Why Scoring Differential Matters

When I built DreamFinder, I became obsessed with one question: How can we predict the chances a recruit will actually play at a college program?

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I wanted real data, not guesswork — something that gave families power and improved their odds of earning a scholarship.

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At first, I chased the obvious: scoring average. The results? Meh. There was some correlation, but not nearly high enough.

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I tested other numbers — overall ranking, class rank — still not the answer.

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Then I found it. The true heavyweight champion of college golf recruiting - the stat that makes or breaks where you land in college golf: Junior Golf Scoreboard Scoring Differential.

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Scoring differential is the difference between your score and the golf course rating.

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Let's say you shoot 71 and the course rating is 74 - that's a -3 differential. If you shoot 77 - it's a +3 differential.

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The beauty of scoring differential is that it takes into account the difficulty of the course, the yardage, and the par. Turns out this matters - big time.

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The upper level of junior golf is filled with tournaments contested at brutally hard courses (TPC Sawgrass anyone) and scoring differential takes this into consideration. It's also a primary determinant of your Junior Golf Scoreboard Ranking, but without the controversial strength of field parameter.

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Scoring differential determines not only what division you can play at, but more importantly, where in the division you can play.

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Given that there are 300 programs in NCAA Division 1, knowing where in the division you should be targeting is a priceless asset. It saves time on unnecessary outreach, ensures a higher probability of a coach response, better scholarship chances and more.

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Use these steps to find your JGS Scoring Differential: 

- Go to https://www.juniorgolfscoreboard.com/‍

- Click on Rankings & Honors

- Click on Search Junior Golf Rankings

- Enter your gender (Boys, Girls) and last name

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Your scoring differential will pop up and you are on your way to understand what level of college golf you can play at.

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Recruits that now use the DreamCheck can place themselves within a division to ensure they reach out to programs they have a high probability of playing for and maximize scholarship chances.

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It's the undisputed heavyweight champion of Junior Golf and every junior golf family should know how it works.

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