NCCGA Frequently Asked Questions

Basics

What is club golf?

Club golf is competitive non-varsity golf in college. Similar to other club sports, such as club baseball or club Quidditch, club golf teams compete regionally and nationally against other colleges under the direction of a national governing body.

What is the NCCGA?

The National Collegiate Club Golf Association (NCCGA) is the governing body for collegiate club golf. NCCGA helps colleges start, maintain, and facilitate club golf tournaments regionally and nationally.

How do the tournaments work?

The NCCGA operates two or three tournaments each semester in every NCCGA region. The two tournaments are 36-hole team stroke play events (typically 18-holes Saturday afternoon and 18-holes Sunday morning).

Each team brings 5-8 players and the top 5 scores from each day compose the team score. At the end of both rounds, the top teams and individuals are awarded trophies for their performances.

Students play in foursomes (two students from each school).

Do you need to be a good golfer to play in NCCGA tournaments?

Scores range from 65-115. All swings are welcome and club teams often have a wide range of skill levels spanning from highly competitive to recreational players.

College Teams

How many schools have club golf teams?

Over 350 colleges have active club golf teams competing in the NCCGA, and many schools have club golf teams in formation. To see if your school has a club golf team, check out the full list here.

If your school has a club golf team, you can request to join the club on the team's Nextgengolf homepage. We will introduce you to the Club President to learn more specifics about the club on campus. Find your school's team page by searching here.

What if a school doesn't have a club golf team?

If a school doesn’t have a club golf team, there are two choices:

  1. Work with the NCCGA and the school’s club sports department to start a team on campus.
  2. If you do not wish to start a team or your college does not allow a club golf team, students are able to compete as individuals in tournaments.

Complete this form if you are interested in starting a club team or wish to compete as an individual.

What is the process to start a club golf team?

The process can take as little as one week or in some cases a full semester to start a club golf team. The NCCGA does not require a club to be officially recognized by the school.

For brand new clubs, we recommend a few items to begin:

  • Apply to club/rec sports for official recognition
  • Begin recruiting on campus via campus events, fair day's, flyers, social media, etc.
  • Organize an interest meeting to determine club activities, funding, dues structure, tryout activities, etc.
  • Write a team constitution
  • Lay out a sample budget

Learn more about Starting a Club Team

Who Can Play

Who is eligible to play in NCCGA tournaments?

To be eligible for NCCGA tournaments, a student must be currently enrolled full-time at their college (as defined by their school). Students must have amateur status, and cannot have played NCAA varsity golf at any point during the current NCCGA season.

Undergraduate, graduate, community college, PGM, and law school students are all eligible to play (provided they meet the other eligibility requirements).

Full Eligibility Requirements

Does NCCGA have age restrictions?

The NCCGA does not discriminate based on age. Anyone that meets the requirements of an enrolled, full-time, college students can compete. We have seen students as young as 16 and as old at 50+ participate.

Does NCCGA have academic requirements?

The NCCGA does not have any rules/restrictions on GPA. The only academic-related rule the NCCGA has is that all students participating in regional tournaments MUST be currently enrolled full-time (as defined by their school).

Note: Some school club/rec sports departments impose minimum GPAs on their club teams.

Can club golf help me walk-on the varsity team?

Yes. For students that don’t make the varsity team in college, joining the club golf team and competing in the NCCGA provides them the opportunity to continue furthering their golf game in a competitive atmosphere. Varsity college coaches pay attention to club golf tournament scores. Several NCCGA students have gone on to join their school’s varsity team after successful stints playing club golf.

Costs and Benefits

What is the cost to play in the NCCGA?

The cost to play in NCCGA regional tournaments are $500 team dues and tournament green fees per player. Each additional team from your club will cost $200. Those are the only costs charged by the NCCGA.

A student playing as an individual would pay the per person tournament fees and not be required to pay for team dues.

A portion of club teams receive funding assistance through their school and institute a dues structure for the club. This means a student might not pay anything, or might pay a team $100 dues to join the club and that covers all their expenses.

Other costs clubs must consider: lodging, travel, team gear (if applicable), practice time, etc. The NCCGA usually recommends club teams set a budget of $2,000-$3,000 for a semester. This provides extra money for travel expenses, and leaves room for team polos (for example). *All NCCGA teams must pay dues each semester regardless of playing in events to remain in good standing.

What benefits does a team/student receive?

Club golf teams and all individual students that are members of the NCCGA receive the opportunity to play in professionally run golf tournaments both regionally and nationally, discounts at local golf courses, discounts on equipment and apparel, job/internship opportunities, networking events, as well as a significant amount of swag at each tournament. If you are new to NCCGA, here is what to expect:

  • Sleeve of premium Srixon Z-star balls at every tournament
  • Custom bag tag
  • 1st and 10th tee bars
  • Custom NCCGA tees
  • Individual awards for the top 8 players in each tournament
  • Team awards for the top two teams in each event

What do I get with the NCCGA tournament fee?

The tournament fee includes 36-holes of tournament golf, range balls (if course has a range), golf cart (if tournament is a riding event), a sleeve of Srixon golf balls, and awards!

Commitment

What is the commitment of playing club golf?

A big benefit of playing club golf versus varsity is the low level of commitment. The NCCGA runs two or three regional tournaments each semester and then a National Championship for qualifying teams and individuals. Each tournament is a Saturday-Sunday event meaning almost all competing teams miss no class time.

The weekly schedule for a club team differs from club-to-club, but most teams do not have mandatory practices or events on a weekly basis. Many club teams will simply have 2-3 times available for anyone who wants to practice/play. This provides flexibility for each individual student to juggle other priorities such as academics, other clubs, or greek life.

When/where do club golf teams practice?

Most club golf teams have a home course relationship set-up with a local golf course. These relationships vary from school-to-school, but typically involve either playing for free, or paying a nominal daily/semesterly fee to use the course at certain times.

For some schools that don’t have access to a course, the members of the club will travel to the closest course that will help them, or rely on paying out of pocket to play.

The practice schedules are differ from team-to-team. Some teams hold optional practices daily, some once a week, and some rely on students to practice on their own before tournaments.

Can a student participate in other sports/activities?

Yes. One of the benefits of club golf is the low commitment, and this means the students can do other activities outside of it. The NCCGA has had varsity baseball, hockey, and football players also play club golf. Many students are members of multiple clubs, as well as the President of their Fraternity/Sorority while still playing club golf.

Does the NCCGA run summer events?

The NCCGA tournaments take place during the fall and spring college semesters.

The NCCGA does not run any summer events. However, our sister tour PGA Team Golf is a summer tour for young adult golfers in major cities across the country. Similar to the NCCGA, PGA Team Golf is team-based and hosts weekend tournaments throughout the summer: Learn more about PGA Team Golf.

Getting Involved

How do I sign-up?

Check to see if your college has a club golf team. If there is already a team on campus, our staff will introduce you to the team president. If there is not a team on your campus, please fill out the prospective team form and our leadership team will explain how we can help you start a club golf team on campus!

Does your college have a club team?

What if I am a recreational golfer?

Recreational golfers are still welcome to play in our events, as well as join their school's club golf team. Many club teams offer a recreational component, such as scramble events or time at the driving range.

How do I learn more about a specific school's club golf team?

To learn more about the club golf teams at a certain school find the college team page. If you need more info, please contact the NCCGA staff at Info@nccga.org.

Team Composition

How many students are on a club golf team?

A club golf team at any given school can have anywhere from 5-100+ members (there’s no limit). Most club golf teams have both a competitive and recreational roster. Teams will select a smaller number of players to represent the club at competitive NCCGA tournaments.

How many students does a team send to a NCCGA tournament?

The NCCGA operates regional tournaments on a “Play 8 Count Five” format. Therefore club teams can send a minimum of 5, maximum of 8 players to represent the club at a regional tournament. Top top 5 scores each day compose the team score.

Note: Clubs can elect to bring an “A”, “B”, "C", and "D" team to tournaments. This allows the club to send up to 32 players to an event.  Teams compete against each other on the leaderboard.

Who goes to tournaments?

For some schools, it is simply asking who is available and taking the first 8 people. Other teams hold 1, 2, or 3 rounds of tryouts to determine their competitive roster. It all depends on how large the club is, and how the Club President operates the club.

Do men and women play on the same team?

Men and women are allowed to compete on the same team in NCCGA competition. Women would play from the more forward tees, but would still compete on the same leaderboard as the other competitors.

Schools have the option to create gender-specific teams, but only if both genders are represented. (Ex-Wake Forest fields a men’s club golf team AND a women’s club golf team). In this case, the women’s team would all play from the shorter tees, but still play directly against the other teams (there is no all-women’s division or leaderboard).

Do club golf teams play in non-NCCGA events?

Some clubs will hold their own intrasquad tournaments in an effort to involve recreational golfers. These tournaments are operated independently of the NCCGA and don't affect qualifying for the NCCGA National Championship. NCCGA operates a Spring Break Open and other outside events for our club golf teams.

National Championship

How does the National Championship and National Invitational Tournament work?

Similar to the regional tournaments, the National Championship and National Invitational Tournament are 2-day, 36-hole team stroke play events (18 holes both days).

 

When do the National Championship and National Invitational take place?

The spring championships occur in late April and the fall championships occurs in late November/early December. The best teams and individuals across the country qualify each semester: Qualifying Rules

How do teams and individuals qualify?

Learn more about how teams and individuals qualify for the National Championship and the National Invitational Tournament - Qualifying Rules

Rules & Eligibility

Where can I find information on NCCGA Rules and Eligibility?

Full details on all NCCGA Rules and Eligibility related items can be found here.

The Liability Release and Tournament Participation Terms can be found here.  Any questions contact info@nextgengolf.org.

NCCGA Homepage

Any additional questions?

Contact: The NCCGA Team
team@nccga.org