There are so many “expert” junior golf parents roaming the fairways and pro shops miscommunicating their interpretations on NCAA rules or standards for college golf. We are certainly not the experts in NCAA and we encourage you to do the research yourself. Listening to what “they” say is not a great approach to understanding the confusing road map of college golf.

There are several rules that if you don’t know can hurt your junior golfer. There are some great websites and resources that can help you get answers. We cannot stress enough about starting early, know the rules, do the research and be careful of “expert” junior golf parents. It’s a very slippery slope if you wait to start the education process when your junior golfer is a junior or senior in high school.

Ok, so just because your junior golfer is talented at a young age does not mean scholarships are on the horizon. Many parents start dreaming of seeing their junior golfer play college golf when they are still in diapers swinging the plastic clubs. Which is great, but talent alone will not get your junior golfer into college. There are several websites you need to follow on a weekly basis to help you wade the waters of college golf. Rules change over time, for example the recent change in standardized testing.

Below is a list of 5 aspects you need to know about College Golf.

1. What is NLI stand for? National Letter of Intent – Did you know that the Ivy’s do not have NLI’s? From our understanding, the student-athlete receives a “likely” letter, which is not binding.

2. Contacting coaches – Junior golfers can contact college coaches 100 times a day if they so choose, however, it’s probably not a great tactic……college coaches may not contact junior golfers until a certain age.

3. NCAA – Division III – do Division III institutions award athletic scholarships? The answer is no they do not award athletic scholarships.

4. Camp contact – college coaches may only contact junior golfers of a certain age, again a confusing topic…..however, coaches are allowed to interact and talk with junior golfers of any age at camps.

5. SAT/ACT testing – These rules recently changed, parents of junior golfers should become an “expert” on the academic standards.

We are happy to email you a recent copy of the “Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete” which is produced by the NCAA. It helps students and parents take an active role in the NCAA eligibility process. Email us at juniorgolf@collegegolfcamps.com

It is important to understand why we’ve issued this short article. We are not a recruiting service, however these are a few of the topics we cover at all College Golf Camps™. Just like the NCAA says “As a future student-athlete, it is important that you become personally involved”. We are a junior golf camp organization on a mission to provide a higher level of understanding of college golf. The bottom line is parents need to become educated on the rules and regulations of college athletics. If your child is ineligible for some reason, no amount of love, money or talent can get him/her on a college golf team.

Websites that you need to bookmark on your computer:
ncaa.org
naia.org
njcaa.org