Golf Club Falkenstein: A golfer is drawn from Hamburg to Florida

Many Hamburgers play at US colleges or move there like Leonie Wulfers. The association wants to get involved.

–
–

Hamburg. Only this Wednesday may Leonie Wulfers sign, secure their future in the USA. Before that, it was strictly forbidden, even if there was an oral agreement since the summer. After graduating from high school in 2022, she will be 18 years old Golferin from the Hamburger Golf-Club Falkenstein (HGC) moved to Florida for four years on the Gulf Coast. “I chose Florida Gulf Coast University,” she says. “They offer a degree in PGA Golf Management which corresponds to a golf business economist in Germany. “

Leonie, who is up for election this Tuesday as “Hamburger Sporttalent 2021”, will become another Hamburg golf talent who will seek his sporting luck with a scholarship in the USA after graduating from high school. They all dream of making it on the tour as a professional. Viktoria Hund, Christin Eisenbeiß and Miriam Emmert are currently in the USA. Of the talented boys, Tiger Christensen and Maximilianschichtel moved across the pond last summer, Anton Albers is there for the third year. “This trend has increased significantly,” says Jens Weißhaupt, the boys’ regional coach in the Hamburg Golf Association (HGV).

From the Hamburg Golf Club Falkenstein to the Golf University in Florida

That’s why professional agents are involved. If you enter “college”, “golf” and “agency” in an internet search engine, dozens of agents immediately pop up who promise to bring colleges and players together and for this to collect good money in the higher four-digit range only for initial contact – mostly from the parents. “I had offers from around 20 universities,” says Leonie Wulfers. As the current German junior champion, she was in demand. Tiger Christensen plays for what is arguably the best college team in the United States, that of Oklahoma State University.

Anton Albers is active at a smaller university in Little Rock (Arkansas), but very successfully. Viktoria Hund is in Charleston – “and is well looked after there”. This is reported by Hamburg’s regional trainer Esther Poburski, who maintains close contact with “her” girls via phone calls and videos and was also involved in Leonie Wulfers’ decision: “We had many meetings and conversations. She will do well. “

The connection between elite sport and academic training is completely different in the US college system than it is in this country. The universities compete with their sports teams on a national level. It is most noticeable in football and basketball, with tens of thousands of fans at large games not uncommon. But also in other sports, such as golf, the sports funding and the opportunities on campus are excellent. “The college games are also shown on TV on the golf channel,” says Weißhaupt, “the system is huge and there is an incredible amount of money in it.”

There are also “black sheep” at the agencies

The competition between the colleges means that Americans have long looked to other continents. At the “British Boys”, probably the most important junior tournament in the world, coaches from practically every US university cavort and scout. “The trainers and agents come to major tournaments all over Europe,” says Leonie Wulfers of her own experiences. The lead time between observation, contact and finally an agreement with a school can take two years. 17-year-old Emilie von Finckenstein is already examining her options. Agents are necessary because it is forbidden for coaches and schools to contact the athletes directly.