Golf plays a big role in Dylan Ramsey’s young life. It’s his thing; it’s what he does.
For Ramsey, golf is a lifestyle.
Recently, he made a decision that will keep golf in his life well into the foreseeable future.
“It’s definitely very important to me. It’s my favorite activity,” Ramsey said. “I’d like to make a career out of it. But it’s still a game. It’s not life or death. It’s something you should enjoy. If you’re not enjoying it, you probably shouldn’t be playing it. I like to interact with other people when I’m playing, and you get to go to new places.
“It doesn’t leave you a lot of time for other things. I never really called it ‘a grind.’ If it ever felt like a chore or a job, I’d stop. Golf should be something you want to do. I hope I don’t get to that point.”
In November, Ramsey, a homeschooled student and a junior member of the Cedar Crest golf team, officially committed to continue his education and the pursuit of his passion for golf at Division One Middle Tennessee State. Ramsey also considered scholarship offers from James Madison, Liberty, Penn State, and Tennessee-Chattanooga.
“I did some research on a lot of colleges, and I did an online tour of the (Middle Tennessee State) campus,” he said. “I really liked the coach (Mark McEntire). I wanted a coach who believed in me. He’s been contacting me since he could. They play a great course, the academics for the school are pretty good and the scholarship was good.
“It (the recruiting) was definitely a fun process. Middle Tennessee State is a very good school, but it’s not like top 10 or top 20. I didn’t want the pressure. I thought now was a pretty good time to do it (commit).”
“He’s a great kid,” said Cedar Crest golf coach Drew Gates. “He’s very modest for the level of player that he is. He’s very even keeled. He just leads by example on our team. He spends so much time on the range. He just works at it.”
During his first three years on the Cedar Crest golf team, Ramsey has been always consistent, most of the time very good and sometimes spectacular. In the fall of 2024, Ramsey fell two shots short of winning his second PIAA Class AAA championship.
In his freshman season of 2022, Ramsey burst onto the state and national golf scenes by capturing the PIAA Class AAA title at Penn State University’s White Course. Ramsey has led the Lancaster-Lebanon League in scoring average over the past three years, but has never won the circuit’s individual one-day tournament championship.
Over the summer months, Ramsey has also played well in local amateur and regional and national junior golf events. His resume includes a triumph at Delaware/Golf Association of Philadelphia Junior Boys’ tournament.
“High school-wise, I think I’ve done pretty well,” said Ramsey. “I’ve won a state championship and been a runner-up, that’s not bad. But I still haven’t won a league championship. I’ve played a lot of solid golf. I’ve had 10th- or 12th-place finishes in a lot of good tournaments.
“I’d say overall, I’m happy with the way I’ve played. I’ve played good enough to go to the school I’m going to. It’s been a lot of fun and that’s the most important thing. I just want to enjoy my last year of (high school) golf and winning another state championship would be nice.”
“Dylan was our only player to make it to states this year,” said Gates. “Two kids got out of school to support him. They watched and followed him, and I think that speaks to the kind of person he is. He’s liked. Some golfers are in their own bubbles, they’re kind of hard to approach. That’s not how he is.”
Ramsey’s scholarship covers his full tuition to Middle Tennessee State, which is located Murfreesboro, about 35 miles southeast of Nashville, but not his books, food or board. He said that while he has not completely decided on a major, he is considering something in the business department or in sports management.
The Middle Tennessee State golf team competes in Conference USA.
“The coach said he’s been trying to elevate the golf program,” said Ramsey. “They’ve definitely improved over recent seasons. He said he felt like they were really getting better. I think he really wants to improve the program.”
“He’s got to be up there with the best of the best at Cedar Crest – Stu Ingraham, Blaine Peffley,” said Gates. “It’s very small company he’s been keeping. All three years that he’s been on our team we’ve had a chance to win the section (Section 1 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League). That’s the kind of impact he’s had on our team.”
Ramsey does entertain goals involving golf beyond college.
“The goal is to get to the PGA Tour. Not everybody gets there, so you’ve got to have a back-up plan,” he said. “I probably started thinking about being a professional before I thought about playing Division One golf. I don’t think it was at that moment (when he won a state championship as a freshman). But probably over that winter when I was practicing, I was thinking I’d like to play Division One golf.
“I really enjoy golf. To be successful in golf, you’ve got to enjoy practicing as much as playing. I really enjoy the practice. You don’t have to practice five or six hours a day. It may only be half-an-hour, but you’ve got to make that time count.”
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