“Confidence is the knowledge that I can give my best effort regardless of circumstances” – Ben Bergeron After hearing this definition of confidence on a podcast I listen to it got me thinking about the real meaning of confidence. I then asked all of my current players what their definition of confidence would be and the responses were interesting. I wanted to share a few of those replies: “My definition of confidence is knowing you can handle whatever the outcome is” “My definition for confidence is being able to go through with something with little to no doubt in your self.” “Confidence is ..read more

As the time of year when both seniors and juniors are making their college decisions, I wanted to talk a little about the battle between this being the player’s decision but also knowing what may be best for her in the future that she just can’t see at the moment. One of the toughest parts about this process is the desire many girls have to attend a highly ranked academic school and/or big athletic program, but their golf resume just not being strong enough for those particular schools. While there are scholarships that do go unused, when it comes to a certain “type” of school, there just aren ..read more

I want to switch gears for this next series during what is a busy time in the recruiting process for juniors and seniors as they are making their decisions to play college golf, whether it’s a verbal commitment in the coming months or signing their NLIs to make it official. This specific topic sparked my interest after a conversation I had with Coach Holly Clark at UNCC, who I absolutely love chatting with about all things college and junior golf. If you didn’t know, UNCC Women’s Golf is currently ranked 28th in just their 3rd season as a program! But something I have discussed with many coac ..read more

I can not imagine where I would be today without the support of my parents. Yes, there are some parents out there of junior girls who need to look deep into how they behave and treat their daughters when it comes to their golf games. It breaks my heart sometimes to hear how girls feel because a parent has pushed them to a point of being so unhappy on the golf course so that was a big reason in starting this series. But so many of you are doing your best and having to learn as you go. I know its tough to want to see your daughter succeed and do well on the golf course but to have to watch her ..read more

Ok, here we go, let’s tackle this subject and get the elephant out of the room. As anyone who has a daughter (or son) who plays golf, we ALL know that junior golf tournaments can bring out all sorts of crazy stuff. During a tournament where I serve on the board, we had two adults take swings at each other in the middle of their daughters’ round. During my junior golf days, I watched a dad pick his daughter’s golf bag over his head and throw it. I have watched parents walk off the golf course, slam chairs and umbrellas, yell at their daughters, not congratulate other players, make false accusa ..read more

The car rides back home or to the hotel after a rough day on the golf course is dreaded by nearly every junior golfer to ever play the game. Even if you are the positive “keep your head up” type of parent or not one to get involved with your daughter’s golf game, it can still be a very long, miserable few mins to several hours in the car for her if she just played bad. Don’t get me wrong, all girls handle bad rounds differently, some shake it off pretty quickly and it barely phases them, while others might be angry and wallow in self-pity all day. Some girls shed tears, while others can still ..read more

I’ve hesitated to share this story because this is not to highlight my involvement in how this played out but it’s just too good and impactful not to share.  I talk quite a bit about first impressions and how much impact one can make. I am also very quick to admit that for a lot of my life I may not have always made the best first impression due to my tendency to be reserved, especially in unfamiliar settings. Even as an adult I constantly have to work to fight my natural tendencies and remember the power of a first impression. I also talk a lot about how being a female golfer and making ..read more

It’s been a while since I have sat down and written a full blog. I use my social media to write most all of my insight and thoughts about college recruiting, junior golf, playing competitively, player development, and just life in general. But I had a topic that I thought served a little more meaning than just an Instagram caption so I wanted to share my thoughts with you. One of the tougher parts about advising young girls through the college recruiting process (and even college grads who come back to me for advice on internships and job interviews) is the rejection and disappointment of not ..read more

Written by: Brandi Jackson Ok, so it’s one of the most popular beliefs in the college recruiting world, especially when it comes to women’s golf scholarships. We have all seen the article floating around that there are hundreds of women’s golf scholarships that go unused every year and there is so much money available for a girl who can play golf. After working in the college recruiting world for over 9 years now, I can attest to there definitely being truth behind that because I receive numerous messages from coaches that they still have scholarship money for girls as they near the end of t ..read more

For those who may follow my social media (@bjacksongolf) you probably saw that I decided to play some competitive golf again for the first time in almost 8 years. My last full season was in 2009 where I played 11 LPGA Tour events that year and the rest on the Symetra Tour, then I only played a handful of events on the Symetra Tour in 2010 and officially gave up full time playing by 2011 so it has been quite a while since I played competitively. And within those 8 years since “retirement” I don’t exactly play much golf period, except a few charity outings every year so this was quite the deci ..read more