Woohoo! Study Says College Golfers Love To Gamble!

I never got around to a post about it, but watching the Pac 12's best last week tackle an Los Angeles Country Club North Course that could easily make even the world's best cranky, the young lads kept such an even keel compared to my college golf days when club hurling and colorful language embellished the festivities.

Anyway, I have hope for the youth of America again after reading from USA Today's Dan Wolken that of modern NCAA athletes, college golfers love to gamble a lot more than their peers.

So, so "troubling."

But several trends revealed in the survey, released Tuesday, are troubling for the NCAA's enforcement division, with one sport in particular emerging as a major concern: golf.

According to the NCAA's data, 21.3% of male college golfers in Division I admitted to gambling on sports at least once a month, a rate more than double any other sport.

Oh a little press of the press never hurt anyone!

That number is up from 14.4% in the 2004 survey and stands in contrast to other sports where the numbers have either decreased or remained stagnant. By comparison, 5.9% of Division I men's basketball players and 4.6% of football players admitted to gambling on sports at least once per month.

NCAA rules prohibit all forms of sports betting for players and coaches, with eligibility penalties for anyone caught violating them.

"It's certainly an issue because the numbers are just so high across the board (for golf) in any gambling activity, not just sports wagering," said Mark Strothkamp, the NCAA's associate director of enforcement on sports gambling issues. "It's the culture within that sport. In any country club in America, you can go see that type of activity going on. That's the norm within that sport, and we need to combat that norm."

A culture? Gambling is illegal at Bushwood sir!