Where college students go for golf

Who said Club Golfers Couldn’t Shoot in the 60’s? The NCCGA is lucky to have many talented golfers all across the country. These golfers included accomplished high school golfers, former AJGA junior golfers, former varsity golfers, as well as those that just love the game and have improved throughout their non-varsity college golf career.

Each year the NCCGA runs more than 100 club golf tournaments all across the country.The events range from 20-100 college golfers, and provide students an opportunity to play competitively against fellow non-varsity golfers. These tournaments wouldn't happen without the hard work of student Student Ambassadors. These students are members of their school's club golf team, and help make each region a success.

Austin Havens is already an accomplished golfer for a college student. The junior played varsity college golf for two years at Millikin University, an NCAA D-3 school in Decatur, Illinois, and earned all-conference honors both seasons. Havens then transferred to Illinois State and attempted to tryout for the varsity team. Despite playing well in the tryout, he didn't have a good feeling about being on the team. It was then that Havens learned about the Illinois State club team, while working with Club President Mason Wicks over the summer at Weibring Golf Club.

The Texas Club Golf team has been highly ranked the last several semesters, but have struggled to make an impact at nationals. At least, that was the story before last weekend. Led by Carson Stepler and Tyler Bumpass, the Longhorns clinched their first NCCGA National Championship at TPC San Antonio.

A beautiful week at TPC San Antonio turned nasty on Saturday, the start of the Fall 2015 NCCGA National Championship. Instead of 70's and sunny, the course saw wind gusts of 15+ MPH all day, providing a difficult challenge for the entire 264 player field.

The NCCGA originated on the East Coast, originally known as the Southeastern Golf Club Association and now headquartered in Boston. However, slowly but surely, the #clubgolf movement has spread to the West Coast. UCLA was first in the summer of 2012, officially starting the first region on the West Coast. The "California Region" has since grown to include the Desert, Pacific, and Northwest Region. Where is the best college golf played? A few teams at San Antonio will say the answer is the West Coast.

It's difficult winning an NCCGA National Championship. Each semester more than 200 club golf teams have aspirations to reach the pinnacle of the non-varsity golf world, and only one receives the trophy at the end of the season. Several schools enter the Fall 2015 National Championship at TPC San Antonio not only with aspirations of winning a title, but also with previous championship experience still on their roster. Will a team on this list return back to the top?

We are very thankful for our sponsors’ continued support of the NCCGA and #ClubGolf. We are excited about their involvement at the National Championship; the players are in for a real treat.

The Fall 2015 NCCGA National Championship will see a familiar face in Iowa State, the return of a powerhouse in Virginia, and a young team in Notre Dame Club Golf. How did these teams get to this point? The champions of the Colonial and and Twin Cities Region, as well as the runner-up in Indiana, are all hoping to make their mark at TPC San Antonio. Here's their story of the season and how they overcame their opponents to clinch a spot in San Antonio.

The South and South Florida Regions brought warm weather and lots of good golf this Fall. Now the two regional champions are rolling into TPC San Antonio, hoping to come out on top. Here's the story of how Keiser University and Auburn Club Golf advanced to the Fall 2015 NCCGA National Championship.

The NCCGA National Championship celebrates what club golf is all about: competition, friendship, and fun through the game of golf. Several teams that qualified for the #TrailToTPC this year are familiar with the National Championship experience and are especially looking forward to the camaraderie aspect. Here’s a look at some teams who are in hopes of making a championship run and enjoying the social aspect of more than 250 golfers in the same area.

The University of Georgia Club Golf Team is a great example of a team that has grown quickly and had success in a short period of time. The club was founded just three years ago but is already making back-to-back Nationals appearances between last season and this season. This semester the club saw its membership grow to 32 golfers, their highest membership to date.

Since its founding in 2012, the Pittsburgh college golf club team has grown both in strength and in numbers. After finishing almost last in their first appearance in an NCCGA event, the team quickly bounced back. President Matthew Pulleo says that players quickly sharpened their game and bonded as a team, making it to Nationals every semester ever since and “having a lot of fun in the process.” Each season, the team has fought injuries, cold weather, and limited funding but “always fights through to ensure its success.”

The Metro region was host to two very close finishes this semester, with teams separated by under ten strokes. Once all the dust settled, standing on top was Lafayette College club golf. The Leopards won both this season’s regional tournaments to earn its bid to the NCCGA National Championship at TPC San Antonio. After missing the qualification to Nationals last spring by just two strokes, the Leopards came back hungrier than ever.

Golf Academy of America - Carlsbad is in its second semester of playing club golf in the NCCGA. Each season they have swept the Southwest Region out in California, and made a trip to the NCCGA National Championship. Last season they finished T-4 at Bryan Park in their National Championship debut. This season the club is ranked #18 entering TPC San Antonio.