8 | July 2017 #juniorgolfmag Visit us at juniorgolfmag.net Judi Pavon has been the head women’s golf coach for the Tennessee Vols for 17 seasons. Her players have excelled on the golf course and in the classroom, with 25 All-Americans and 38 Academic All-Americans under her watch. Formerly, she was a star golfer for the University of Alabama. TheRightMatchforCollegeGolfBYZACZEDRICK Get Your Email Read BYJUDIPAVON COLLEGE COACHES’ CORNER Zac Zedrick is in his 6th season as head men’s golf coach at Miami University-Ohio. He led the 2015 RedHawks team to its first MAC Championship in 19 years. Formerly, Zac starred and served as golf team captain at Michigan State. S ince Fall 2008, one question I have been asked with great regularity has been, “Zac, what do you think of the match play format at the NCAA Championship?” Although the answer I am about to give might be considered straddling the line, let me first explain. Do I think match play rewards the team that played the best that week of the tourna- ment? Absolutely not, and you need look no further than match play’s introduction at the 2009 NCAA Men’s Championship to see that. Oklahoma State had earned the #1 seed for match play by beating #2 seed Arizona State by 13 shots and their first-round opponent, Georgia, by a whopping 20 shots in stroke play! Now I’ll be the first to say it’s not over until it’s over, but I am going to suggest they would have held on to win the championship if the NCAA had stayed with the 72-hole medal play format. However, Georgia beat Oklahoma State in what has arguably been one of the best head- to-head matches in the short history of this format, 3-2, and ultimately finished runner-up to Texas A&M. Ironically, A&M tied Georgia in the stroke play portion of the Championship, meaning the last two teams to survive into the match play rounds ultimately finished first and second, overall. I think the better question to ask is, “Zac, do you think the match play format is good for college golf?” My answer to that is a resounding, “Yes!” Al- though golf is inherently an individual game, it is a team sport in college. And what better way to settle everything than to pit two teams head-to-head in a match play format? It has provided a more television-friendly event, and the response from even the most casual fans has been tremendous. It is no longer a fringe part of the game, but something that has given a wider audience an early glimpse into the upcoming stars of the game at the professional level. Finally, an unintended yet positive conse- quence has been the evolution of the regular season schedule. I have just finished my sixth season as Head Coach at Miami, and our schedule has consistently featured an eight- team match play event to start the spring. The best part of the tournament is that, because of the head-to-head nature of team match play, winning and losing is at stake on three occa- sions in two days, regardless of where each team ultimately finishes. Simply put, coming down the stretch of the fifth and sixth place match has a much different feel than grinding out a fifth place finish in a stroke play event. You still have to “win” to get it done. I know for a fact that our team drew off of pre- vious match play experience to stay focused and deal with the pressure of Toledo chasing us the last two rounds, en route to our winning the 2015 MAC Championship. Is match play the perfect format for determin- ing a champion? Probably not, but the perfect format does not exist. What it does, though, is shine a brighter spotlight and set a larger stage for collegiate golf, which only helps to improve our sport. When you begin playing at the college level, you will truly sense this spe- cial kind of excitement. A s coaches, we receive many emails every day from junior golfers. I take the time to read and respond to each email if rules allow. Over the years, I have come to realize that some emails are much better written and more eye-catching than others. Often, the difference is a matter of just doing your homework about the coach, the school or the NCAA process. In order to be able to follow the NCAA rules properly, coaches must know your graduation year. Noting that you are a freshman or a sopho- more works, but even better is pro- viding the actual year. My preference for the subject line is: YOUR NAME, GRADUATION YEAR (example: Judi Pavon, 2018). That way, coach- es can match their needs to your class and they’ll know exactly if they fall within the rules, as far as being able to respond to you. Your email should make mention of the coach’s name and school. Because we get so many emails, it is easier to file one away without reading it close- ly or responding if we feel we are part of a mass emailing. Should you send the same email to multiple coaches, be sure to change the name in the greet- ing, as well as the school name, wher- ever they may appear in the email! I have received too many emails that have my name on them, but list a dif- ferent school – so double check be- fore you hit “send.” Another bit of advice is to list your best accomplishments first. I love to know everything about your career, but start with the best to keep me reading. At- tach a complete resume, but put in your email what’s best about your game and list your best results. Before writing, do your research about your target schools and the scores their players are shooting. If you are emailing your top school, but are not confident that your scores are good enough for you to play for the team, mention that in your email. Just as important, if you are emailing sev- eral schools, be sure that the schools you choose are a good fit for your golf game. You want to email ones that are more likely to respond and that will give you the most realistic options. Include a schedule of your upcom- ing tournaments so we can come out to watch you play! That is a critical component of the recruiting process, and neither side can make a decision about how to proceed until the coach has seen you play and you have visited the campus. Lastly, we prefer that the athlete, rath- er than the parent, is communicating with us. Because we have a limited time to get to know each other, and since you will be the one coming to play for us, it’s critical that we are hearing from you! Good luck and make every email count.