COLLEGIATE GOLFER SPOTLIGHT - ALEX SCHIES

NTPGA • May 4, 2018

COLLEGIATE GOLFER SPOTLIGHT - ALEX SCHIES

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®


Alex Schies - NTPGA Junior Tour Member 2009 - 2013

Senior at Texas Wesleyan University

Business Finance and Management Major

Graduating in May of 2018



Q: What are your post graduation plans?


      A: My plans for right now are the attend grad school at Texas Wesleyan University to get my MBA. I will also be their assistant women’s golf coach for the 2018-2019 season.


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


      A: 13 years old


Q: How did being a part of the NTPGA Junior Tour help or impact your golf game?


      A: The NTPGA Junior Tour allowed me to play courses that I wouldn’t normally play and gave me the opportunity to meet people who I am still friends with in college.


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


      A: I learned how to play in all types of weather conditions, literally. I remember one summer it seemed like it rained every time I played; it even hailed one morning before we teed off.


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


      A: Play golf for yourself and have fun out there. Don't let others ruin it for you by putting too much pressure on you, or expecting perfection every time. So many people end up hating golf before they get to college, or after a year of college golf because they’re so hung up on other people’s expectations of what their game should be like.


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


      A: As I mentioned earlier, one summer it seemed like it rained every tournament I played in. The NTPGA Junior Tour helped prepare me to play in whatever weather conditions I was thrown into. All of our tournaments this season except for about three have been so cold with morning temperatures around 32-35 degrees, up to 45 mph winds, or rainy conditions.


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


      A: It was pretty straight forward. My current coach's daughter went and currently goes to the school I attended, and he heard of me from there. He came out and watched me at a few tournaments, had me come for a visit, and that's pretty much how I ended up at Texas Wesleyan. I got very lucky with who I have as my coach. He’s definitely one of the top-five best coaches in all of college golf.


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


      A: You travel a lot more in college, whether its 3+ hour drives or having to fly. Another thing is instead of playing 18 holes a day, there are times where we have 36-hole days and then 18 the next day. The courses are sometimes more challenging, for example our national tournament is at PGA National on the Champions course...where the bear trap is located.

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