Welcome to The Opening Tee Shot

Thank you for joining me here with another edition of The Opening Tee Shot. We're heading into the home stretch with the end of school and now golf season seems to be moving at warp speed.

Thanks to everyone who answered our poll about their junior golfer's graduation year. The majority of you who answered are from the Class of 2029 or younger, but the Class of 2026 had the second strongest showing in our readership.

Today we're talking about a recent NIL update that anyone (and any age) who has aspirations of playing college golf should know about, plus a brand new junior golfer spotlight!

-Sara and Chili

A gorgeous morning shot of #2 at West Lake Country Club in Augusta, Georgia

🏌️Major college athletics update

I know many of you reading this may be far from the college years, but as you've likely heard by now, there are substantial changes on the horizon that will have impacts on student athletes for years to come.

The House vs. NCAA case is underway and it deals with multiple facets of college sports, including imposing caps on college team roster sizes. 

The idea of roster caps has caused major heartburn among the coaches, especially for golf teams which are much more limited in size compared to other sports like football or baseball. It's also been a source of stress for junior golfers because many golf programs were looking at a forced cut, leaving even less spots a junior golfer could earn at their favored schools.

The roster cap mandates were supposed to go into effect on July 1st, but the judge presiding over the case halted this and allowed a proposal to deal with the potential unfairness of roster caps for current student athletes and future ones.

This past week after the judge's mandate, the NCAA presented an alternative to this harsh across-the-board roster limit. The NCAA proposal included a gradual roster cap implementation, versus a cap starting with Class of 2025. It also proposed current athletes be grandfathered in, so they don't risk getting cut this year due to the roster caps.

Lastly, the schools can ease into the roster caps slowly and develop their own timeline for it, which gives athletes and schools much more time to prepare.

While this is a birds eye view of what's going on, if implemented, this proposal may be welcome news for junior golfers. 

For some of you, this could open up more spots and you may have the chance to re-visit programs previously maxed out. For Class of 2029 and younger, this is a must follow as you head into high school, since roster cap changes may not start for several more years (depending on the school).

We should know soon if the judge approves this proposal. Stay tuned!

🏌️Junior golfer spotlight!

This week we're featuring Chloe Witcher, a 15-year old Class of 2027 from Glasgow, Kentucky. She's an accomplished athlete on the golf course and as a softball player and with major enthusiasm for the game of golf.

How did you start playing golf and at what age?

I picked up a club 2 1/2 years ago, and developed a natural talent, and love for the game!

Who is your swing coach?

Brian Eaton @brianeatongolf

Who is your favorite social media influencer?

Gabbygolfgirl (got to meet her!)

Do you set goals?

I have a plethora of goals set.

What are some of your goals for this year? 

I want my scoring average to get as low as a 74-76 average by the end of my junior golf season with some low rounds, while staying calm and collected.

What are your 5 year goals? 

Attend a Division-1 golf school, major in business management and marketing

What are you working on now? 

Impact position, and not being afraid to go low. Trusting the shot!

What is your favorite restaurant? 

I LOVE Taco Bell!!!

What is your favorite ice cream flavor? 

Strawberry!!

And your favorite Singer? 

Bruno Mars!

What other hobbies do you have? 

I spend a lot of my free time playing pickleball!! I love it!! Honestly I played softball until 2 years ago and then I started golf! I’ve not been playing golf long!

What’s a surprising fact about you?

I was a pitcher for an elite travel softball team. Ranked 13th in the nation for pitchers my graduating year (2027) and 17th overall player in the nation!!

Thank you to UP Consulting for your continued support as a sponsor and drop us a line if you're interested in affordable sponsorship opportunities with Junior Golf Playbook.

Do you know another junior golf parent who would like this newsletter? You can send this link.

Don't forget, you can always hit reply to this newsletter or email us at sara@juniorgolfplaybook.com.

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