Scores required to play college golf

We are entering the pursuit of college golf phase as I have a son who is a junior in high school. Much has been discussed about scores, etc., and what is required.

Number one, we are finding that basically NO ONE is getting a full ride. If you have a son who desires to play in college, assume you'll be footing the bill.

Number two, scores don't necessarily correlate to divisions. We have found D3 schools that insist on scratch golf in highly competitive junior events, and we've found D1s where a 4 handicap can get it done to make the team.

Generally, the top D1,2, and 3 programs are looking for 0 handicap. The middling programs will settle for a 3 or so.

Many spots are out there for D2 and D3 golfers who can consistently shoot 77 or less in tournament play. That doesn't mean a one-off 77 here and there, but an average. MOST JUNIOR GOLFERS ARE WAY OVER-STATING THEIR TRUE AVERAGE. Johnny shoots a 77 and now tells everyone that he shoots 77, when in reality he also shoots a bunch of 87s.

Many juniors are out there representing themselves as a 3 handicap when they are in reality an 8 or 9. ?

That's what we are finding in September of 2016.

Full rides are out there, just very uncommon. You need to be by far the best player on the team and a huge contributor. My son went to a mid major D1 in Calif.. There was generally one full scholarship each year, some with a smaller percentage, some with a set dollar amount and some with nada.. Another college in his conference basically gave everyone 1/2 tuition and it was equal throughout the team. Different ways for different programs. Anyway, it is not impossible, just rare.

I can't imagine though any D1 program having a 4 handicap unless its one of the absolute bottom tier programs, like Manhattan College or Chicago State Univ.. There are nearly 300 D1's and I doubt any in top 250 would recruit a 4.

If you are in the recruiting process this website may be of some help to you.. Good luck to your son.

http://new.collegegolf.com

Full rides are out there, just very uncommon. You need to be by far the best player on the team and a huge contributor. My son went to a mid major D1 in Calif.. There was generally one full scholarship each year, some with a smaller percentage, some with a set dollar amount and some with nada.. Another college in his conference basically gave everyone 1/2 tuition and it was equal throughout the team. Different ways for different programs. Anyway, it is not impossible, just rare.

I can't imagine though any D1 program having a 4 handicap unless its one of the absolute bottom tier programs, like Manhattan College or Chicago State Univ.. There are nearly 300 D1's and I doubt any in top 250 would recruit a 4.

 

If you are in the recruiting process this website may be of some help to you.. Good luck to your son.

http://new.collegegolf.com

Full rides are out there, just very uncommon. You need to be by far the best player on the team and a huge contributor. My son went to a mid major D1 in Calif.. There was generally one full scholarship each year, some with a smaller percentage, some with a set dollar amount and some with nada.. Another college in his conference basically gave everyone 1/2 tuition and it was equal throughout the team. Different ways for different programs. Anyway, it is not impossible, just rare.

I can't imagine though any D1 program having a 4 handicap unless its one of the absolute bottom tier programs, like Manhattan College or Chicago State Univ.. There are nearly 300 D1's and I doubt any in top 250 would recruit a 4.

 

If you are in the recruiting process this website may be of some help to you.. Good luck to your son.

http://new.collegegolf.com

Clarification: There certainly are D1 programs that are recruiting 4s. They aren't offering money to those kids, but rather the opportunity to walk on. You don't get D1 money unless you're scratch, generally speaking. You can get money at D2s with a 3.

We are heavily involved in the recruiting process, talking to a number of schools - I'm just reporting what we are hearing. That may or may not jibe with Ping's guide.

Schools don't care about handicaps.

They care about this...

http://www.juniorgolfscoreboard.com/

This....

http://polorankings.ajga.org/

This...

http://rankings.golfweek.com/rankings/default.asp?T=boys

And This... Probably the most important for boy's.

http://www.wagr.com/

I'm referring to handicap as it relates to actual tournament scores posted as they relate to par.

There are many schools recruiting athletes that are not ranked by JGS and do not play AJGA.

We have a pretty good idea who is interested in what, as we are lining through the process right now.

I'm referring to handicap as it relates to actual tournament scores posted as they relate to par.

 

There are many schools recruiting athletes that are not ranked by JGS and do not play AJGA.

 

We have a pretty good idea who is interested in what, as we are lining through the process right now.

Good luck. Sounds like you know what you are doing. Don't know why you are posting here since you know so much. I went through the process with my daughter and have a son that is starting on the process.

BTW.... Those kids being recruited that aren't on JGS or AJGA are international players.

Schools don't care about handicaps.

 

They care about this...

http://www.juniorgolfscoreboard.com/

 

This....

http://polorankings.ajga.org/

 

This...

http://rankings.golfweek.com/rankings/default.asp?T=boys

 

And This... Probably the most important for boy's.

http://www.wagr.com/

In Golf Week you have to play in a minimum of 5 events I believe. A lot of the better girl's won't play in Junior Events. They will play in a lot of women's amateur events. Lucy Li is the real deal.

The rankings, honestly, are more for the parents to have something to look at honestly. The college coaches would rather see the kids play in amateur events, male or female. They play from collegiate distances and they are playing against collegiate competition.

The rankings, honestly, are more for the parents to have something to look at honestly. The college coaches would rather see the kids play in amateur events, male or female. They play from collegiate distances and they are playing against collegiate competition.

This is absolutely it. Coaches care even more if you play head-to-head in these tournaments against their current players, since it lets them evaluate you based upon a "known quantity", so to speak. They can talk to the player from their team to see what kind of day he/she had and get their opinion of the course conditions, and then look at your performance by comparison.

Full rides are out there, just very uncommon. You need to be by far the best player on the team and a huge contributor. My son went to a mid major D1 in Calif.. There was generally one full scholarship each year, some with a smaller percentage, some with a set dollar amount and some with nada.. Another college in his conference basically gave everyone 1/2 tuition and it was equal throughout the team. Different ways for different programs. Anyway, it is not impossible, just rare.

I can't imagine though any D1 program having a 4 handicap unless its one of the absolute bottom tier programs, like Manhattan College or Chicago State Univ.. There are nearly 300 D1's and I doubt any in top 250 would recruit a 4.

 

If you are in the recruiting process this website may be of some help to you.. Good luck to your son.

http://new.collegegolf.com

 

Full rides are out there, just very uncommon. You need to be by far the best player on the team and a huge contributor. My son went to a mid major D1 in Calif.. There was generally one full scholarship each year, some with a smaller percentage, some with a set dollar amount and some with nada.. Another college in his conference basically gave everyone 1/2 tuition and it was equal throughout the team. Different ways for different programs. Anyway, it is not impossible, just rare.

I can't imagine though any D1 program having a 4 handicap unless its one of the absolute bottom tier programs, like Manhattan College or Chicago State Univ.. There are nearly 300 D1's and I doubt any in top 250 would recruit a 4.

 

If you are in the recruiting process this website may be of some help to you.. Good luck to your son.

http://new.collegegolf.com

 

Clarification: There certainly are D1 programs that are recruiting 4s. They aren't offering money to those kids, but rather the opportunity to walk on. You don't get D1 money unless you're scratch, generally speaking. You can get money at D2s with a 3.

 

We are heavily involved in the recruiting process, talking to a number of schools - I'm just reporting what we are hearing. That may or may not jibe with Ping's guide.

Seriously??

That's akin to a mid to Top level DI football program recruiting a 180lb LB who runs a 5.0(I was 223lbs and ran a 4.68 as a freshman) to play LB, LMAO

Names please :)

As Aggs stated, she's "been there done that" with the full boat ride for a son who also happened to be an AA-

Put it this way-

If a boy isn't a Tourney Tested Plus, He's not sniffing a mid to Top level DI program and "the opportunity to walk on" that you speak of is a beginning of the year "cattle call" where he can tee it up with dozens of other wannabe Players and IF he manages to shoot par or better he'll get to tee it up with one or two of the team members and see what he does then.

For coming on asking for advice and never having "been there done it" with a son or daughter and having two of the, if not the, most knowledgeable individuals on the board(Aggs) and HH take the time to answer a few of your questions, you SureTF seem to know alot, LMAO

I doth believe that the tone of certainty far exceeds the actual knowledge in this thread, though this being WRX, that's par for this course, LMAO

Regardless, Best wishes to your Son :)

Golfingly Yours,

RP

I did not mean to infer that one cannot work their a**** off and beat the odds and "make" it," regardless of the level or the sport.

I've spoken before of my former college roommate/teammate and Best Friend who walked on as a 5'10", 175lb CB who ran a 4.90 40, LMAO.

He willed himself, along with working his a** off, into a 5'10', 245lb. second Team AA(AP & Kodak) NG, and he single handedly beat Consensus AA and Probable Pro HoFer Chris Hinton(9x Pro-Bowler & 3x All-Pro) like a drum for 2 tackles for losses along with a sack and he was personally responsible for both of my sacks(no PB, just a fact) as he tied Hinton up and I went by him untouched. He again beat the odds and made his home town Bengals' roster as a Free Agent and then Played for the Bills for half a season before settling in Canada in the CFL before hitting the lottery as a WWE wrestler, LMAO.

What I love about sports in general and this game in particular is that an individual, with a modicum of talent can, with the right amount of discipline, focus, drive and hard work, defy the odds and emerge as a Player on the sport's largest stages.

I did not in any way mean to disparage anyone attempting to make it to the DI stage, regardless of the sport.

You are in the 99th percentile when you either hit the course or the field and it is worth all of the work and sacrifice!!

The Very Best to All,

Richard

I agree with Richard....if your son and/or daughter has the drive, the inclination, and the ability to work their a** off to try to make the team at the school of their choice, then provide for them the nurturing environment to allow them to chase their dream.

I know for a fact that a lot of schools have had to cut back on what they can offer in terms of scholarship dollars to golfers....especially those not proven in "big" tournament play.

That's not to say that your child isn't capable of becoming the next hot college/pro golfer....only that scholarships might be few and far between.

Being from Richard's era, I can tell you that I had many offers of full rides to smaller schools, and I was only a 2 hdcp on average....it would go up/down, but 2 was pretty much average.

I had been awarded the Chick Evans Scholarship for caddies, allowing me to attend Michigan State University, where I tried out for the team. I beat all but the #1 & 2 players, and the coach welcomed me to the team....however, he couldn't provide me with scholarship $$$ (no problem, I already had that) and that, as a freshman, he couldn't do anything with my class schedule to allow me to play/practice with the team in the afternoons. (Freshmen usually only got the late in the day classes, as upperclassmen received earlier scheduling for their classes).

So...even back in the day, a D1 school wasn't going to provide a pretty unknown player anything....except the chance to prove himself on his own nickel.

Best of luck!

We are entering the pursuit of college golf phase as I have a son who is a junior in high school. Much has been discussed about scores, etc., and what is required.

 

Number one, we are finding that basically NO ONE is getting a full ride. If you have a son who desires to play in college, assume you'll be footing the bill.

 

Number two, scores don't necessarily correlate to divisions. We have found D3 schools that insist on scratch golf in highly competitive junior events, and we've found D1s where a 4 handicap can get it done to make the team.

 

Generally, the top D1,2, and 3 programs are looking for 0 handicap. The middling programs will settle for a 3 or so.

 

Many spots are out there for D2 and D3 golfers who can consistently shoot 77 or less in tournament play. That doesn't mean a one-off 77 here and there, but an average. MOST JUNIOR GOLFERS ARE WAY OVER-STATING THEIR TRUE AVERAGE. Johnny shoots a 77 and now tells everyone that he shoots 77, when in reality he also shoots a bunch of 87s.

 

Many juniors are out there representing themselves as a 3 handicap when they are in reality an 8 or 9.

 

That's what we are finding in September of 2016.

All colleges and universities want to know your tournament scores. So the high school golfers that SAY they are 2 handicaps but really are not, are simply weeded out because they do not compete in AJGA events. Well, maybe not weeded out, but the player who said he is a 2 and post good scores in the AJGA will be considered more. I encourage to play in just a few AJGA events just to get your name out there and prove yourself. If you can play in those highly competitive events, you can compete at the college level.

I played college golf at a D1 school. I was recruited by numerous schools in the SE, and the coaches didn't care about anything in my High School scores except for the State final tournament, luckily I had a very good junior year, and an even better Senior year. Most of what they wanted to see was state, regional, and national amateur tournaments. City and local stuff(unless you had a bunch of other ranked golfers in your local or city tournaments) was worthless according to the coaches I talked to.

I carried a +3.2 handicap overall and a tournament handicap of +.9. From my junior year through the summer after my senior year. I finished in the top 16 of the State amateur tournament, made it to the US Amateur one year, won quite a few local and city amateur events. Yet I was not highly recruited by the top D1 schools, I was by D2 and D3 and some of the lower D1 schools. I had a few schools offering a full ride, but most of them were D2 or D3, and a few less than stellar D1 schools.

I did not have a scholarship my freshman year, but earned a partial one for my Sophomore year. There was one player that had a full ride on my team, and everyone else was on partial. Some were percentages, many were tuition only or something similar.

If you have a daughter though.......

I played at a small NAIA school in the midwest. I got a 40% ride as a 5 handicap. I was also the recruiter for our girls team. I gave full rides to any girl who could break 80 :)

If you have a daughter though.......

 

I played at a small NAIA school in the midwest. I got a 40% ride as a 5 handicap. I was also the recruiter for our girls team. I gave full rides to any girl who could break 80 :)

For those with the resources

Or coaches/instructors looking to learn the college recruiting processses

Ted Gleason

roadtocollegegolf.com

I have sent students to him, he has talked to our junior parents. IMO an incredible resource

For those with the resources

Or coaches/instructors looking to learn the college recruiting processses

 

Ted Gleason

 

roadtocollegegolf.com

 

I have sent students to him, he has talked to our junior parents. IMO an incredible resource

I would back that up as well. Met some juniors who he helped out with the recruiting process. One kid who ended up at TCU said he never would have ended up there without Ted.

Aren't a lot of slots pre-taken? I.e. Student knows they will get a full ride by the time they are a sophomore or junior in high school?

Aren't a lot of slots pre-taken? I.e. Student knows they will get a full ride by the time they are a sophomore or junior in high school?

Full rides are rare in mens golf. A fully funded program, and there are many that are not has only 4.5 scholarships for the entire team. Many teams have 10 or more players so unless a player is elite and absolutely going to be the best and contribute significantly, it is uncommon to see a full ride for just golf.

Something that a lot of you are forgetting is a 4 hdcp avg score is close to 78 or more....... not playing top 200 D1 with that. Now if we are saying their avg score is 4 over maybe they have an outside shot. I have sent a dozen kids to college golf in my years teaching and every male was a tournament zero hdcp or better that went D1.

Based on my experience playing collegiate golf, the easiest way to play for a team is to have deep pockets. A lot of these programs are underfunded and a financial contribution can go a lot further than low scores to help the team. If you add up the financial commitment to becoming a successful junior golfer, donating money might actually be more economical too.

I was a +1 my senior year of high school and could not play at any decent size D1 schools. Coaches wanted +2 or 3 minimum

A lot of spots pre determined or players have committed at sophomore year

Full rides are out there, just very uncommon. You need to be by far the best player on the team and a huge contributor. My son went to a mid major D1 in Calif.. There was generally one full scholarship each year, some with a smaller percentage, some with a set dollar amount and some with nada.. Another college in his conference basically gave everyone 1/2 tuition and it was equal throughout the team. Different ways for different programs. Anyway, it is not impossible, just rare.

I can't imagine though any D1 program having a 4 handicap unless its one of the absolute bottom tier programs, like Manhattan College or Chicago State Univ.. There are nearly 300 D1's and I doubt any in top 250 would recruit a 4.

 

If you are in the recruiting process this website may be of some help to you.. Good luck to your son.

http://new.collegegolf.com

 

Full rides are out there, just very uncommon. You need to be by far the best player on the team and a huge contributor. My son went to a mid major D1 in Calif.. There was generally one full scholarship each year, some with a smaller percentage, some with a set dollar amount and some with nada.. Another college in his conference basically gave everyone 1/2 tuition and it was equal throughout the team. Different ways for different programs. Anyway, it is not impossible, just rare.

I can't imagine though any D1 program having a 4 handicap unless its one of the absolute bottom tier programs, like Manhattan College or Chicago State Univ.. There are nearly 300 D1's and I doubt any in top 250 would recruit a 4.

 

If you are in the recruiting process this website may be of some help to you.. Good luck to your son.

http://new.collegegolf.com

 

Clarification: There certainly are D1 programs that are recruiting 4s. They aren't offering money to those kids, but rather the opportunity to walk on. You don't get D1 money unless you're scratch, generally speaking. You can get money at D2s with a 3.

 

We are heavily involved in the recruiting process, talking to a number of schools - I'm just reporting what we are hearing. That may or may not jibe with Ping's guide.

I play at a top 40 D2 school right now &would consider myself a decent player . Rough around the edges but would be certain any coach would allow me to transfer to their program . I'd love to know what school in division 2 men's golf is goving scholarship dollars to a 3 handicap

Well, considering that D3 schools cannot give athletic scholarships then I would think you are talking about scholarship money coming from another source.

Lots of good advice here...

I had a female player that broke 80 consistently, played many local and regional AJGA events, qualified some major AJGA events, marketed herself greatly to D1 schools but did not get the right offer (they had specific programs that they wanted). Illinois looked at her, but she instead went Ivy and played at Yale - she actually was accepted to the school on academic merits, not via a coaches nod.

Full rides are out there, just very uncommon. You need to be by far the best player on the team and a huge contributor. My son went to a mid major D1 in Calif.. There was generally one full scholarship each year, some with a smaller percentage, some with a set dollar amount and some with nada.. Another college in his conference basically gave everyone 1/2 tuition and it was equal throughout the team. Different ways for different programs. Anyway, it is not impossible, just rare.

I can't imagine though any D1 program having a 4 handicap unless its one of the absolute bottom tier programs, like Manhattan College or Chicago State Univ.. There are nearly 300 D1's and I doubt any in top 250 would recruit a 4.

 

If you are in the recruiting process this website may be of some help to you.. Good luck to your son.

http://new.collegegolf.com

 

Full rides are out there, just very uncommon. You need to be by far the best player on the team and a huge contributor. My son went to a mid major D1 in Calif.. There was generally one full scholarship each year, some with a smaller percentage, some with a set dollar amount and some with nada.. Another college in his conference basically gave everyone 1/2 tuition and it was equal throughout the team. Different ways for different programs. Anyway, it is not impossible, just rare.

I can't imagine though any D1 program having a 4 handicap unless its one of the absolute bottom tier programs, like Manhattan College or Chicago State Univ.. There are nearly 300 D1's and I doubt any in top 250 would recruit a 4.

 

If you are in the recruiting process this website may be of some help to you.. Good luck to your son.

http://new.collegegolf.com

 

Clarification: There certainly are D1 programs that are recruiting 4s. They aren't offering money to those kids, but rather the opportunity to walk on. You don't get D1 money unless you're scratch, generally speaking. You can get money at D2s with a 3.

 

We are heavily involved in the recruiting process, talking to a number of schools - I'm just reporting what we are hearing. That may or may not jibe with Ping's guide.

 

I play at a top 40 D2 school right now &would consider myself a decent player . Rough around the edges but would be certain any coach would allow me to transfer to their program . I'd love to know what school in division 2 men's golf is goving scholarship dollars to a 3 handicap

You are 100% correct. The OP knows everything. A scratch golfer is not going to walk-on at a D1 University.

Curious as to the negativity in response to the OP

When I cross-reference signings on JGS

https://www.juniorgo...ort=school#boys

with handicap indexes on GHIN

http://www.ghin.com/

I see plenty of scores right around, and significantly worse than, 0.0

Thoughts?

Interesting comment from a top D1 head coach, 'parents and players need to look at the junior results of the number 1 and 2 players on the team because those are the kids that are being actively recruited. We aren't recruiting a #5 player, we need top players to fill open spots.'

interesting comment and perspective and makes total sense.

I could see this for a mid to low level D1 team, where there are lots of graduating high school students ranked #200-800 whose scores aren’t that dissimilar. But wouldn’t a top D1 team simply be targeting the best (highest ranked) player possible?