Where college students go for golf

This is part 1 of a series of articles highlighting the reasons why playing the game is a challenge for 18 to 34-year-olds. Read the rest of the series.

We work hard to grow college golf at the NCCGA, yet the biggest way we start new club golf teams is by students sharing NCCGA with their own friends. For that reason, NCCGA's Refer-A-Friend this fall rewards our members for sharing the wonderful game of golf we all love.

Every day we here at Nextgengolf see the impact club golf and the NCCGA have on students across the country. Whether it's a talented golfer that chose not to play varsity, or a recreational player discovering his love of the game, club golf has provided an outlet for students to continue playing competitively during their college years.

Nikos Pavlis is a junior at the University of South Carolina, majoring in Business Management and minoring in European Studies. A soccer player and college golfer, Pavlis serves as the Regional Coordinator of the Southeast region, and formerly as the South Carolina Club Golf President.

What the sport of golf means to people is extremely difficult to put into only 140 characters on Twitter, since at any one moment golf can be any number of things. It can be a moment of triumph as you break 80 for the first time or crushing defeat as you 3-putt your last hole to lose a match. It can hold moments of pure joy and jubilation after you hole out for eagle and disbelief and heartbreak on the next as you pump two tee shots right out of bounds. The emotional rollercoaster that is the game of golf is unique in that unlike most other sports, there is no one to share in your victories or your failures. There’s no team to pick you back up after you just 3-putted to lose the biggest tournament of your life. There’s no one to blame when we play poorly or practice for hours without improvement. We’re often fighting ourselves out there as much as we are competing against other players, playing an exhausting game of mental chess to keep our confidence up in high-pressure situations.

Campbell Wentworth-Ping is a rising sophomore, majoring in Communications with a double minor in Spanish and Sports and Event Management. He is a college golfer for the Elon University Club Golf Team, also serving as the Club President and the North Carolina Regional Coordinator.

For those of you who attended the 2014 Spring National Championship at Crystal Springs Resort in New Jersey, you experienced the first sponsored hole at any NCCGA event. For each day of the tournament, Cleveland Golf/Srixon, our national golf partner, set up camp at the 4^th hole of the Ballyowen course. They showcased banners that could be seen from across the course, tour bags, wedges, golf gloves, and golf balls. Prizes were awarded to the player who hit the best shot in each group, sparking excitement amongst the players.

#GOLFIS not only a sport but it is a lifestyle.

Pace of play in college golf is a serious problem, and we are working hard at the NCCGA to pick up the pace #whilewereyoung. Sean Keane, Regional Coordinator of the Capitol Region and leading member of Maryland's club golf team is passionate about improving pace of play in college golf and growing golf in his region. Below are his thoughts on the matters.

Coming from a lifetime of participation in team sports, college was a rough transition due to the difficulties of free time. It seemed that whenever I had some time aside to get a pickup game of soccer or basketball going, everyone was busy. That’s where the golf course and range came in.

John McBride is a rising senior at the University of Massachusetts where is an active member of the school's thriving club golf team. John also serves as the Regional Coordinator of the Northern New England Region where he works with all of the club golf president on the teams to organize fall tournaments. John is a sport management major and rising senior at UMass.

To me, you need something in your life that defines you as a person, as an individual. If you do not have anything that makes you stand out from the crowd, then how can you live an interesting life? Golf defines me. I am known as “the kid who plays golf” by all of my friends. Ever since my dad taught me how to play when I was 11-years-old, I have been addicted. From middle school golf, to high school tournaments, and now on to club golf in college, my passion continues. I will never be perfect at this sport, and I think that is what I love about golf the most. Even after a horrible day, all you need is to pure a 7 iron from the middle of the fairway and everything suddenly becomes ok. Golf has taught me how to handle life more than anyone or anything else ever could. To me, that is what #GOLFIS.

To me, golf is life, a continuing struggle to better oneself to a level that not even the best players in the world can achieve. Golf is the hardest sport in the world to play on the professional circuit as only 125 players worldwide hold PGA Tour cards. Golf is a way to meet new people, reconnect with old friends, and truly prove who has the patience, short memory, and skill necessary to outlast everyone else. Golf is a way to enjoy nature while playing in the same places that your childhood idols played. Golf is a game that challenges players at least as much mentally as it does physically, unlike any other sport. Golf is the only sport where one shot out of 280 over a four day period can be the difference between winning and losing. Golf is my past, my present, and hopefully my future. Golf is the only sport where everyone from ages 3 to 103 is on the same playing field with the same goal. Golf is the most frustrating and satisfying form of relaxation. Only in golf can you have 100 bad shots, yet you keep coming back for that one good shot you had.

If there were three other people in the world that you would like the play 18-holes with, who would it be? Whether you're an avid golfer or a weekend hack, you've probably thought about who would be in your dream foursome. Many people jump straight to the greats of the game such as Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. While my Mount Rushmore of golf doesn't belong on the same course as Bobby Jones, Gary Player or Sam Snead, there are only three bros that make the cut.

What #GOLFIS to someone dating a golf-oholic: