What are my college chances?

[hsgolfer]

I am 15 years old and shoot any where from 76-82. Driver is where i lose most of my strokes but my short game is great. I played varsity last year as a freshman. What are my chances of playing college golf?

[Spitfisher]

Playing golf in college, depends what level and divison school. Getting a full boat scholarship to play golf in college, better keep practicing and winning some local tourneys

[hsgolfer]

Playing golf in college, depends what level and divison school. Getting a full boat scholarship to play golf in college, better keep practicing and winning some local tourneys

Lower level d1

[oiler69]

I would  think that you have a decent chance of playing somewhere, but much too early to predict the level. So I think you're question has been answered, those or very decent numbers for a 15 yr old.

I will warn you though, you have to keep progressing and playing well against good tournament competition. You remind me of my nephew who shot similar scores as a freshman, improved and played fairly well in the state tournament as a sophomore..then had two miserable years as a junior and senior. Some of that can be blamed on two miserable springs I suppose but I really think potential golfers are identified in summer tournament play. He was rather inconsistent in that. He did get a few offers to play junior college but the only 4 yr school was D2 (about the right level for him). what I'm saying is, a lot can happen in just three years. It was sort of a sad ending, after not making the traveling team he dropped out and is now cutting grass for a living and taking one or two courses at the local JC. BUT...the kid can play. He's now 20 and still has a chance if he wants to work at it.

you will get longer as you grow and with those additional years of instruction. don't worry about that, besides you seem to have a leg up on the hardest and most important part of the game..the short game. Gaining length off the tee is a heck of a lot easier to improve.

Besides the instruction and practice time, you really need to play as many summer junior tournaments as you can in your area and good regional tournaments. You may struggle a bit at first, but you'll probably find a way to improve and maybe even work yourself into the mix drawing attention from college coaches who are all over those things.

Finally, it really doesn't matter what level you play at in college, if that is a concern. You play the same courses and often D2 or D3 schools are knocking heads against the big boys so you can get your chance to play any higher level player. I'd suggest you not worry about the level, but concern yourself more with your education finding a school that meets your academic and professional plans. Somewhere that you feel comfortable and will enjoy your college days. Part of that enjoyment can be playing for the Ol' Alma Mater, regardless of where it is or what level.

Good luck and if you're serious, don't give up, put the time and effort in..PLUS MORE.... you don't want to be forty years old and wondering "what if".

[Maddog10]

To play lower level D1, you are going to need to improve. Just being 15 years old though, you definitely have time to do that so depending on your work ethic, you have a reasonable chance of reaching your goal. You need to be able to shoot even or better pretty much every time to play at the D1 level, and you need to do it on big stages such as your state tournament or big amatuer events.

I was about at your level at a similar age, though I didn't have a strong desire to play in college. My heart lied in basketball at the time, and I did that in college instead. Like the poster above said, you have to work to improve every single year if you want to make it. I was at my best (until just this last year) as a sophomore in high school. After that I lost the "drive" and just kind of plateaued at the 74-76 range. At the time I had some colleges interested in keeping an eye on me, but when I didn't improve any during my junior and senior year I fell off of their "watch list", which I was okay with since I was focused on basketball.  For you though, you need to continue to work to improve. There are A LOT of high schoolers that can shoot 76. There aren't nearly as many that can shoot even par at the big tournaments. That's where you need to be.

[mvmac]

I am 15 years old and shoot any where from 76-82. Driver is where i lose most of my strokes but my short game is great. I played varsity last year as a freshman. What are my chances of playing college golf?

As long as you keep improving, chances are good.  Get that driver in order and play in a bunch of tournaments.

You need to be able to shoot even or better pretty much every time to play at the D1 level, and you need to do it on big stages such as your state tournament or big amatuer events.

Yep agree with this.  Your "bad" days can't be higher than 75 and a good day is under par.

[WUTiger]

Make sure you also develop yourself as a student. College golf - regardless of level - requires excellent time management. Especially in the spring, you'll  miss a lot of classes for playing trips. You would need to work well with your professors to keep up.

Many small-college golf teams have a player or two that started out in Div. I, but crashed academically and got bounced out of school.

[mdl]

Yep agree with this.  Your "bad" days can't be higher than 75 and a good day is under par.

I have essentially zero knowledge of college golf, so this is an honest question, not a backwards dig at your incorrect understanding or anything.  The consensus number I've heard around here is that an average pro who keeps his card but isn't top 30 or anything probably would rate something like +5 or +6.  Very few college golfers make it on the tour.  So you'd think the average top level DI player is playing off something like, what, +2, +3?  So low level DI starters maybe are around scratch, +1?  But if you're playing competitive level courses (so not 70.5/118 or whatever) and your bad rounds are 74-75 and your good rounds are under par, doesn't that give you a solid + index?  I'm thinking here if a good day is under par, then maybe your average raw score for you best 10 or past 20 rounds is maybe -1.  If you're playing courses and tees that have ratings like 72.5/138, then an average 10/20 raw score of -1 would give you a super low index, something like +2 or +3, no? This reasoning would make me guess that a low level DI golfer is more like straight scratch, with good days around par (sometimes below, yes), and bad days were more like 75-77.

Again, I don't peruse college tournament scores or have any personal or friend knowledge, so I assume you're right.  What part of my reasoning is wrong?

[dave s]

Here's a good perspective for you.  Link is to the Mid-America Conference (MAC) 2013 Championship complete with course info (top of link) and scores.  MAC schools are Kent, Toledo, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, etc.  They are classified as Div 1-A.  Not quite Oho State or Michigan State, but a notch below.

Link to 2013 scores:  http://www.mac-sports.com/Portals/20/Round%20Four%20Individual%20STATS.pdf

Also note that they played a course in Central Ohio that played 7,245 yards!  This tells me that the first requisite for playing college golf is an ability to bomb it off the tee!

The son of a guy I work with played for a small Christian College in Louisiana.  Never heard of the school prior to his son attending.  Also never heard of any of the colleges his son's team competed against.  No idea what level of courses they played, but the kid I know had a scoring average of just over 70 for his college career.  His school would likely be D-3 collegiate level.  His 'scholarship money' was all academic. Only D-1 and 2 schools offer athletic scholarships.

dave

[jbartho5]

hsgolfer, my best is advice for you is that you keep working at it and practicing at it and you put the time into your game. You are 15 so what a freshman or sophomore maybe? You have time. I saw somebody else mention that having the short game as a strength is a definite advantage. Dave s also posted the link to the Mid-American conference stats... I played baseball at Kent state and still live in the NE Ohio area. I knew a few guys on Kent state's golf team. They can play (John Hahn now on the European tour, Ben Curtis won the british open, etc.) but there's no saying that they didn't start out just like you at a younger age. The cool thing about golf is that you can go to the range and work on any shot you choose until your hands bleed and you then get that confidence to execute those shots in a tournament or a pressure situation. You see pros mention that all the time; they are in a HUGE moment, a shot with millions of dollars on the line, but they trust the practice they've put in and execute. I spent countless nights in my garage hitting baseballs all through middle school And high school because I loved it. It's great to see that you want to work for something as well. Golf is a wonderful game. I earned a scholarship at Kent, but looking back I actually wish I would have got into golf at a young age and tried to golf in college bc I love it so much =p.... Bottom line is golf is a game where you dont need anyone but yourself and a range or a course to develop your game and it's all about your passion for it. Sorry for the lengthy post but I like to provide as much insight as possible... Keep us all posted on how you're playing! Ps Dave s, that MAC tourney in central Ohio was played at Longaberger GC, one of the best public courses in the US, if you ever make it to Columbus area I highly recommend it...

[TRichardon]

This is a late reply, but I wanted to add my 2 cents. Do you play in any tournaments outside of high school events? The AJGA and HJGT are both really great junior golf tours that help prepare junior golfers for college. They also have a relationship with some college coaches, with some coaches even coming out to tournaments to watch.

Grades are another important matter. It's a big thing for some college coaches, and it's an easy thing to control. As long as you study and stay focused on academics as well, you should be fine.

There are also summer golf events for college-aged students. The Hurricane Collegiate Golf Tour has summer tournaments for golfers 17-23. It might be something to look into after your junior year to see where you stack up against other golfers. There's also the Texas Collegiate Amateur tour, which is a summer tour for college-aged students in Texas.

As for playing in college, there are alternative ways to stay competitive in college if you don't make the varsity team. For example, you can play on the school's club golf team. The NCCGA helps start and run club golf teams at schools. If you're looking at a specific school they might already have a club team. That is always an option for you.