How to Make the High School Golf Team

Making your high school golf team comes down to more than just a sweet swing or the ability to bomb a driver. It takes smart preparation, a solid mental game, and a deep understanding of what coaches are truly looking for. This guide will walk you through the essential steps, from building a practice plan that works to developing the on-course strategy and mature mindset that will make you stand out during tryouts.

Understand What the Coach is Really Looking For

First, let’s get one thing straight: the coach isn't just looking at the final number on your scorecard. Sure, shooting a good score helps, but it’s only one part of the evaluation. Coaches are building a team, and they are looking for players who are coachable, reliable, and have the potential to improve. A player who shoots 84 with a great attitude and a smart game plan is often more impressive than a player who shoots 81 but slams their clubs and takes unnecessary risks.

Here’s what they are watching for beyond your score:

• Attitude and Body Language: How do you react to a bad shot? Do you hang your head, get visibly angry, or do you take a deep breath and focus on the next one? They want players who are mentally resilient.
• Course Management: Are you playing smart golf? This means aiming away from trouble, choosing the right clubs, and understanding when to be conservative versus aggressive. Playing for the center of the green is a sign of a mature player.
• Etiquette and Respect: A high school golfer represents their school. Coaches notice if you’re raking bunkers, fixing ball marks, complimenting your playing partners on good shots, and keeping a positive demeanor.
• Pace of Play: Are you ready to hit when it’s your turn? Do you walk with purpose? Slow play is a major red flag for any coach.
• Potential: A player with a fundamentally sound, rotational swing might shoot a higher score during tryouts than a player with some quirky moves. But the coach sees the foundation. They know that the player with solid fundamentals is more likely to improve with good coaching.

Set a Concrete Goal: Find Your Target Score

Walking into tryouts with a vague goal of “playing my best” isn’t enough. You need a tangible target to guide your preparation. The best way to find this is to do a little research. Reach out to the coach a few months before the season starts and respectfully ask what the qualifying scores have been in previous years.

The coach might tell you that in past years, players shooting 85 or lower for 18 holes usually made the team. Great! Now you have a number. Your goal isn't just to "play well," it's to consistently score in the low-to-mid 80s. This number transforms your practice. It gives every session a purpose. You aren't just hitting balls, you’re building a game that can produce your target score under pressure.

Build a Year-Round Preparation Plan

Showing up a month before tryouts and trying to cram won't cut it. The best players are built in the off-season. Think of your path to making the team as a full-year mission, broken down into manageable phases.

Phase 1: The Off-Season (Winter)

This is where you build your foundation without the pressure of scoring. Your focus should be on two things: your body and your fundamentals.

• Golf-Specific Fitness: You don’t need to be a bodybuilder. Focus on flexibility, core strength, and rotational power. Simple exercises for shoulder turns, hip mobility, and balance will make your swing more efficient and reduce a chance of injury.
• Fundamentals in the Garage: Set up a net and work on your grip, setup, and posture. The advice is timeless for a reason: a neutral grip and an athletic setup are the building blocks of a consistent swing. Video your swing and compare it to pros.

This is the perfect time to perfect your potting stroke, even with an indoor mat, this would improve your skills come summer. Aim for consistency until spring comes to get an advantage over your competition who has forgot how to play!

Phase 2: Pre-Season (Spring and Early Summer)

As the weather warms up, it’s time to take your game back to the course. The goal here is volume and data collection.

• Get Your Reps In: Play as much as you can. Don't worry too much about your score at first, just get comfortable on the grass again. Play 9 holes after school, walk 18 on the weekends. Re-familiarize yourself with different lies and situations.
• Start Tracking Your Stats: This is a game-changer. Don't just remember your final score. Track fairways hit, greens in regulation, number of putts, and up-and-downs. This data tells you the truth about your game. You might feel like your driver is the problem, but the stats might show that three-putts are what’s truly hurting your scores. Knowing this lets you practice with purpose.

Phase 3: Peak Season (The Month Before Tryouts)

Now it’s time to sharpen your game for competition. Everything you do should be geared towards preparing for the pressure of tryouts.

• Play the Tryout Course: Play the course where tryouts are being held at least three or four times. Make a detailed game plan for every single hole. Know which clubs to hit off the tee, identify the trouble spots, and find the safest places to miss. This preparation gives you an incredible confidence boost.
• Practice with Pressure: Instead of just beating balls on the range, create little games for yourself. Try to hit 10 fairways in a row. Have a chipping contest where you have to get 7 out of 10 balls inside a 6-foot circle. Finishing a range session by making five 4-foot putts in a row simulates end-of-round pressure.

Master the Skills That Move the Needle

Not all practice is created equal. To break 90 and shoot the scores needed to make the team, you need to focus on the parts of the game that have the biggest impact.

Your Scoring Weapons: Short Game and Putting

This is non-negotiable. More than 60% of your shots will come from within 100 yards of the hole. If you want to lower your scores fast, this is the place to start. Dedicate at least half of your practice time to chipping, pitching, and putting. The player who can get up and down from just off the green is infinitely more valuable to a coach than the player who hits a great drive but then takes three chips to get a playable lie.

Play "Boring Golf" with a Consistent Go-To Shot

High school coaches love consistency. They would rather have a player who shoots 84 every single time than one who posts a 78 one day and a 92 the next. This means embracing “boring golf.” Focus on keeping the ball in play - fairway, green, two-putt, and move on. The key to this is developing a reliable, go-to shot off the tee, even if it’s a 3-wood or hybrid instead of a driver.

Your swing should be a rotation of your body, not an aggressive motion with your arms. By turning your torso back and through like we talked about in setup, you create a repeatable action that is far more consistent under pressure than trying to generate speed with just your hands and arms.

Develop a Rock-Solid Pre-Shot Routine

A consistent pre-shot routine is your best friend when the nerves kick in. It acts as an autopilot, giving you a familiar sequence to fall back on so you don’t get distracted by the situation.

A simple, effective routine can look like this:

1. Stand Behind the Ball: Decide on your target and the shot shape you want to hit. Commit to it 100%.
2. Make One or Two Practice Swings: Feel the tempo of the swing required for the shot. Don’t just mindlessly wave the club. Plying to hold balance when not falling over.
3. Step in and Go: Take one final look at the target, settle in, and pull the trigger. Avoid standing over the ball for too long.

Surviving (and Thriving) During Tryout Week

All your hard work has led to this. Now it’s about execution and showing the coach what you’ve got. This week is as much a mental test as it is a physical one.

The Day of the Tryout

Arrive at the course with enough time to warm up properly, but don’t arrive so early that you have time to get anxious. Eat a good meal beforehand, and make sure you’re hydrated. Your warm-up should activate your muscles, not tire you out. Start with short chips, move to full wedges, then mid-irons, and finish with a few of the clubs you’ll hit on the first couple of holes. End on the putting green, focusing on speed control and short, confidence-building putts.

Handling Nerves and Bad Holes

You’re going to be nervous. Everyone is. Accept it and use it as a sign that you care. Remember your pre-shot routine - that is your anchor.

Even better with how you react. Making a double bogey is one thing, following it up with poor body language and another bad decision on the next hole is far more damaging. When faced with your first bad hole of the season, a coach would like to see how well you compose yourself and make you next shoots a par. This shoes a coach more than any par on a whole can bring on it's first day of tryouts.

Making a poor shot won’t ruin your chances, but how you handle it might. They are watching to see if you can manage your emotions and bounce back. A player who follows a double bogey with a smart, simple par on the next hole shows immense maturity.

Final Thoughts

Making your high school golf team is an achievable goal that rests on three pillars: consistent practice with a focused plan, a mature on-course strategy that minimizes mistakes, and a positive, resilient attitude that coaches notice and value.

Learning how to think your way around the course and manage your gave strategically takes time and experience. That’s why we designed our app, Caddie AI which acts as your personal caddie and coach. You can get instant advice on club section or the best strategy for a specific hole giving the right tools as you practice, making decisions as coaches look at while giving you right tools, and knowing you’ll always feel one prepared. It gives your all the experience without ever facing adversity when on the course you’re all alone on the course making you feel ahead, and confident in all situations.