Is College Golf Extinct?

There is no secret by now that I am a huge Oklahoma State Cowboys fan! I follow Oklahoma State athletics very closely, including the golf program. The program has produced a lot of PGA Tour golfers including Scott Verplank, Bob Tway, Charles Howell III, Hunter Mahan, etc. I don’t like to brag too much, but it’s definitely one of the best golf programs in the nation. I take a lot of pride in this, and it’s always exciting to see the new recruits each season.

Recently, I have read a few articles on the Internet and in magazines dealing with college golf, and I definitely don’t like what I’m reading. There seems to be an infatuation with young golfers finding success at the professional level with little or no college experience. Paula Creamer graduated high school earlier this year, and she has already won three times in 2005 and dominated a Solheim Cup. This is going to motivate young golfers to skip college and take their game to the next level.

This is much easier said than done, however. For every Paula Creamer, there are probably ten golfers that struggle mightily to find success at the professional level. I know this as a fan because I’ve seen it happen to my beloved Oklahoma State golf team the past couple years. Casey Wittenberg finished as the runner-up in the 2003 United States Amateur Championship and also finished in a tie for 13th at the 2004 Masters. Wittenberg finished out his freshman year at Oklahoma State and decided to turn professional. He has struggled ever since and possibly cost OSU a national championship along the way.

This past season, the “early departure” syndrome hit Oklahoma State again, along with a half-dozen other top college programs. Karin Sjodin, a junior at Oklahoma State, decided to turn professional after her third year at the school. U.S. Women’s Open runner-up Brittany Lang was one of the notables that joined Sjodin in the “early exit” group. On top of that, U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Morgan Pressel has decided to go to LPGA Q-School instead of attending Duke University this fall. The same can be said for a couple other high school phenoms.

The trend has been far more noticeable in the women’s ranks as of late. There are twice as many female golfers skipping college or leaving early compared to their male counterparts, and this is definitely related to the success level of females such as Natalie Gulbis and Paula Creamer. On the other side of the fence, golfers like Ty Tryon and Bubba Dickerson have had little or no success since joining the professional ranks.

Only time will tell if the trend will continue, but more than likely it will if history is an indicator. Michelle Wie isn’t even driving yet, and it’s almost a guarantee she will be turning professional very soon. Amateurs just keep getting younger and younger, and there is no telling when it’s going to stop. It’s just a matter of time before a 10-year old will be bombing drives on the PGA Tour. That will be a sad day for golf.

Negative Effects on College Golf
College golf isn’t as good when the top stars leave early or decide not to show up at all. I would be foolish to think it could be better without Wittenberg, Creamer, etc. The top golf programs in the country recruit great golfers every single year, and this also brings in a lot more revenue to the school when all is said and done. It’s easy to see where some of the top-tier programs can get hurt by players leaving after a year or two. The coaches put a lot of time in bringing golfers to their team, and it’s tough on them when the players leave early.

This is even tougher when the high school golfers commit to a college, use one of the available scholarships, and then turn it down to go pro. The college still gets the sholarship back to offer to another high school golfer, but the highly-recruited golfers are usually already signed by other schools.

Overall, the negative probably outweights the positive when it comes to golfers leaving early or never showing up to their respective university. The college game would be so much better if all the young stars were a part of it. Can you imagine how good Ty Tryon would have been with four years of college experience? He would be a rookie or second-year PGA Tour golfer by now, and he might be making millions.

There are exceptions to everything, however, and the same can be said for golfers. Paula Creamer could have gone to college and still not have had the success she is currently enjoying. I’m not faulting Paula Creamer for turning professional very early on, but there aren’t very many females as good as the “Pink Panther” either. Like I said above, for every Paula Creamer, there are ten that fail miserably.

College Golf Still Lives On
Even though so many young golfers are turning professional early, the college game is still a lot better than most people give it credit for. It is for me anyway. A handful of golfers leave early every year, but this still leaves hundreds of great recruits playing at the college level. I know Oklahoma State will still have a good team because of the tradition, and I can always hope the golfers will stay in college at least three of four years. The same can be said for the other college powerhouses like Georgia Tech, Duke, etc.

I enjoy watching any sport at the college level because there seems to be so much more passion. I think college golf is no exception to this philosophy. I know there aren’t many tournaments on live television, but the fans can still keep up with their favorite teams on the internet and other sources. I believe college golf is the most underrated college sport in the nation, and I hope this “early exit” philosophy don’t take it down the tube in years to come.

The Final Say
I know a lot of people will disagree with me on this subject, but I’m used to disagreement by now. I am a huge advocate of college athletics, and I think they are the key to future success of professional sports. Sports at the professional level have gone downhill in recent years because so many athletes are skipping college or leaving after their first or second year at the university. This has really hit home in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the last decade. The NBA just keeps getting worse every year.

The PGA hasn’t had to deal with this nearly as much as the NBA has because the golfers that aren’t good enough for the PGA Tour are just demoted to the Nationwide Tour or lower. The major effect in golf is at the college level. Golfers are skipping college and most are struggling at the professional level. This is bad for their career as well as the college they planned to attend. If something isn’t changed with the rules, college golf will become extinct very soon.

The solution to this problem is simple. If a young golfer wants to skip college to play professionally, then so be it. They can go on about their business and it won’t hurt the colleges nearly as much. However, if a golfer signs a letter of intent with a university, they should be forced to play at least three seasons. That way, the hard work of the college and coaches will pay off in the end. Some college golfers do all they can do at the collegiate level after three seasons, so it makes sense for those select few to turn professional. For the others, however, three or four seasons would provide plenty of time to mature, both mentally and physically.

That’s all I have to say, and now it’s your turn to speak your mind. I know a lot of people don’t really get into the college game, but golf would be so much better at the college level and professional level if golfers were maturing more before turning professional. What are your thoughts on this topic? Should players be allowed to turn professional any time they wish, or should they have to stay a certain number of years once they accept a scholarship? If you have anything to add, feel free to comment below or discuss it in our forum. Thanks for reading Thrash Talk this week and enjoy the Presidents Cup!

Photo Credit: © AP Photo/Laura Rauch, OKState Sports.