One of the biggest off-course tasks in the college golf recruiting process is filming and sharing your golf swing video with coaches. This is the coaches’ first impression of your golf game, and they can watch this video long before they see you play in a junior golf tournament.

At Junior Golf Hub, we understand how much organization goes on behind the scenes to get your recruiting profile in order. That’s why our app puts everything in one spot so it’s easy to share with coaches.

Below, we’re sharing the best tips for creating the perfect golf swing video. Similar to other sports, you can compile a highlight reel; however, a bonus of being a golfer is that you can also feature your golf swing and have your swing coach voice over the recording with details around your technique, progress, potential and even personality and character.

Sending this video to coaches is the one of the first steps to getting recruited for college golf, and Junior Golf Hub will be with you every step of the way.

1. Plan Your Golf Swing Video

There are plenty of boxes to check when you start planning your golf swing video. You’ll want your video to be 2-3 minutes long at the most, so figuring out how to best orchestrate it all ahead of time is crucial. The good news is, you can record everything with your phone. 

Here is a quick checklist:

Find a Golf Swing Video Shoot Location

Do you have access to a golf course where you can play a couple holes while recording? You’ll want to scope out a quiet place on the driving range and a par 5 you feel good about. If you have time, also find a par 4 and par 3 to play. We’ll share more details on how to shoot below.

Wear Proper Golf Attire

This golf swing video will be your future college coach’s first impression of you, so you want to dress to impress. Or at least dress in proper golf attire, with collared shirts and appropriately lengthed bottoms.

Plan Your Script

The golf swing video is a great opportunity to introduce yourself and give college coaches a glimpse of your personality. During the driving range portion of the video, you can also have your swing coach or high school coach chime in on your swing technique, potential and character for additional context.

While you’re playing the golf course, it is recommended to mention the golf course name and then say which hole you’re playing, the par and yardage, and which golf club you’re going to hit before each shot. You only have to film the shots themselves, not walking between them.

Prepare a Title Card

Adding a title and end card to your golf swing video will give college coaches the information they need to contact you and any references you provide. This graphic can be made in Microsoft Office or Canva or photos and text boxes can be added directly on the video in some editing softwares. 

Here’s what most college golf coaches are looking for:

• A nice headshot
• Your name
• High school graduation year
• Email address
• Hometown/high school
• Name of the golf course you’re playing (this can also be mentioned verbally in your introduction)
• Reference names/emails (swing coach, high school coach, etc.)

Including Golf Highlights

If you have other golf swing videos and chipping or putting videos from recent tournaments or rounds, you can include those as well. If you don’t have access to a golf course to record yourself playing, a golf lesson video will work, too, as long as you include yardages and club selection.

2. How to Shoot and Edit Your Golf Swing Video

How you shoot and edit your golf swing video can leave a positive impression on the college golf coaches. While this doesn’t have to be a Hollywood movie, having a clean video with clear audio is important.

Shoot the Golf Swing Video Horizontally With Your Phone

   

Thankfully, phones have made filming these videos much easier. Shooting horizontally, make sure you capture the entire golf swing in the frame. You’ll also want to keep your phone horizontal for any introduction you give.

In the driving range portion, be sure to include two angles – one down-the-line and one face-on. You can also experiment with some slow motion golf swing videos and see how those turn out, though you’ll definitely want to include a normal speed version.

On the golf course when you’re recording yourself playing, down-the-line shots will suffice. You don’t need to record yourself walking to each shot, but you’ll want to record long enough before you take the shot that the college coaches can hear or read about the shot and club selection.

Go the Extra Mile With Audio

Wind is audio’s worst enemy. During your speaking parts, try to avoid any windy areas. If you live somewhere that isn’t possible, it may be worth finding a mic on Amazon so golf coaches can hear you more clearly; you won’t need to wear it while you’re swinging or playing the golf course.

Not everything you say has to be on camera, per se. You can write a script beforehand and record yourself reading it and adding that audio into the video if you feel comfortable with that level of editing.

How Do I Edit My Golf Swing Video?

Once you’ve gathered all your golf swing videos and audio, it’s time to put it all together for the final product. iMovie is an easy-to-use software on Mac products, though there are other free video editing softwares out there for both your computer and your phone.

Feel free to search for other college golf recruiting videos to get an idea of how you want the final video to look and feel. Once you’ve made the video to your liking, you’ll want to save it as a .mov or .mp4 file. 

3. How to Share Your Golf Swing Video

Once you have the video file, you can upload it to your YouTube account so you have a link you can share easily with coaches. You can also upload it to your Junior Golf Hub profile.

You can include the link to your video and to your Junior Golf Hub profile in all your coach outreach. One of the best initial ways to contact college coaches is through email so you can introduce yourself, send them your golf swing video and profile, and alert them to any junior golf tournaments you’re playing. Depending on your age, you may not hear back from the coaches right away but you can rest easy knowing your name is now on their radar.

Getting on a college golf team takes lots of hard work and patience. Shooting and editing a college golf recruiting video may not be the first task that comes to mind in the recruiting process, but it’s an important step to take. Don’t forget Junior Golf Hub is here to answer any questions, and you can always reach out to teachers and other resources to help you with the video.