Don't be fooled by the select number of college golfers into thinking the game is only for those who shoot in the 70s. A 90 average on the tougher, longer courses used for college tournaments would have earned the No. 5 spot last season on more than 100 men's NCAA teams and more than 200 women's rosters. There are opportunities for players who cannot break 100, too.
The game's widespread interest and team budgets far below big-roster sports are two reasons golf became a favorite in athletic departments, especially those needing to add female athletes to comply with federal regulations. The Women's Sports Foundation released a study this spring to commemorate the 35th anniversary of Title IX, the landmark legislation that required eliminating gender inequality in any educational activity receiving federal financing. The study showed individual participation in women's athletics at two- and four-year colleges in the 1990s "increased substantially" (more than 25 percent) but in the early 2000s "slowed considerably" to 15 percent, the men's growth rate. Despite the increases, the study said, women comprise 55.8 percent of undergraduate students but only 41.7 percent of athletes.
Women's golf resisted the slowdown. The study sampled participation rates at 1,895 colleges and ranked 25 sports. Between 2001-'05, women's golf ranked No. 5 in net participation (a gain of 546 players, 12.9 percent) and No. 2 to soccer in net team growth (68 programs). By comparison, men ranked seventh in participation (gaining 245 slots) but ninth in teams (up three).
THE TECHNOLOGY EFFECT
Recruiting remains the quickest method for new and established teams to land the one or two players who can transform a program into a national title contender. The technological advances that have revolutionized society have also reshaped recruiting. It wasn't long ago that a young woman or man would spend less than a year choosing a college, focusing on regional opportunities and corresponding with coaches via letters and the rare phone call.
"When I started coaching, there was no Internet," says Pat Kotten, entering his 18th year of coaching and fifth leading Old Dominion's women. "I can't tell you the last time I actually mailed a packet of information to a player. I don't think I've done it since my first year here.
"Now it's all available online, and they can do their research rather thoroughly. A lot of times when I get a young player coming in here, that student-athlete has really done their homework. They know exactly what they're looking at with each university."
The NCAA's recruiting regulations are designed to shield high school students from intrusive coaches as they make their first, tentative steps into selecting a college. Students are allowed to contact coaches at any time via mail, phone, fax, e-mail or campus visits. But Division I and II coaches cannot mail recruiting materials until Sept. 1 of a high schooler's junior year and can't telephone until July 1 after the junior year (and then just once a week).
Coaches go to the edge on those regulations. Paige Martin of Ardmore, Okla., who's heading to Southern Methodist this fall, recalls the nine calls she received July 1, 2006. "I was at the golf course and had to leave because
I was on the phone all day," says Martin, who had spent months exchanging e-mail with these coaches. "It was exciting because I hadn't gotten to talk to them yet, but I kind of felt bombarded."
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