Aspiring collegiate golfers scrambling for answers as the pandemic forces changes
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Aspiring collegiate golfers scrambling for answers as the pandemic forces changes

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 5: Contestants during a practice round of the PGA Junior League Golf National Championship at Disney's Palm Course on November 5, 2015 in Lake Buena Vista, FL. (Photo by Montana Pritchard/The PGA of America)
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Amid the pandemic, golf has been one of the few things millions of Americans feel comfortable doing. The sport has seen a remarkable boom, and the natural follow-up question is how long this will continue after we get to whatever is the next new normal.

For thousands of aspiriging collegiate golfers, however, the pandemic has thrust their future into some measure of doubt.

While the AJGA and other elite junior golf tours have been able to safely put on tournaments for top-tier players, high schools and secondary schools around the country suspended golf programs in the spring and fall of 2020. Depending on what happens in the coming months, the spring 2021 golf season may be a wash for many players.

For players who have lost one, maybe two, seasons of their high-school careers, their competitive development may be stunted. They've lost chances to put together scoring averages in sanctioned events to build a profile that might get the attention of collegiate coaches. Their academic record has been thrown into a sort of limbo. Perhaps the last year has made them rethink when they want to start college after high school.

With the collegiate golf recruiting process thrown for a big loop, both junior golfers and their parents need more clarity and answers about what comes next.

Junior Golf Hub hopes to be that beacon, seeking to connect aspiring collegiate golfers to college coaches.


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About the author

Ryan Ballengee

Ryan Ballengee is founder and editor of Golf News Net. He has been writing and broadcasting about golf for nearly 20 years. Ballengee lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his family. He is currently a +2.6 USGA handicap, and he has covered dozens of major championships and professional golf tournaments. He likes writing about golf and making it more accessible by answering the complex questions fans have about the pro game or who want to understand how to play golf better.

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