I asked one of my former students, Bailey Lengfelder, about her experience as a Division III golfer. She had Division I opportunities but chose Macalester College and loves it! Macalester offered the smaller, liberal arts focus, and being in a big city made it a better option for her than any of the other schools on her list. Bailey met her coach late in the recruiting game, but they connected immediately, and she was on the first plane that she could book to MSP.
Bailey just completed her sophomore year and will be majoring in Economics and Gender Studies. She was named to the All-MIAC team and the NCAA Division III All-Region Team for Region3/Central Region.
In her words, here is why she loves Division III:
You don’t have to worry as much about making the starting lineup or getting playing time.
Balance. You are able to have a job/internship and/or pursue other extracurriculars like clubs.
You can study abroad during the school year if you want to.
You miss a lot less school and are able to focus on your academics more. You don’t have to choose between golf and school.
DIII schools tend to be smaller and have smaller class sizes so you form closer relationships with professors.
Because of the size of the school, a larger portion of the student body are athletes which also tends to make professors more accommodating of sport related absences and issues.
Sports are not revenue generating so typical revenue sports aren’t prioritized over golf, golf receives a lot of support (at least at my school).
You actually get time off in the off-season, you can take a break if you get burnt out after the season but you can still practice on your own if you want.
You have time to have a social life outside of golf. Most of my closest friends at school don’t play golf and I was able to spend a lot of time with them even though they are not on the golf team.
This might be specific to my school but we do not have to pay to get into sporting events, all games are free to get into for everyone, not just students.
There is good competition but I also have more opportunities than I would have at a DI school like getting the chance to go to nationals or making conference or all-district teams.
I hope this was helpful for anyone is weighing multiple options. There is always a right fit for your junior golfer to continue their college golf journey, and I wish you the best on your journey.