The Division III Men's and Women's Golf Committees echoed the sentiments of many golf coaches when they decided not to support the playing and practice season models for a 14 week season for Division III student-athletes.

Meeting July 15-18 in Indianapolis, the committees raised concerns with a proposed model to limit the season to 14 weeks, plus 20 practice opportunities during the traditional segment and five weeks with a maximum of four contests for the nontraditional segment. The 14 weeks is determined by working backward from the championship selection date. The maximum number of contests would be decreased from 20 to 18.

The golf committees believe that because of weather differences throughout the country, the flexibility to divide the time between the traditional and nontraditional seasons should be left to institutions and conferences.

Currently, a number of schools play the majority of their season during the fall because of weather constraints. The committees feel the regional weather differences require flexibility, and that it should be recognized that not all sports can fit into the same mold. Committee members said that without this flexibility, individual competitors and programs would suffer.

The golf committees also believe that 14 weeks is not long enough to promote healthy competition and they are not in favor of decreasing the number of contests, believing the proposed model will restrict the number of athletics opportunities and hinder the total educational experience.

As for alternatives, the men's committee proposed an 18-week model, allowing schools the freedom to divide the traditional and nontraditional seasons as they see fit. In either model, however, the men's and women's committees still do not support a decrease in the number of allowable contests.

In other business, the men's committee agreed to continue with a shotgun start for the practice round during the championships instead of traditional tee times, citing the shotgun start is less time consuming than traditional tee times. The committee discussed this year's final round shotgun start, used because of inclement weather, and its positive impact on the championship.

The women's committee determined that during day two of the championships, the team groupings will remain the same, while pairings within the teams will be based on day one scores. On the third and fourth day of competition, team groupings and team pairings will continue to be based on tournament scores.

The women's committee also forwarded a recommendation on scoring that it believes is more in line with the Division III philosophy. Currently during the season, teams can play six student-athletes, designate the top five and count the top four scores from that quintet. The committee wants teams to be able to play six athletes and count the top four scores without designating individuals whose scores would count. During the championships then, teams would play five and Golfstat would score the top four, regardless of who the golfer is.

That recommendation will be forwarded to the Division III Championships Committee for review.