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As a junior golfer aspiring to play varsity
college golf, you may have a “dream” school in
mind—a college or university that is exciting
because of its reputation, academic quality,
energized sports culture, campus life, location
and, of course, its top-notch golf program.
During your recruiting process, perhaps you will
be selected as a student-athlete at your dream
school. But what if you don’t make the cut?
What options exist?
Most likely, you will have other attractive
college golf opportunities to consider. Or,
maybe your college golf options are not that
appealing. Possibly, you may decide that a
full-time varsity college golf career is not for
you.
So is that the end? Are you left with a
collection of college golf possibilities that
will not allow you to attend your dream school?
Maybe not. A new college golf opportunity is
emerging—club golf!
Okay, you may think this isn’t a reasonable
solution for competitive golf in college,
especially given that playing varsity golf was
your original goal. You may also think that
club golf tournaments are absent of strong
talent. Well, read on! You might be surprised
by the scope and legitimacy of this solution.
Bottom line, it may allow you to have all of the
advantages of being at your dream school while
still enjoying a fun, competitive golf team
setting, with practice and play opportunities
and post-season championships to boot.
Enter the National Collegiate
Club Golf Association (NCCGA). The
NCCGA was
established in 2006 and has really taken off in
the last several years. Since 2010, the NCCGA has grown from a small
recreational
league of 25
teams into an expansive, competitive
organization, hosting tournaments for more than
300 teams across the country. The association
offers a bi-semester, two-day weekend tournament
structure and has a regional qualification
process for National Championships, which are
held at the conclusion of each semester. In
addition, club teams often compete in various
club-scheduled tournaments throughout each
semester, including Ryder Cups, dual matches,
and invitationals. The level of play is similar
to that of Division III golf, featuring players
capable of under par to low 70s scoring and also
accommodating players who shoot in the low 80s
or more.
Does this sound good? Well, it gets better!
As an added bonus, NCCGA's parent organization,
Nextgengolf
allows club team members to take advantage of
reduced “collegiate rates” at more than 500
courses. This is a nice benefit for club golf
participants who want to maintain a reasonable
budget while pursuing the sport they love. So,
by providing tournaments, memberships, and
career-networking exclusively for 18- to
29-year-olds, Nextgengolf enables college
students and young adults to get into (and stay)
in the game.
At the end of the day, you can pursue your
goal of playing college golf in different ways.
Playing varsity-level college golf at your
dream school may or may not happen. But that
doesn’t mean you have to give up on that school.
Club golf is definitely a choice that may allow
you to go to the school you love and stay with
the game that you really enjoy!
If you would like additional information on
the NCCGA and Nextgengolf, I recommend that you
refer to their websites for more information.
Here’s to you finding your dream no matter
what shape it takes!
nicky goetze
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