You guys were right.....

[Tugu]

10 hours ago, Golfingdawg19 said:

My daughter is getting ready to be a senior and is committed a D1 college. On June 1st of last year she was ranked 170 in her class and had an index of .7 in JGS. She only had mi major offers because of this. On June 1st of this year she was 32nd in her class and had an index of -4.44. So she made quite a jump in one year. We got her with a mental coach and she learned to get out of her own way. The ball striking was always there it was the mental part of the game that held her back. If she would have been ranked 32 going into her junior year, her offers would have looked totally different. Under the current system,

coaches set their boards based on where the kids are on June 15th before their junior year. That leaves two years of HS left to mature and get better. I think it’s crazy to judge them that soon. Some of these kids get worse after they commit and others take off and do like my daughter. They coaches are gambling that the kids will continue to get better but they don’t know that. With the portal, they can always process them out if they don’t produce like they want and also go get players they missed on from the smaller schools. So the new rules actually help

these coaches who may have messed up on evaluations. 

I'd love to know how college coaches "set their board." And when they do, how many golfers have they had actual eyeballs on?

 

Very curious.

[LawGenius305]

17 hours ago, Golfingdawg19 said:

So the new rules actually help

these coaches who may have messed up on evaluations. 

The new rules hurt them, not help. They will have to be better at evaluating.

[golferdad8]

6 hours ago, Tugu said:

I'd love to know how college coaches "set their board." And when they do, how many golfers have they had actual eyeballs on?

 

Very curious.

I’ve seen some of these boards. The list can be long, but some coaches are delusional & think they’re capable of recruiting certain top kids - then end up scrambling 😂

[LawGenius305]

Just now, golferdad8 said:

I’ve seen some of these boards. The list can be long, but some coaches are delusional & think they’re capable of recruiting certain top kids - then end up scrambling 😂

One of my son's junior friends is interested in a middle tier D3 school. The coach told him that he is looking for kids that can shoot in the 60's and bad rounds in the low 70's. Dang, sounds like he is recruiting the same kid as Auburn. Talk about delusional. 🤪

[jda]

16 minutes ago, LawGenius305 said:

One of my son's junior friends is interested in a middle tier D3 school. The coach told him that he is looking for kids that can shoot in the 60's and bad rounds in the low 70's. Dang, sounds like he is recruiting the same kid as Auburn. Talk about delusional. 🤪

 

What do the kids currently at the school shoot?  Like 77-78?

 

D2 and mid tier D3 is the sweet spot for our kids and it seems like nearly every august we get a call from one just wanting a kid who knows the rules and can tie their shoes.

 

Everybody keep in mind that only the coaches at schools who opted into the settlement have to get better at recruiting.  The vast majority still have rosters like they always did, and perhaps a slightly deeper talent pool with a bit of trickle down.

[Tugu]

4 hours ago, golferdad8 said:

I’ve seen some of these boards. The list can be long, but some coaches are delusional & think they’re capable of recruiting certain top kids - then end up scrambling 😂

How many of these "top kids" have the coaches actually SEEN hit golf balls and/or play? Outside the top 20 or 30, JGS and lauded players with limited wins/few recorded rounds under par are a busted flush.

Edited July 16 by Tugu

[golferdad8]

13 hours ago, LawGenius305 said:

One of my son's junior friends is interested in a middle tier D3 school. The coach told him that he is looking for kids that can shoot in the 60's and bad rounds in the low 70's. Dang, sounds like he is recruiting the same kid as Auburn. Talk about delusional. 🤪

Perhaps the D3 coach is used to his kids playing 6000 to 6300 yards? 

Seriously, even the top D3 schools kids can't do that, let alone a mid tier. 

[Llortamaisey]

14 hours ago, LawGenius305 said:

One of my son's junior friends is interested in a middle tier D3 school. The coach told him that he is looking for kids that can shoot in the 60's and bad rounds in the low 70's. Dang, sounds like he is recruiting the same kid as Auburn. Talk about delusional. 🤪

That’s what middle tier PGA tour guys shoot, if they’re lucky. 

[MahalNeneng]

22 hours ago, golferdad8 said:

I’ve seen some of these boards. The list can be long, but some coaches are delusional & think they’re capable of recruiting certain top kids - then end up scrambling 😂

We had a great example of this. A in town school ranked around 130 made a fairly hard push for our boy. They should be pulling jgs class ranked 100-200 think we were like 20 something?? We definitely visited, learned all we could about the program. 

Coach doing his job, albeit punching above his at the time weight class. Put an offer out there and let it ride. What else can they do. Im sure his board was long, but why not try. 

[LawGenius305]

9 hours ago, golferdad8 said:

Perhaps the D3 coach is used to his kids playing 6000 to 6300 yards? 

Seriously, even the top D3 schools kids can't do that, let alone a mid tier. 

The top D3 kids are doing that. Jonathon McEwen and a handful of the top 20 kids would play at the top D1 schools. I am not saying sit the bench, they would play. Several others would make impacts at other D1 schools. There are several -4.0's on JGS going D3 route this year because of education and golf has gotten that much better at the D3 level. There are about 5 teams that would compete at the mid to low level D1 schools because these teams have some D1 talent on them. Some under recruited, some who have prospered, some that chose not to go to a big school.

[TroyB123]

58 minutes ago, LawGenius305 said:

The top D3 kids are doing that. Jonathon McEwen and a handful of the top 20 kids would play at the top D1 schools. I am not saying sit the bench, they would play. Several others would make impacts at other D1 schools. There are several -4.0's on JGS going D3 route this year because of education and golf has gotten that much better at the D3 level. There are about 5 teams that would compete at the mid to low level D1 schools because these teams have some D1 talent on them. Some under recruited, some who have prospered, some that chose not to go to a big school.

I wonder how a D3 scoring average would translate to a D1 scoring average.   A lot of tournaments I looked at are played at similar courses and tees to mid level junior events.   I looked at one played at the same course as an AJGA we played, and the D3 tournament played 400 yards shorter with similar or higher scores.   I met JM at our State Am, and he played all right but lost to most of the mid-level D1 players and lots of the juniors in the field.   It's a tiny sample size, but it was a tough set up.

[DAnnunzio]

Do y'all think roster limits this year will actually make coaches do more homework on recruits and wake them up to CCA inflation?  And will higher ranked players domino down to lower ranked teams because of the roster limits?  It's simple math, right?

[leezer99]

14 minutes ago, DAnnunzio said:

Do y'all think roster limits this year will actually make coaches do more homework on recruits and wake them up to CCA inflation?  And will higher ranked players domino down to lower ranked teams because of the roster limits?  It's simple math, right?

 

You ever see that scene in Moneyball where Brad Pitt brings in Jonah Hill to the scout meeting where they are trying to replace Giambi? All the old heads didn't want to change but BP and JH were different and approached the game with a fresh set of eyes. 

 

Well, lots of golf coaches are still the 'old heads' that are trying to recruit the way they've always done it and until they retire, see the light or are moved out, nothing will change. 

[TroyB123]

5 minutes ago, leezer99 said:

 

You ever see that scene in Moneyball where Brad Pitt brings in Jonah Hill to the scout meeting where they are trying to replace Giambi? All the old heads didn't want to change but BP and JH were different and approached the game with a fresh set of eyes. 

 

Well, lots of golf coaches are still the 'old heads' that are trying to recruit the way they've always done it and until they retire, see the light or are moved out, nothing will change. 

Some coaches seem to definitely prioritize landing the highest ranked players they can over winning.   I see a lot of smaller conference coaches putting a lot of work into actually watching and evaluating players, and every year they out-perform the middle/low ACC teams who seem to only care about getting the highest ranked class they can.

 

It makes me question how much the job security/salary in those schools is tied to the actual success of the golf team.

[Tugu]

2 hours ago, DAnnunzio said:

Do y'all think roster limits this year will actually make coaches do more homework on recruits and wake them up to CCA inflation?  And will higher ranked players domino down to lower ranked teams because of the roster limits?  It's simple math, right?

They dunno what CCA is.

[LawGenius305]

On 7/17/2025 at 10:06 AM, TroyB123 said:

I wonder how a D3 scoring average would translate to a D1 scoring average.   A lot of tournaments I looked at are played at similar courses and tees to mid level junior events.   I looked at one played at the same course as an AJGA we played, and the D3 tournament played 400 yards shorter with similar or higher scores.   I met JM at our State Am, and he played all right but lost to most of the mid-level D1 players and lots of the juniors in the field.   It's a tiny sample size, but it was a tough set up.

What state?

 

The best D3 teams all play in the south or travel south to play the majority of their tournaments. There are D3 tournaments that hit 7000. If any D3 tournament is being played outside of Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, they probably are mid to bad teams (other than Illinois Wesleyan or Aurora). Many of the courses they do play, are stretched out as far as they go. There are plenty of D1 tournaments playing less than 7000 yds.  I also used the term, handful. There are some D3 kids that play summer tournaments and beat up D2 and D1 players. 

Edited July 18 by LawGenius305

[jda]

 

7 hours ago, DAnnunzio said:

Do y'all think roster limits this year will actually make coaches do more homework on recruits and wake them up to CCA inflation?  And will higher ranked players domino down to lower ranked teams because of the roster limits?  It's simple math, right?

 

At what level?  Most college golf coaches are not measured on winning or team success but rather on just staying out of trouble and not being embarrassingly bad.  Of course, the elite programs want to win, but you can have a nice D1 job with a lot of schools for 20 years if just finish middle of the pack, don't have any scandal, your kids graduate and stay out of the local media.  I know that most on here follow the elite programs, but look at the middle or bottom of the Power 4 or Group of 5 and see how long those coaches have been there with middling success - they are doing exactly what the athletic department wants from them.  Seriously, make a regional every other year and most of them are quite OK.   Why do anything differently?

 

Most of the D2, D3, NAIA coaches that we talk to are not having any luck with D1 kids in the portal.  If they are going to trickle down, it might take some time since most seem to think that they are currently too good to drop down.  The sentiment that they will sit out a year and be more desirable next year seems to be there.

[LawGenius305]

15 hours ago, jda said:

 

 

At what level?  Most college golf coaches are not measured on winning or team success but rather on just staying out of trouble and not being embarrassingly bad.  Of course, the elite programs want to win, but you can have a nice D1 job with a lot of schools for 20 years if just finish middle of the pack, don't have any scandal, your kids graduate and stay out of the local media.  I know that most on here follow the elite programs, but look at the middle or bottom of the Power 4 or Group of 5 and see how long those coaches have been there with middling success - they are doing exactly what the athletic department wants from them.  Seriously, make a regional every other year and most of them are quite OK.   Why do anything differently?

 

 

Agree 100%

 

15 hours ago, jda said:

 

 

Most of the D2, D3, NAIA coaches that we talk to are not having any luck with D1 kids in the portal.  If they are going to trickle down, it might take some time since most seem to think that they are currently too good to drop down.  The sentiment that they will sit out a year and be more desirable next year seems to be there.

It is mind boggling. It is the dad's not being able to swallow that pill.

 

Local kid was at a school that made it to D1 national championship. He is a sophomore and hasn't played one event in 2 years. He was cut and transferred out of state and my guess is he will struggle to play there as well. Makes absolutely no sense. At that point I am transferring to where I can play and make an impact immediately. The top D3 schools he will be playing the 3 Bag at best, yet he is going to another D1 where he will struggle for playing time. I say this knowingly because my son wears him out when they play. 

[jda]

4 hours ago, LawGenius305 said:

It is mind boggling. It is the dad's not being able to swallow that pill.

 

I posted on here that I knew of coaches in excellent Colorado Front Range towns who needed kids - D2 and offering near full rides with aid and scholarships.  Asked anybody whose kids were going to get settlement cut to reach out to me since I could help- supposedly there were many impacted kids on this board according to that lawyer guy.  Crickets.  Nobody contacted me and how many times did I post this?  half a dozen times?  I am sure that you remember.  One of the coaches took a gap year kid that we know who shoots about 80 - GAP YEAR!  The other took a HS kid who shot about the same.  These coaches would have very likely offered at least an OV to any cut D1 kid or at least had a zoom within 24 hours.

 

One of those coaches said that he reached out to 100 transfer portal kids and only got replies from 20-30% of them (or so, I forget, but it was low).  It was his job to keep trying so he did, but the stories that he told us were just amazing.

 

I think that it will take the transfer portal kids not getting picked up and for the now HS freshman and sophomores to see the trend to just sign at lower levels out of HS in the future.  I don't see how any transfer portal kids that sit out will be any more desirable next year.  This is when the trickle down might start to happen in 2027 or 2028, but who knows what College Golf will look like in a few years.

 

We have D2 RMAC kids that can/will beat the middle and bottom of D1 - they are especially dangerous in any kind of cold or weather and can still shoot their number.  Their teams just are not deep even if they have a solid stick or two at the top.  Is that so bad if you are a Dad?

[LawGenius305]

47 minutes ago, jda said:

 

I posted on here that I knew of coaches in excellent Colorado Front Range towns who needed kids - D2 and offering near full rides with aid and scholarships.  Asked anybody whose kids were going to get settlement cut to reach out to me since I could help- supposedly there were many impacted kids on this board according to that lawyer guy.  Crickets.  Nobody contacted me and how many times did I post this?  half a dozen times?  I am sure that you remember.  One of the coaches took a gap year kid that we know who shoots about 80 - GAP YEAR!  The other took a HS kid who shot about the same.  These coaches would have very likely offered at least an OV to any cut D1 kid or at least had a zoom within 24 hours.

 

One of those coaches said that he reached out to 100 transfer portal kids and only got replies from 20-30% of them (or so, I forget, but it was low).  It was his job to keep trying so he did, but the stories that he told us were just amazing.

 

I think that it will take the transfer portal kids not getting picked up and for the now HS freshman and sophomores to see the trend to just sign at lower levels out of HS in the future.  I don't see how any transfer portal kids that sit out will be any more desirable next year.  This is when the trickle down might start to happen in 2027 or 2028, but who knows what College Golf will look like in a few years.

 

We have D2 RMAC kids that can/will beat the middle and bottom of D1 - they are especially dangerous in any kind of cold or weather and can still shoot their number.  Their teams just are not deep even if they have a solid stick or two at the top.  Is that so bad if you are a Dad?

This is what people (parents) don't understand. In general D3 golf is bad. At the top level there are kids that can play and compete at every level. Honestly, D2 golf isn't much better, just deeper. After the top 25ish teams D2 golf starts to get get pretty average. Then you get to D1 where there are at least 100 teams that can't beat the top teams in D2 or D3.

[MahalNeneng]

We saw this very thing play out early on with someone close. 
first came disbelief that it was happening (this was a freshman after 1 semester drop in anticipation of ruling December portal) 

then trying to decide what to do (was on four year deal)

then somewhat denial of current playing level

situation needed a in state deal in order to afford (initial recruiting offer was very generous) 

 

ended up in state with another top 100 team, but i think that came to pass cause they were in the portal early. 
if that didnt happen i could totally see this family being in the same type of situation. 
pride is tough to fight

[LawGenius305]

On 7/20/2025 at 7:43 AM, MahalNeneng said:

We saw this very thing play out early on with someone close. 
first came disbelief that it was happening (this was a freshman after 1 semester drop in anticipation of ruling December portal) 

then trying to decide what to do (was on four year deal)

then somewhat denial of current playing level

situation needed a in state deal in order to afford (initial recruiting offer was very generous) 

 

ended up in state with another top 100 team, but i think that came to pass cause they were in the portal early. 
if that didnt happen i could totally see this family being in the same type of situation. 
pride is tough to fight

100%

 

Know plenty of players playing D1 golf that couldn't make the playing rosters of D2 or D2 teams. But, "They played D1 golf". My response is always the same. Did they play? They play in a mid to lower tier conference, play against other mid to lower level players, the conference has 1 tourney bid. They will never play against the top players nor have a chance to play in the National Championship. Go where the player can compete at the highest level of that division. Example If your choice is D1 Elon or D2 West Florida, go to West Florida. If your choice is D2 University of Montavello or D3 Huntingdon, go to Huntingdon. 

Edited July 23 by LawGenius305