When I meet with players, I ask them each the same question, “What are your plans for college golf?”. Undoubtedly, the most common answer I hear day-in-and-day-out is…
“I just want to play Division 1 Golf”
Now, I’m the last person to belittle a dream or tell someone they can’t achieve a goal but I strongly believe players should know all the facts before they set their goals, expectations, tournament schedules, and recruiting plans.
The numbers…
There are roughly 300 schools that offer Division 1 Men’s golf, with an average team roster of 8-10 players (*post-covid closer to 10-12). Therefore, each program will take an average of about two players per graduation class. This means about 600 Men’s Division 1 roster spots are offered each year.
The opportunities might seem abundant and plentiful but when you take a look at the numbers the chances the average junior golfer is going to play for a Division 1 school is very small.
How small? Let’s break down the numbers…
At any given time, there are about 2,500 ranked high-school Seniors on Junior Golf Scoreboard. Approximately 20% of college golf teams are made up of international players. There are thousands of international players from countries such as Canada, Germany, Japan, Sweden, Spain, Denmark, Mexico, and Colombia. Therefore, if you are an American player, the number of opportunities is reduced to 480 per year and if you are an International player your number of opportunities is reduced to 120 per year.
Below is ForeCollegeGolf’s insider analysis from the Junior Golf Scoreboard rankings. As you can see, we’ve broken each section down by recruiting class, scoring average by class/year, and overall JGS national ranking.
For this analysis, we looked at players ranked from 1st to 1000th from each recruiting year/class in the following areas:
Overall ranking
# of tournaments played per year
Tournament scoring average
JGS adjusted scoring average
Strength of schedule
Top finishes
So let’s pretend there are 600 chairs in a room and “Johnny Golfer” is the last player to “make the cut” and secure chair #600. From our analysis, we can’t conclude exactly what his numbers would be but we can estimate the following:
Johnny had an approximate tournament scoring average of 78.8 as a sophomore, 77.3 as a junior, and 75.6 as a senior in high school. Also worth noting, It’s very likely that Johnny’s strength of schedule became increasingly more difficult during his high school career and he began playing much longer golf courses after his Sophomore year, some of which were 7,200-7,400 yards long!
We suggest, if you:
Fall inside the top 600 in your recruiting class
Understand that you probably can/will play D1 golf but it’s not the only option
Begin to narrow down your school options and take campus visits
Sign up for the NCAA Eligibility Center
Remember: College Coaches put high importance on things like true potential, academic match, personal character, work ethic, attitude, likability, family legacy, and many other intangibles like physical prowess when recruiting players.
Fall outside the top 600 in your recruiting class
Understand that you most likely aren’t a good fit for D1 golf right now…
Look elsewhere for your “best-fit” at D2, D3, NAIA, or NJCAA schools for a school that fits your athletic, academic, and social needs.
Remember: The recruiting process is all about timing,
If you’re still in 8th or 9th grade, don’t worry about your ranking, focus on constant improvement to your skillset, and showcase your skills in competition once you’re in 10th grade.
If you’re already in 11th or 12th grade, make certain you are pursuing the right schools, and compete near the schools that are recruiting you. Ask to go on-campus visits, Work hard to engage with Coaches regularly and pursue your “best-fit” opportunities in college golf.
I hope the above information is useful to you during your recruiting search.
Best of luck on the recruiting trail!
