By Brad Sparling | Founder, Play Golf In College
Start Here and Becoming Elite – essential guides for junior golfers and their families
Brad Sparling — founder of Play Golf In College — has released two new books designed to guide junior golfers and their families from the earliest stages of development through the college recruiting process and beyond.
Now available on Amazon.com:
- Start Here: The Top 50 Mistakes in Junior Golf
- Becoming Elite: A Complete Guide to Junior Golf, College Golf and Life
Together, these books provide the most complete roadmap available for navigating the junior golf journey — from avoiding early mistakes to building elite performance and earning college opportunities.
Why Two Books?
After more than 25 years of coaching, Coach Sparling recognized that families need guidance at different stages.
Start Here helps parents and players avoid the most common pitfalls that derail development.
Becoming Elite provides the complete blueprint for long-term success — technically, mentally, strategically, and personally.
Think of them as:
Start Here → Avoid the mistakes
Becoming Elite → Build the athlete
Proven Experience Behind the Guidance
Coach Sparling’s perspective comes 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.
Through Play Golf In College, he has:
- Developed hundreds of junior golfers
- Personally guided more than 165 athletes into college golf programs
- Coached 19 Individual State Champions
- Achieved a 95% placement success rate
- Built relationships with college coaches across every division
He also continues to coach 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 father of three Division I golfers, Sparling has experienced the process from every possible perspective — coach, recruiter, mentor, and parent.
Book One: Start Here — The Foundation Families Need First
Start Here: The Top 50 Mistakes in Junior Golf identifies the most common and damaging errors families make across five critical areas:
- Player development
- Practice habits
- Tournament performance
- Parent-child communication
- College recruiting
Each mistake includes what goes wrong, what Coach Sparling has observed over decades, and what families should do instead — practical advice that can be applied immediately.
This book is ideal for families entering competitive golf or looking to correct course quickly.
Book Two: Becoming Elite — The Complete Blueprint
Becoming Elite: A Complete Guide to Junior Golf, College Golf and Life goes deeper, covering every dimension of performance and development:
- Mindset, habits, and discipline
- Practice structure and skill acquisition
- Short game, putting, and scoring
- Speed development and athletic training
- Course management and strategy
- Mental performance and routines
- Tournament preparation and recovery
- College recruiting and college golf reality
It also includes tools such as training schedules, strength programs, and recruiting templates, making it both a roadmap and a long-term reference manual.
More Than Golf
Both books share a core philosophy:
Junior golf is not just about scores, rankings, or scholarships.
It is about who a young person becomes during the journey.
Confidence. Discipline. Resilience. Leadership.
The lessons extend far beyond the golf course.
Who These Books Are For
These resources are valuable whether your junior golfer is:
- Just getting serious about competition
- Training and playing tournaments regularly
- Experiencing frustration despite talent
- Beginning the college recruiting process
- Already committed to playing at the next level
Together, they provide clarity at every stage.
Available Now
Both books are available now in paperback.
👉 Start Here
👉 Becoming Elite: Available now on Amazon
If you want guidance beyond the books, Play Golf In College offers coaching, mentorship, and recruiting support to help junior golfers reach their full potential on and off the course.