Get a Golf Education

Long gone are the days when the 'Three Rs' provided people with the bulk of their education. Reading, writing and arithmetic were the principle pillars of learning for generations.

Now, however, they've been overtaken by new, more specialist subjects as competition for the best jobs and salaries have driven the vast majority of school-leavers to gain as comprehensive a knowledge of their chosen field as possible.

These days, you almost need a maths degree to count the number of courses on offer at the top colleges and universities. Indeed, you can study more of less everything from 3D computer animation to archaeological and forensic sciences.

Truly, no stone has been left unturned in the pursuit of academic excellence, which has resulted in golf coming off the fairways and into the classrooms at some institutions.

Courses are now available covering all aspects of the game, including greenkeeping, sports science and the like. So, if you're about to leave school and aren't sure of your next move, or perhaps you are ready to return to the education arena to help facilitate a change in career direction, then combining your favourite sport with the human brain's natural inclination for learning could be the best move you ever make.

There are plenty of courses for you to choose from all across the UK and many of them are based right here in the 'Home of Golf'.

Indeed, at Heriot-Watt University near Edinburgh, budding pros are given the chance to hone their skills and learn more about the physical and biological requirements of the game by enrolling at the uni's Centre for Sport & Exercise.

It recently opened a new golf academy, an indoor golf practice facility incorporating driving, chipping, bunker and putting areas. It provides users with the unique opportunity of practising their golfing skills in an indoor environment away from the vagaries of the weather and has already proven to be a smash hit with students.

The University of Stirling, meanwhile, is one of Scotland's best renowned institutions for young golfers on the look-out to combine their golfing development with their educational development. Its sports studies department has the broadest range of sports degrees in the UK, whilst the campus is also home to the Scottish Institute of Sport. For the more green-fingered amongst you, Elmwood College in Fife offers ten different golf-specific courses, ranging from an HNC in golf course management to an NC in golf studies.

The latest addition to this extensive portfolio - an HNC/D in professional golf ­- is due to launch in September. So, if your focus is not so much on playing golf as providing the best facilities for golfers to play on, Elmwood College is unquestionably the place for you.

Five different golf-related courses are on offer at the North Highland College, which has campuses at Thurso, Wick, Alness and Dornoch. From golf tourism to golf facility management, you can learn the skills you need to succeed in the industry at this college and, what's more, you'll get to study in one of the most beautiful and picturesque parts of the country. Perfect!

Of course, you don't need to wait until you leave sixth form to get a golf education - not when there are golf-specific schools around, such as St Leonards. Situated within the medieval walls of the former St Andrews Abbey in the Auld Grey Toon, it houses day and boarding students and combines academic learning with on-course golf learning. Rosie Dawson, the school's director of golf, says: "Our planned programme of golf tuition combined with some of the finest facilities to be found anywhere means that, whatever their age or level, St Leonards pupils receive the best possible golf experience."

Of course, the bulk of golf education courses are targeted at school-leavers and, naturally, aren't just restricted to Scotland. Indeed, scholarships are available in England at the University of Bournemouth. It offers full and part-time courses such as sports management golf, sports development and coaching sciences and coach and athlete development, as well as degrees in other areas such as media, marketing, business, law, finance and accounting.

The University of Exeter also has a great range of superb courses and they are complemented by an ultra-modern sports park.

You may, however, be tempted by the opportunity to spread your wings and head for the other side of the Atlantic. Golf scholarships in the USA have become more and more popular over the past decade and some of the game's top players have completed degrees in America before joining the tour. Luke Donald, for example, attended Northwestern, his scholarship being arranged by College Prospects, the world's largest scholarship place service. A similar quality service is offered by American College Scholarships. Both companies can turn your American golf dreams into reality.

Ultimately, though, the choice is yours and so, in the words of a famous scholar, "go forth and learn".

Padraig Harrington
The Open champion completed an accountancy degree at Dublin Business School before turning pro in 1995.

Phil Mickelson
'Lefty' turned his hand to a psychology degree which he graduated with from Arizona State University in 1992.

Justin Leonard
The 1997 Open champion turned pro in 1994 shortly after completing a degree in business at the University of