MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. — Not every team is going low, but the ones who are, are doing so like never before.
The Golfweek October Classic is one of the best events in Division III college golf, on both the men’s and women’s side. Yet after two rounds at Sandestin Resort’s Raven Course, Washington & Lee is dominating the men’s competition, reaching 26-under 542, a number that would shatter the previous 54-hole scoring record, even if Washington & Lee plays even-par golf Tuesday in the final round. On Monday, however, it carded a 16-under round, which is where second-place Sewanee sits after 36 holes.
Low scores, tighter leaderboards and depth of fields are becoming more common at the Division III level. That’s because the sport is in as good of a place as it has ever been.
“These kids have more access to better technology at a younger age,” Guilford College coach Ben Potter said. “I’m only 27, and even when I was growing up, not everyone had access to Trackman technology.”
Golfweek October Classic: Scores
Methodist has dominated the sport in the 21st century. Coach Steve Conley has collected 14 national championships and maintains one of the best programs in the country, regardless of division. However, the gap between his program and others has shrunk, and it’s not because he’s doing less.
It’s because others are doing more.
As Potter alluded to, practice facilities across the nation have become better. Players work with coaches all year round, whether in school or on their own, and access to numbers and swing analytics help fine tune swings and produce better results on the course.
There’s also the depth, which gets better each year. In the past, a team would have three or four players who were safe in the lineup, no matter what. Now, most of the top teams are leaving players at home who didn’t qualify that could be a top player at another school.
”I’d even venture to say our kids at the top Division III schools are as good as kids at the mid level D-Is, and we see it in summer tournaments, too,” Illinois Wesleyan coach Jim Ott said. “If you ever look at our top teams that go play in tournaments with D-Is, we hold ourselves very well to the mid-major type schools, maybe not the Texas or Vandy, but the other ones I mean, it’s right there.”
With how good Division III golf has become, it’s only going to get better.
With scholarship limits coming to Division I sports, teams are likely going to be limited to eight or nine roster spots, meaning teams with 11 or 12 players are going to have to cut some.
That means a trickle-down effect, where players will move down, and it will build up D-II golf and then D-III will also improve with a bit better players.
“In the top-30 teams, you have guys who are as strong as some of the guys I had at Jacksonville State,” Rhodes College coach Michael Brice, who took the job this year, said. “These top teams can go anywhere and compete.”
