COLLEGE GOLFER SPOTLIGHT - BRANDON SMITH

NTPGA • March 9, 2018

COLLEGE GOLFER SPOTLIGHT - BRANDON SMITH

As many of you know, our motto here at the NTPGA Junior Tour is #WHOSNEXT ®. The NTPGA Junior Tour is well represented by its alumni on the PGA, Web.com and LPGA Tours. Currently, there are 22 former Junior Tour members competing professionally including Jordan Spieth, Cody Gribble, Ryan Palmer, Angela Stanford, Brittany Lang and many more.


But, our #WHOSNEXT® motto doesn’t just apply to future professional golfers. It applies to our former members currently showcasing their talents at the collegiate level all across the country.


In this bi-monthly blog series, we will be featuring former Junior Tour members who are currently playing golf. Every other week we’ll check out what they had to say about their time playing on the NTPGA Junior Tour, and gain some insight into what it’s like to play college golf.


We know it is the goal of many of our current members to move on to play golf in college. Are you the next college golfer? #WHOSNEXT®


Brandon Smith - NTPGA Junior Tour Member 2008 - 2014

Junior at Texas A&M University

Sports Management Major

Graduating in May of 2020


Q: What are your post-graduation plans?

  A: Try to play golf professionally!


Q: How old were you when you became and NTPGA Junior Tour Member?

  A: About 13 years old.


Q: What was the biggest thing you learned while you were a part of the NTPGA Junior Tour? 

  A: I learned how important it is to learn how to win at a young age. Very often, parents force their kids to play at a level that is way above a kid's skill level. It is important to develop a young player by letting them get comfortable in a certain age division by winning multiple times before moving on to the next level. For example, my dad did not move me up to the medalist division until I won on the prep level 5 or 6 times.


Q: What is one piece of advice you would give to current NTPGA Junior Tour members?

  A: I would tell them to enjoy the game while you're playing it because it doesn't last forever. It is important to work hard and have certain goals set for yourself to stay driven, but never forget to enjoy the process and have fun. I often look back at my time as a junior golfer and wish I would have taken the time to enjoy it more instead of stressing over tournaments. 


Q: How did the NTPGA Junior Tour help prepare you for playing golf in college?

  A: The NTPGA helped prepare me for college golf by giving me the chance to test my skills against some of the better players in the North Texas region as a junior golfer. The junior tour also helped give me the chance for college coaches to see how I performed in tournament golf, which overall helped me get to play golf where I currently am.


Q: Please describe your personal golf recruiting process looked like.

  A: I actually reached out to Texas A&M golf coach JT Higgins when 

I was a freshman in high school. It had always been a dream of mine to play golf at Texas A&M University, so I wanted to be on his recruiting radar. I began to improve and grow as a player throughout my junior golf career in high school, and more college coaches began to show their interest in me. I never really showed much interest in any school other than Texas A&M because that was a school that I felt like would give me the best chance to grow as a player. I would be able to compete against players at the highest level of college golf both at home in qualifying and on the road in tournaments. I chose and committed to Texas A&M because I knew I could receive a great education somewhat close to home, and at the same time go to a place that would drastically improve my golf game. I knew that if I wanted to play golf after college, I had to go somewhere that would show me just how tough it is to play against some of the best players in the country on a daily basis.


Q: How does playing in college differ from the NTPGA Junior Tour?

  A: Playing college golf is different than the NTPGA Junior Tour because you have teammates relying on you throughout your rounds so it turns an individual sport into somewhat of a team sport. There is a little pressure added because of that, but at the same time, it is still an absolute blast if you're playing at a school that you love. In college, you actually have your coach out there on the course who can help you with certain shots and club choices, which is not an option on the NTPGA junior tour. 

 

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