The Road to College Golf

Rob Rashell
Director of Instruction
TPC Scottsdale
Scottsdale, AZ
http://www.robrashell.com 
robrashell@pgatourtpc.com

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Some of the young junior golfers I spend time with are not so young any more and are starting to think about playing golf in college. Playing golf at the University of Washington continues to shape my life almost 20 years after graduation. Some of my best friends today were teammates, and the people who had played both before and after me have influenced my life in numerous ways. An unbelievably great experience.

Guys, teams have 4.5 scholarships available for a roughly 10 player team, and girls teams have 6 scholarships for the same amount of players. These scholarships are constantly in flux, maybe one player has a full ride, one hundred percent, and one has ten percent. The crazy thing to me is that these two players could possibly flip the percentage the next year, scholarship breakdowns are constantly in flux.

The Junior Golf Association of Arizona is a great place to start and kids as young as six can play a nine hole tournament. As a coach I really don’t care too much what kids shoot in these events, just letting them get a taste of tournament golf is a big first piece. From this point, assess what’s happening on the golf course and make a plan to get better. Who knows what will happen down the road, you just have to get the ball rolling and see where it leads.

Once you do get the ball rolling and start playing some competitive golf, I’d encourage anyone and everyone to track your progress. Understanding how you’re scoring on the golf course not only drives your practice and improvement, the information starts to paint a picture over the years. This information can be very valuable in telling your story as a player. What you’re working on, why, and how this all fits with your dreams and goals.

There are also other ways to play in college, I was a walk on at UW, so you’ll have to ask the coach if that’s a possibility. Being an outstanding amateur in college could also help your cause even if you don’t play on the team your first year or two. Playing in a US Amateur or winning a state amateur gives you credibility as a player and the possibility to play for a team your last couple of years. The possibilities are endless and in my mind the experience more than worth the work and the effort. Good Luck!

Rob Rashell is now the Director of  Instruction at TPC Scottsdale. You can reach him at robrashell@pgatourtpc.com.