COLLEGE GOLF GUIDE

Illustration By Mark Matcho
By Brett Avery

pikN a colleG 2 attend iz BcumN EZer. Xcpt it isnt.

If you can read those 11 words, chances are you're either in college, trying to figure out which one to attend or know someone in that situation. In that case you already know the reality of those two sentences: "Picking a college to attend is becoming easier. Except it isn't."

Translated into the shorthand of text messaging, the truth about making one of life's most important decisions shows up in the beliefs handed down from one recruiting class to the next -- and their exceptions. 1. There's a record number of roster spots available on college golf teams, especially on the women's side -- except there are record numbers of golfers graduating from high school and seeking those opportunities. 2. You can take your time contemplating where to go -- except this year's window for top players to verbally commit to a school comes earlier, is more frenzied and threatens to trample reasoned consideration. 3. New and improved U.S. Golf Association regulations allow families to accept financial aid to cover travel and entry expenses for junior tournaments -- except those offerings now violate NCAA rules.

It's enough to prompt someone to thumb type TMIKTLIU (the more I know the less I understand) -- except even text messaging is about to be banned from recruiting.

For a third straight year, Golf Digest's College Guide has been designed to help student-golfers and their families formulate a game plan for finding the colleges that best fit their academic and athletic abilities and needs. Our guide includes advice and personal experience from the class of 2011 as it heads to college this month, along with tips from their parents and coaches.

It also includes our third-annual rankings of the best colleges among 792 fielding NCAA men's golf teams and 510 that have women's teams. Unlike "playing" polls and rankings released during a sport's season, which provide a snapshot of the top teams in one division, these rankings offer comprehensive measurements of colleges (not just teams) and the opportunities they offer student-athletes.

The five metrics used to calculate our rankings, particularly the "academics" and "facilities/coaches," were improved this year. As a result, we've refined our lists of schools for student-golfers who dream of turning professional (Golf First) and for those placing equal emphasis on school and sports (Balanced). We make a third ranking available online for those who want to continue playing golf while focusing on academics (Academics First).

Thanks to excellent academics and golf programs, Stanford leads all three men's lists and Duke heads all three women's lists. But each ranking offers a diverse collection of the best colleges for golf; the men's top 20s include 33 colleges, the women's top 20s feature 29.

This year's guide also includes results from a far-reaching coaches' survey on a topic of paramount importance to every family: athletic scholarships. The survey measures the number and value of athletic scholarships and reveals that most coaches use an annual scholarship re-evaluation process that might surprise college-bound athletes.

Working toward a college degree is a study in competitiveness and diligence. That's especially true as the grandchildren of the original post-World War II baby boom flood universities. According to U.S. Department of Education projections, about 15.4 million undergraduates will be enrolled in two- and four-year institutions this fall. Of them, about 250,000 will have played high school golf, yet fewer than 20,000 will play on college teams.