Mike Smith is the founder of ForeCollegeGolf, a recruiting consultancy that has helped over 200 families in 40+ countries place junior golfers at college programs. He's a two-time Florida Foursomes champion, a 2024 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball semifinalist, and according to his Four-Ball partner Will Davenport, the most clutch golfer he's ever played with. He also has two boys under four and runs his business full time. In this conversation, Mike walks through what golf parents get wrong about recruiting, why he refuses to practice his weaknesses, the partnership and the wedge shot that nearly took him and Will to a USGA title, and the mental shift he made after becoming a dad that completely changed how he competes. For golfers who feel stuck between wanting to improve and not having time to grind, this is the reframe. Get a 7 days of free personalized practice plans: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/play-ready-golf/id6752723937?ppid=af3c9fac-74c5-46b7-9bea-e41648182e7d Follow Mike: instagram.com/forecollegegolf ForeCollegeGolf: forecollegegolf.com Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:16 Showing up to a USGA championship missing a shoe 02:18 What growing up at TPC Sawgrass actually does to a kid 05:28 Why he chose James Madison over bigger programs 09:54 Climbing the junior golf ladder without skipping rungs 11:46 Becoming team captain as a junior at JMU 14:47 Starting ForeCollegeGolf in 2014 16:13 The biggest thing parents get wrong about college golf recruiting 17:49 What to tell the dad whose 13-year-old just broke 80 22:53 Why his real passion is not college recruiting 27:10 Meeting Will Davenport at the Womet Invitational 29:21 The broomstick putter that changed Will's game 31:43 The Lago Mar eagle (and the rule that got changed the next year) 34:22 The Sam Bradford putt at Plainfield 37:53 Why he refuses to practice his weaknesses 40:28 Faith, family, and the mental shift after becoming a dad 42:19 What he'll teach Lucas and Graham about competing 44:25 Scotty Scheffler, cross-training, and praising effort over outcome 48:04 The holy grail: course management and outcome detachment 49:12 Wrap #golf #collegegolf #midamateur #golfpractice #usga
