Percentage of go kids who get cut after 1st year in College

[tssgj65]

On 10/31/2022 at 12:35 PM, golfortennis said:

 

It's a very different beast when you reach the college level athletically.  In most cases you go from being one of the top players in every game you play to everybody on every roster is in the same boat.  Even though you have a lot more youth competition where it's a lot closer to best on best, it can still be something of a shock.  Then when you add in the fact that someone has now invested in you(scholarships aren't free), they expect a return on that investment, which as you say is in part the physical training.  I remember reading a book years ago about a top college football program that had recruited a number of top recruits, who quit the sport before the first training camp was out.  

 

Further to my first point, if you have played this sport all your life and done all that, it can drive you to hate the sport, but if you are good enough to play in college, you will keep up with, so long as you are playing.  It's a very difficult thing to go through all of it and sit the bench.  I couldn't handle sitting the bench in high school, and I was hardly any kind of star.  How does a kid who has been a star his whole life deal with it?  Not an easy thing to handle.

 

To your point, if a kid thinks college golf will be like HS golf, he/she will be shocked.  60 days in the Fall (essentially the length of season in HS).  Start back up mid January and potentiall go through end of May.  6:00 workouts three times a week.  NCAA allowed 20 hours per week with practice rounds and qualifying counting as 3 hours.  Practicing on your own.  Tournament travel.  36 hole days typically first tournament day.  All on top of being away from home/girlfriend for the first time and having to deal with schoolwork and social.  And like you said having to compete with better players for traveling spots.  They have to love the grind and it is better to understand that prior to arriving.  Otherwise it is better to treat it as a hobby and just do school and girls/social.