What we learned from the 2023 college golf coaches convention

Coaches are confused.

Previously, Golfstat had been in charge of rankings for more than three decades. The switch to the now-defunct Spikemark and now Clippd for scoring, with Broadie in charge of the rankings, has been a big change for those used to the old system.

However, there seems to be more a confusion of how the points-based system works. When it comes to how teams are ranked, hardly any coaches are upset with where their teams are in the rankings.

But, not understanding how they got there is frustrating.

“There’s going to have to be things that are worked out,” said Methodist men’s golf coach Steve Conley. “There’s a lot of kinks to work out. It’s hard to wrap yourself around this and say it’s awesome with how many problems there are up front.”

Bumps were expected with a new system, but the formulas have been the biggest frustration point for coaches.

One of the biggest changes this year is match play is included in the rankings for both individuals and teams, something that hasn’t been done in the past.

During a couple breakout sessions, there were straw polls taken among coaches, with a majority saying they would be fine not including match play in the rankings.

“We went through this very same thing with (Golfstat founder) Mark Laesch back in the day,” Texas men’s coach John Fields said of the general discourse. “It doesn’t bother me. I know they’ll get it right.”

Some coaches are more frustrated with how the situation even started, going back to Spikemark being chosen to be the new scoring and ranking provider for the NCAA.

“I don’t really have a problem with the new ranking. I actually think it’s pretty accurate,” Denver women’s coach Martha Richards said. “A majority of the coaches are struggling more with how did we get to this process of deciding we need a new ranking, and what goes into the ranking? I think that’s where people feel a little bit left out of the process of what’s going to go into this formula of our new rankings. Because honestly, the only thing the NCAA has to remember is people’s livelihoods depend upon this, right?

“I have to know, I have to understand it enough to figure out how to set our schedule in a way that we not only have a .500 record, but I’m also putting my players in a position to be successful in the program, too. And so that’s the tricky part when you put in new rankings and a .500 rule.”