During the second week of every November — the early signing period for prospective NCAA golfers — high schoolers can announce to the world where they intend to go to college. Golf Channel wasn’t knocking on my door or anything, but in November 2007 I announced that I was going to Rutgers University to play college golf. I had an awesome experience there, and if I could go back I wouldn’t change a thing. But if we’re being honest, I got lucky with the decision I made, because I had no idea what I was doing as a 17-year-old kid making such an important decision in my life.

Unfortunately, some college golfers don’t get as lucky as I did with their decision, and are left unhappy and dissatisfied, and they seek to make a change.

“By January of my freshman year, I was already looking at where I could transfer,” said one of our survey participants (learn more about the survey below).

As the second week in November approaches each year, I think about all of the high-school golfers who may or may not be making the wrong decision for themselves and their future. This year when the thought crossed my mind, I decided to do something to help. I asked my former teammates, competitors, friends and fellow employees (and their friends) who played college golf to rank the importance of five key factors in choosing a college golf program:

• Academics and Job Prospects
• Campus Life
• Financial Burden
• Strength of Team and Schedule
• Team Dynamics

In total, 17 former college golfers responded, representing Division I, Division II and Division III universities, and along with their rankings they each also answered four short-answer questions that provided further insight on their decisions. Click here to see the survey they took.

Use these results as a guideline (not the be-all and end-all) to help you and your family in your quest to make the right choice. In the breakdown below, I include quotes taken from the survey, as well as some of my own opinions.

Note: Factors below are in order of importance as decided by voters, starting with the least important (5) and moving to the most important (1). 

5) Campus Life

College students play football after a snowstorm on the Harvard University campus.

College is most likely the first time that a young man or woman will be living on their own away from parents. As such, high schoolers may be interested in things that aren’t related to school or golf.

As a common rule, there are three main “S” words for college athletes: school, sports and social life. Most student-athletes can be stars in one or two, but almost none can lead the way in all three. There just aren’t enough hours in the day. According to former college golfers, “social” proved to be the least important S-word, as “Campus Life” was ranked the least important factor of the five in this survey.

Therefore, if you’re a prospective college golfer and you’re choosing a school based on how pretty the campus is, how good the parties are, how attractive the people are, the weather, or whether they have the frat/sorority you want to pledge or not, you may want to reevaluate your priorities.

“You’re going to [play] golf, not play ultimate frisbee,” a survey participant said.

Other comments on “campus life” from survey participants: 

• “Every university has good people and plenty to do. I really focused on school and athletics. There will always be parties and fun activities, regardless of which uni you choose.”
• “All colleges will have athletics, extracurriculars, partying, etc. If you are looking to be an athlete at the collegiate level, anything that comes with campus life is just a bonus.”
• “You are there to compete.”

Related articles

• Colleges with the “best student life”
• 50 colleges and university with the happiest freshman
• Top party schools in America
• The 100 most beautiful campuses

4) Academics and Job Prospects

Attending a “good” school is important to starting the career you want and to simply gain knowledge; that’s the point of college after all. But maybe a college’s academic programs and prestige aren’t as important as they’re made out to be. That’s at least the conclusion that can be drawn from this particular survey, as “Academics and Job Prospects” of a university ranked fourth in our five key factors.

“Academics and Job prospects [are least important],” a survey participant said. “In my opinion, most schools offer 75 percent of the same courses. The person who takes those courses and makes connections will be a factor in getting hired or not.”

Views on this subject varied greatly in the survey. Some ranked this category as the most important factor, and were vocally supportive of attending a good academic school, while others deemed academics and their degree as relatively less important to their future.

Deciding whether academic prestige of a university is important to you or not will take self reflection. But remember, no matter what school you choose, it’s crucial to expand your knowledge and garner skills that will later be employable. And if you don’t choose a university that will challenge you academically, you may be stunting your intellectual growth.

More thoughts on Academics and Job Prospects from survey participants:

• “Academics [were most important]. Pro golf was on my radar, but I knew it was a long shot so golf was my ticket to a great degree.”
• “Academics [were most important]. Cash flow from a great job trumps everything.”
• “You’re probably going to have to continue to rely on your own swing coach, fitness trainer or mental-game expert if you truly want to be [an elite golfer]. What you can’t provide for yourself, however, is the atmosphere of a great academic school and the exposure to ideas and people you never would have encountered at home. That’s why it’s so important to attend as excellent of a university as you can, whatever that means for you.”

Related articles

• Top Men’s College Division 1 golf schools (academics and golf combined)
• Top degrees for getting hired in 2016
• U.S. News: Best Colleges 

3) Financial Burden

Don’t forget this word: reality. Money will impact your life in one way or another, and debt up to your eye balls is not a myth.

“College golf lasts four years, but student loans can last 10 times that if the scholarship doesn’t cover enough of your tuition,” a survey participant said.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t options to help relieve that burden.

“The listed cost of tuition and board is generally much less than what you read in the magazines,” a survey participant said. “There are so many academic scholarships and financial aid packages available that can bring down the cost. And if you choose the right school and major, your education should more than pay for itself.”

Again, no one can make this decision for you. Figure out what you can afford right now, and what you can afford after college, too. And then decide whether it matters for you. When it doubt, work hard in the classroom and in your sport to score as many scholarships as possible. Then once you’ve uncovered all the scholarships you think you can get, start your research again. There’s more out there.

Other thoughts from survey participants about Financial Burden:

• “Financial burden [is the least important factor]. Take loans. Enjoy college. You can’t do it twice.”
• “Cost of school determined where I went.”
• “Financial (Burden was least important) because that should not influence your decision, although it is a reality.”

Related articles

• Best undergraduate finance programs
• Colleges with The College Board’s Net Price Calculator
• What’s the price tag for a college education?

2) Strength of Team and Schedule

Oregon won the 2016 NCAA Men’s golf championship in front of a large hometown crowd.

For this factor, you’ll have to take a hard look at your golf game, and then look equally as hard at a college’s golf team.

By doing some research online*, you’ll be able to find results and tournament schedules for just about any college in America. This will give you a good idea of the strength of the team, what scores its players are shooting and how the team placed in recent tournaments. By doing your research, you’ll be able to estimate if you can play right away and if you’ll be playing in the caliber of tournaments that you desire.

*Don’t forget to look at course yardage and weather to gauge the playing conditions and accurately measure your game. Generally, college tournaments are played on difficult courses, so you can expect your scoring average to rise compared to high school tournaments. 

Remember, just as there are prospective college golfers who want to play for a national championship, there are also students who just want to play golf and don’t care how prestigious the tournaments are. Maybe you’re happy with low-pressure college tournaments and aren’t striving to play against stiff competition. Think about what you really want, because it will ultimately have a major impact on your success and happiness in college.

“The strength of the schedule to me is the least important,” a survey participant said. “Whether you are in Division 1 or Division 3, it does not affect the outcome of what you can be. It is up to you as the player to push yourself and see how high the level of your talent can be.”

With avenues like qualifying school, local professional tours and national USGA events, don’t feel pressured if you end up at a less-competitive school than you desired. You can still “make it.”

A club golf program is also be a great alternative for a competitive golfer. Find out more about the NCCGA (National Collegiate Club Golf Association) here.

Other thoughts from survey participants on Strength of Team and Schedule:

• “Strength of golf team and schedule (are most important) to play against the best competition.”
• “Strength of team (was most important). Regardless of other factors, winning takes top priority.”
• “Most important: Can I play right away? Least important: Location. It is important to play and get the experience of college golf. Where you have to go to do that shouldn’t particularly matter.”

Related articles

• Division I Men’s Golf Rankings
• Division II Men’s Golf Rankings
• NCAA Men’s Golf Division III
• Golfweek Division I rankings with strength of schedule

1) Team Dynamics

There are a lot of factors that are involved in golf team dynamics, and all are equally important to not only your personal success and happiness, but the success of the team as whole. You spend a whole lot of time with the people on your team, and the atmosphere and attitude can certainly have an affect on you.

“Team dynamics [are most important],” a survey participant said. “For the next four years you are going to spend so much time with these people. If you can’t get along it will leak into other aspects of college. It’s more or less a family because you eat together, workout together, play together. It’s a necessity to like the people.”

And this is especially true from a competitive standpoint. How competitive are the people around you, and how competitive do you really want to be?

“I played both D3 and D1, and the difference in competition was DRAMATIC,” a survey participant said. “D3 nobody cared. D1 people wanted to win.”

If you’re not looking to put 100 percent into golf and the team, that’s OK. Just make sure your goals aren’t drastically different than your teammates and coaches. High-level college golf requires a serious time commitment including workouts, range time, qualifying rounds, practice rounds, tournaments, study hall, classes — and then finding time to rest and have a semblance of a social life. College golf, or any college sport, is NOT for everyone.

“How do you know the team dynamics before you even get there?” you may be asking. My advice: take full advantage of official and unofficial visits, paying close attention the attitudes, habits and priorities of the players.

Other thoughts from survey participants on Team Dynamics: 

• “A good group of guys and coach can bring the best of your game and talents out.”
• “I ranked the team chemistry the most important because it is what keeps you pushing to better yourself. You need a great connection with your coaches and teammates in order to continue the want to push yourself. In my experience, the lack of connection between coach and player caused a loss of interest in the sport and the will of the team.”

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