Here is the kicker: The number of teams advancing from each region varies from year to year.

Currently, the top 11 teams from the West region advance to the Division I Women's Golf Championships, but only the top eight teams from the East region advance.

That is because the committee reviews the most recent two-year history of the national championships to determine the number of teams that should qualify from each region.

The policy has its detractors, and the Division I Men's and Women's Golf Committee is looking for an equitable solution, according to committee member Elizabeth B. Palmer, wo-men's golf coach at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa.

Dianne Dailey, another committee member and women's golf coach at the Wake Forest University, believes "that the criteria for coming into the region are good, but who comes out is the question."

Regional qualifying was established in 1993, and in general, it has been favorably received.

"Going to the regional system was the best thing for college golf," said Renee M. Baumgartner, chair of the Division I Men's and Women's Golf Committee and coach at the University of Oregon. "Under this system, everyone is given a fair chance to qualify for the national championship."

In fact, the committee is examining the issue with the hope of making a good game better. Options include a three-regional system and an adjusted ratings system.

Proponents say a three-regional system might work the way it does in men's golf.

"We must look at the current men's system, but the women have a smaller field so you can't necessarily compare the two," Palmer said.

She said that although a three-region system has the potential to provide balance, it is unclear how each region would be defined.

"Three regions also makes sense from a financial standpoint, since teams would not have to travel as far to compete in the regional competition," Palmer said.

Dailey has been researching an adjusted ratings system. That option would use the current five criteria along with adjusted ratings that would take into account the weather conditions based on the scores shot at tournaments throughout the year.

However, opponents of the adjusted-ratings system fear it would involve too many subjective elements.

Dailey said another possible solution would be to alternate the number of qualifiers to the national tournament from year to year. That system would qualify 10 teams from the West region and nine teams from the East region one year and vice versa the next year.

Dailey and Palmer believe the alternating system could be used with the current system or in conjunction with one of the other systems being examined.

Other possible solutions have been suggested. Some coaches believe that adding a team and having 10 teams from each region would be the most logical way to determine teams. Others say a seeding system of automatic qualifiers would be a better solution.

The committee will review the various options when it meets in June.

"The committee will continue to look at different options since it is trying to make the current system better," Dailey said.