If you are a high school student or parent seeking advice about college golf scholarships, you came to the right place. When most people think about college golf scholarships, they are only thinking about a skill-based playing scholarship which requires a student to play for a varsity golf team. Since getting a playing scholarship is not feasible for most high school golfers, below highlights some other options for getting a golf scholarship.
Caddying Scholarships – There are thousands of scholarships available for caddies. Carrying golf bags during the summer is an amazing job without a scholarship. The Evans Scholarship and Francis Ouimet Scholarship are two of the most prominent caddy scholarships available. If you are lucky enough to receive an Evans Scholarship, you could receive a full-ride to one of 16 colleges and universities. If you do not live in an area where the major caddy scholarships are available, many private golf clubs have scholarships for caddies that work at their course.
Academic Scholarships – If you are a great student, focusing on merit-based scholarships for academics is important. Some scholarships will require you to keep a very high GPA in college making it difficult to play varsity college golf and retain a high GPA. Playing in the National Collegiate Club Golf Association (NCCGA) as a club golfer provides students the best of both worlds since a student can focus on academics and still play golf in college. NCCGA events are all hosted on weekends making this a good option for students who cannot miss classes for academics.
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Employment Scholarships – If you work at a golf course in the food and beverage department, maintenance area, pro shop, or even as a valet, there could be scholarships available for students who work at golf facilities. This is especially important if you are looking to get into certain industries like hospitality. Organizations like the Club Managers Association of America help students with scholarships if they are looking to get into the club management profession.
Membership-based scholarships – Organizations like Youth on Course, The First Tee and PGA Sectional junior tours offer scholarships for students who are members and participants in their organizations. Get involved in any and all junior tours and young development programs since there could be scholarship opportunities if you are a member.
Skill based scholarships – If you are a talented golfer, you can earn an athletic college golf scholarship. It is important to note that getting recruited to play college golf is very difficult. Less than 8% of golfers will play varsity golf at any level in college. Only a fraction of that 8% will get a full or partial scholarship. For example, if you happen to go to an NCAA Division 3 school, there are no athletic scholarships.
Paying for college is certainly difficult. There are many scholarship options available especially if you have good grades, work in golf, or have the right majors. Check out this page if you a want more details on the numbers behind college golf scholarships and need college golf recruiting help.