There’s a lot that goes into deciding which tournaments a team will enter. Even the players on the team might not be aware of all the behind-the-scenes factors, strategies, and politics involved. Let me break it down a bit.

In NCAA Division I golf, for both men and women, teams are allowed 24 competition days during the regular season, which they can use pretty much however they like. The conference championship, NCAA Regionals, and Nationals are not part of these 24 days. 

There are also rules about the 144-day playing season, which dictates when the team is in-season versus off-season, affecting how many hours of practice and competition are allowed each week. Coaches can’t schedule tournaments during the off- season, but within those 24 days, they have a lot of flexibility.

The strategy behind how to use those 24 days is pretty interesting. To start with the simple stuff, coaches obviously have a travel budget to adhere to. Most schools can’t afford to just go carte blanche from coast to coast every week. Most team schedules, therefore, include local or regional tournaments, as well as a few destination tournaments.

Next, the coach must decide how many tournaments they would like their team to play during the Fall and Spring. Depending on the tournament invites the coach has received, they can piece together two- and three-day events to fill the 24 days. Two-day events, where 36 holes are played on the first competition day, will result in a bigger volume of rounds played during the 24 days. Most coaches opt for a balance between two- and three-day events.

Where the scheduling plot really thickens is when we consider the impact on rankings and

qualification for postseason play.For lower-ranked teams or newer programs, the goal is often to get into tougher tournaments — not necessarily at more famous courses, but against stronger competition. Playing against higher-ranked teams can help improve both the team’s and individual players’ rankings.

Most regular season tournaments are hosted by other schools, so coaches who want to improve their schedule often ask other coaches to let them into their tournaments. However, just asking for a favor usually isn’t enough. Host schools want the strongest possible field for their tournaments, and inviting a low-ranked team can weaken the competition, so even friendly coaches might have to say no if the team doesn’t fit the level of the field.

To get around this, some ambitious programs work with their community to raise funds and host their own high-quality tournament. Securing a great golf course is key, and sometimes coaches even go out of state to find the right venue. 

With the course secured, donors might pitch in to cover hosting costs, allowing the coach to invite other schools to their “home” tournament. Offering a great course with no entry fee can attract higher-ranked teams that want to play on a good course while saving on their budget.

By putting on a well organized event, the host school can really boost its schedule. Plus, other coaches often return the favor, inviting the team to their tournaments, which can add four or five new, high-quality events to the calendar.

A big goal for many Division I teams is to qualify for NCAA Regionals. To do this, a team either needs to win its Conference Championship for an automatic spot or secure an at-large bid. To be eligible for an at-large bid, the team has to be on the right side of the .500 rule (more on that later). The selection committee usually sticks pretty closely to the rankings when choosing at-large bids. 

For men’s teams, historically, being ranked in the mid-60s has been considered the ‘magic number’ to secure an at-large spot in the postseason. To have a realistic chance of achieving this ranking by the end of the regular season, the strength of the schedule must be relatively strong. This creates a clear scheduling strategy for lower-ranked schools with aspirations of reaching the NCAA postseason.

The scheduling approach does, however, become much more complex for top teams. While it might seem that the best teams would only participate in the most prestigious tournaments on the best courses against top-tier competition, this is not usually the case.

Most schools avoid an exclusively ’tough-as-it-gets’ schedule due to the .500 rule, which requires teams to win more than 50% of their matches against opponents during the regular season to be eligible for postseason play. This means a team needs to not only achieve a high ranking by season’s end but also maintain a winning record against more than half of its competition throughout the year.

As a result, coaches of top programs, who have more flexibility in selecting tournaments, tend to choose events with varying levels of competition. This strategy allows them to both challenge their team against strong opponents to boost their ranking and face less competitive fields to maintain the necessary win-loss ratio.

Ultimately, selecting a schedule is more of an art than a science for college coaches, especially at the top schools. They must consider various factors beyond just the competition level, such as the recruiting impact of high-profile events like a tournament in Hawaii, an event covered by the Golf Channel, or one played on a Major Championship course. 

Coaches may also prioritize events held on regional courses, the home course of a current player, or courses near key donors, to mention a few more ingredients in this finely balanced mix. This decision-making process involves balancing numerous scenarios, constantly recalculating predicted win-loss records, and projecting the impact on team and individual rankings.

Scheduling is a true art and there are more dynamics going on behind the scenes than most can imagine. The result is a beautiful thing — a college golf season with countless storylines.