OHSAA Proposal

Posted on by
(The following proposal must be credited in large part to Craig Mosier – Head Coach of Wellington High School.)

OHSAA Golf Proposal

General Principle: A Championship berth should be earned through good play, and we should encourage fair and equitable competition throughout the State.
  1. Sectionals will remain the same.
  2. Teams will be sent to Sectionals based on performance throughout the year. Teams will be seeded based on coaches polls. Coaches polls will be supported by ranking data provided to the coaches by PGIC. This will be for internal use only and not for public distribution in any form. Team ranking data will be based in large part on the Junior Golf Scoreboard ranking system using course rating vs. stroke differential methodology. Course rating will be adjusted based on temperature and wind similar to the European model.
  3. Districts will be replaced by 4 Regionals: North, South, East, and West. This will hold true for all Divisions of play and for boys and girls.
  4. Teams will qualify for Regionals based on an equitable and participatory formula that also balances competition in the Regional sites. This holds true for individuals qualifying for the State Championship. Every area of the state will have an opportunity to advance. (Coach Mosier has a formula and spreadsheet that is equitable and flexible)
  5. Three teams from each Regional site will advance to the State Championship. Three individuals from each Regional not on a qualifying team will advance to the State Championship. The standard of competition will be consistent. We will no longer have 1 team or 4, for example, advancing from a District to the State Championship.
  6. Live Scoring. College coaches, current HS coaches, fans, and parents will love to see Live Scoring implemented in our championships. This is now standard for college golf and is in place in many high school championships across the country. Cost is roughly $500 for Golfstat or $100 for Birdiefire. One player in each group or a designated volunteer will enter the scores on their mobile device. The results will be viewable online immediately. This addition to the Championship benefits college coaches when recruiting at our championships. Current High School coaches will be more aware of how their players and team are performing (and thus better able to help them), and our players will receive national exposure. This will generate ADDITIONAL excitement and interest in our players and will not impact attendance at our championships. Plus it will open up the opportunity to earn additional sponsorship dollars due to a larger audience.
  7. We will have a balanced and fair championship qualifying format! In addition, teams with the financial resources to play District courses many times throughout the year in preparation for the postseason will lose the ability to continue this practice. This eliminates the current built-in advantage for these teams and will make Regional play more equitable.
If you are a High School Golf Coach, you should have received a questionnaire on Monday asking for your input on moving to a Regional Model. PLEASE fill this out and return it to the OHSAA, so we receive input from all areas of the State.