Golf Course, Women's Program Ranked by Golf Digest
8/18/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan Golf Course was named the third best among college courses according to Golf Digest magazine's College Golf Guide in the September 2005 issue. In addition, the magazine ranked a program's ability to balance academics and athletics, pegging the Wolverine women's program at No. 17.
The U-M Golf Course, which plays host to both Michigan men's and women's golf teams, was the highest-ranked of four Big Ten teams to make the list with a 59.12 rating. Wisconsin's University Ridge Golf Course (57.90) and Ohio State's Scarlet Course (57.02) chipped in at No. 6 and 7, respectively. Purdue's Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex (55.99) rounded out the Big Ten honorees, taking the 11th spot. Top accolades went to Oklahoma State's Karsten Creek (62.62) in Stillwater, Okla.
Golf Digest based its course ratings based design, shot value, resistance to scoring, aesthetics, condition, ambience, impressionability and bonus walking points.
The U-M Golf Course was designed in the late 1920s by Alister MacKenzie and opened to the public in the spring of 1931. In the spring of 1994, the course reopened following a multi-million dollar renovation. The course is the regular home of the Wolverine North Invitational and most recently hosted the 2004 Men's Big Ten Championships and 2005 Women's Big Ten Championships.
The women's program, under the direction of head coach Kathy Teichert, was ranked No. 17 overall for balanced golf programs with an 83.76 rating. Michigan was the highest ranking Big Ten school among the 25-school listing. Northwestern (83.48) was the only other conference school on the list at No. 18.
This Golf Digest rating is based upon providing golfers a balance between academics and athletics. Only colleges that had an academic rating of 90 or higher were considered. Golf performance was 45 percent of the final index, academics 40 percent, coach/facilities 10 percent and climate five percent.
Golf Digest's College Golf Guide Rankings (September 2005)
College Golf Course Rankings
| Course | School (Location) | Ranking |
| Karsten Creek | Oklahoma State (Stillwater, Okla.) | 62.62 |
| The Orchards | Mount Holyoke (Hadley, Mass.) | 60.27 |
| U-M Golf Course | Michigan (Ann Arbor, Mich.) | 59.12 |
| The Rawls Course | Texas Tech (Lubbock, Texas) | 59.82 |
| University Ridge | Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.) | 57.90 |
| The Scarlet Course | Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio) | 57.02 |
| Eisenhower Golf Course | Air Force (Colorado Springs, Colo.) | 57.01 |
| Stanford University Golf Course | Stanford (Palo Alto, Calif.) | 56.23 |
| Colbert Hills | Kansas State (Manhattan, Kan.) | 56.23 |
| Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex | Purdue (West Lafayette, Ind.) | 55.99 |
| Duke University Golf Course | Duke (Durham, N.C.) | 55.95 |
| The U Club of Baton Rouge | LSU (Baton Rouge, La.) | 55.88 |
| UNC Finley Golf Course | North Carolina (Chapel Hill, N.C.) | 55.85 |
| Warren Golf Course | Notre Dame (South Bend, Ind.) | 54.85 |
College Golf Women's Balance Program Rankings
| School | Rating |
| Duke | 95.20 |
| UCLA | 93.32 |
| USC | 89.51 |
| California | 89.20 |
| Stanford | 88.62 |
| Pepperdine | 88.35 |
| Texas | 88.26 |
| Vanderbilt | 87.72 |
| Florida | 87.70 |
| Georgia | 86.61 |
| Wake Forest | 86.38 |
| North Carolina | 85.25 |
| Tulane | 85.24 |
| Furman | 85.09 |
| Washington | 84.71 |
| UC-Irvine | 83.77 |
| Michigan | 83.76 |
| Northwestern | 83.48 |
| Tulsa | 83.38 |
| Miami (Fla.) | 83.36 |
| Princeton | 83.18 |
| Notre Dame | 82.91 |
| Virginia | 82.34 |
| Yale | 82.31 |
| Florida State | 82.17 |
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
