By Brad Sparling | Founder, Play Golf In College
New Book Release: The Guide Every Junior Golf Parent Needs First
Brad Sparling — founder of Play Golf In College — has released a powerful new resource for families entering competitive golf: Start Here: The Top 50 Mistakes in Junior Golf, now available on Amazon.com.
Start Here is designed to help parents and junior golfers avoid the most common — and costly — mistakes that derail development, confidence, and recruiting opportunities.
Why This Book Exists
After 25 years of coaching, Coach Sparling has seen the same pattern repeat hundreds of times:
- A family enters junior golf full of excitement and hope.
- They unknowingly make the same mistakes others made before them.
- They get the same disappointing results.
This book exists to break that cycle.
Start Here serves as a warning label for junior golf — the practical advice Sparling gives every new family that walks through his door.
Proven Experience Behind the Advice
Coach Sparling’s insights come from one of the most accomplished careers in junior and college golf development.
During his collegiate coaching career at Duke University and Ohio State University, he helped build NCAA championship teams, coached 14 All-Americans, and mentored two National Players of the Year.
After leaving college coaching, he founded Play Golf In College (PGIC), where he has:
- Developed hundreds of junior golfers
- Personally guided more than 165 players into college programs
- Achieved a 95% college placement success rate
He also continues coaching at the high school level, leading the Dublin Jerome High School boys golf team to a record-breaking state championship and a national No. 1 ranking in 2025.
As the parent of three Division I golfers, Sparling has experienced the journey from every possible perspective.
What You’ll Learn Inside Start Here
The book identifies the 50 most common and damaging mistakes families make, organized into five essential sections:
Development Mistakes
Why early specialization often backfires, why technique obsession slows growth, and why the best 12-year-olds rarely become the best 18-year-olds.
Practice Mistakes
Why most range sessions are wasted time — and what training actually transfers to the golf course.
Tournament Play Mistakes
Mental and strategic errors that keep talented players from scoring to their potential.
Parent-Child Communication
The most important section for many families, focused on maintaining a healthy relationship while pursuing competitive goals.
College Recruiting Mistakes
A clear look at a confusing process that most families start too late and misunderstand from the beginning.
Practical, Actionable, and Easy to Use
Each mistake follows a simple format:
- What goes wrong
- What Coach Sparling has seen over decades of coaching
- What to do instead
There is no fluff, no complicated theory — just guidance families can apply immediately.
The book is also designed to be used as a reference. You can jump directly to the section that matters most right now:
- Tournament struggles → Go to Section 3
- Stressful car rides home → Go to Section 4
- Recruiting anxiety → Section 5
The Perfect Starting Point for Junior Golf Families
Whether your child is:
- Just entering competitive golf
- Transitioning into tournament play
- Experiencing frustration despite talent
- Beginning the recruiting journey
Start Here provides clarity, direction, and confidence from day one.
It also serves as a companion to Coach Sparling’s comprehensive flagship book, Becoming Elite, giving families both the foundation and the full roadmap for long-term success.
Available Now
Start Here: The Top 50 Mistakes in Junior Golf is available now in paperback.
👉 Get your copy of Start Here: The Top 50 Mistakes in Junior Golf today.
Also Available from Coach Brad Sparling..
Becoming Elite: A Complete Guide to Junior Golf, College Golf and Life is available now in paperback. Becoming Elite delivers something the junior golf world has never had before: one comprehensive guide that covers every stage of the journey, from early development to college recruiting — and the life lessons that shape young athletes along the way.
👉 Order your copy of Becoming Elite: A Complete Guide to Junior Golf today.
If you want guidance beyond the book, Play Golf In College offers coaching, mentorship, and recruiting support to help junior golfers reach their full potential on and off the course.