource for our students.  Fayetteville is fortunate to be the home of Walmart and Tyson Foods and we receive tremendous support from these organizations.

Do most of your players arrive at the University of Arkansas with professional aspirations?

Virtually all of our players aspire to play professionally.  When a player arrives on campus, we make it clear that in addition to those aspirations, we expect our players to get their school work done and get a degree.  After a year or two in the program, a player might realize that professional golf is not in the cards and school becomes more of a priority.

I have a young man on my team from North Carolina who makes me really proud.  He recently scored a 172 on the LSAT Scaled Score, which is in the ninety-ninth percentile.  He will be accepted at Harvard, Georgetown and Stanford.  He was a top player coming out of North Carolina.  Golf at the University of Arkansas didn’t necessarily go his way however, he stayed on course and he is going to be really successful.  This is a great recruiting story for the University of Arkansas, because he could have gotten into any college or university and he chose our school.  His future is incredibly bright.

We guide and lead our players regardless of their ultimate direction.

Is their scholarship equity between the SEC Universities?

Every school in Division 1 golf receives four and a half scholarships.  Most teams carry eight to nine players.  We divide the scholarships amongst the team.  A top “Junior” golfer coming out of high school may earn a larger athletic scholarship as compared to other players on the team.  Academic scholarships (in addition to athletic scholarships) enhance the overall scholarship pool.

An accomplished high school student may receive a smaller amount of athletic aide and a larger amount of academic aide, essentially covering the majority of the expense.  Strong academic performers who receive academic aide are essential to the program, allowing the balance of the golf scholarships to be divided amongst the remaining players.

What are critical pieces to perpetuate your success at the University of Arkansas?

Dedication and preparation!  There is a lot of hard work that goes into a successful program.

All of our competitors have really good players.  It truly comes down to the development of our young men.  Golf is really hard to judge because some players are better at fourteen than they are at nineteen and some players are better at nineteen than they are at fourteen.  I tell our players that they need to be constantly improving, getting better at eighteen, twenty, twenty-four and thirty years of age.  It starts the first day they are on campus and continues for four/five years.

When a player is a senior in college, the following year he will be competing against Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm.  Players who have been on Tour for a number of years, who know where they are going to stay, where they are going to eat and the pin placements for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Our players need to understand the importance of every moment we are together as the NCAA limits our time to twenty hours a week, three hours a day.  Success, both individually and as a team, depends on how quickly our players embrace this concept.

Where does your ability to instruct fall on the list of critical components?

It is very important. Most players have their own instructors as compared to when I played.  We kind of did it on our own, getting assistance from our college coaches.  Now, our players are getting quality instruction from the time they are thirteen or fourteen years of age, however, once on campus, our players need to buy into our system.  To me, this circles back to recruiting:  are they coachable and are we going to be able to work with our players?  We will support our player’s instructors but if we see something we feel needs to be addressed, we need our players to be receptive to our instruction on a daily basis.  We have the opportunity to watch our players every day in practice and in tournaments, whereas their instructors only see them on the driving range where there is no pressure.  If they would hit a bad shot on the range, they just reach for another ball out of the basket.  We see our players in stressful situations. From my perspective, we need to be able to coach our players in tandem with their personal instructors. We will go to their lessons, visit with their instructors and try to keep them on the right track, especially if they are really solid ball strikers. 

In addition to ball striking and their short games, the mental piece is critical…getting them to understand course management and proximity to the hole.  We are preparing our players for tournament conditions.

Part Three, Back Nine with Brad McMakin, next Sunday.

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