How to Get a Golf Scholarship. Golf is an incredibly HOT sport these days thanks to Tiger Woods. It continues to grow and grow as more student-athletes are becoming Junior Golfers. Due to the increase in competition for college golf scholarships, I want to share with you some important and basic information about how to get a college golf scholarship.
Keep in mind that these are just parameters. If a college coach sees something about your game that he/she really likes, the coach may still offer you a scholarship…even if you do not meet these guidelines.
I speak from experience. I played quarterback at Stanford University, and I am only 6′ tall. A typical Pac-10 quarterback is at LEAST 6’2″.
I share these guidelines with you because they at least give you something to shoot for, but they are not in concrete.
Also, please remember the FUNDAMENTALS of college recruiting still apply…it is critical that you do well in the classroom, and you do whatever it takes to promote yourself to college coaches…and YES this does include video of your different club swings and putting.
Preferred grades are 3.0+ GPA and a 24+ACT/1000+SAT
One of the most common questions I get from families is, “What do I have to shoot to play college
golf?”
RECRUITING GUIDELINES
A Division 1 coach is looking for MALE golfers to have a SCRATCH handicap, and FEMALE golfers to have a handicap from 0-5.
A Division 2 coach is looking for MALE golfers with a handicap from 0-4, and FEMALE golfers from 0-10.
A Division 3 coach would like a MALE golfer to have an 8-13 handicap, and FEMALE golfers from 10-20.
GOLF BY THE NUMBERS
Schools Offering Golf
VARSITY MALE FEMALE
NCAA D1 289 212
NCAA D2 175 84
NCAA D3 255 135
ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
NCAA Division 1 school have 4.5 male scholarships, while the woman’s golf team has 6 scholarships available.
NCAA Division 2 schools have 3.6 male scholarships, while the woman’s team has 5.4 scholarships.
NAIA schools have 5 scholarships for both their male and female golf programs.