Golf is a game that challenges everyone who steps onto the course, regardless of whether it is their first time picking up clubs or they are among the top professionals in the world. 

I picked up the game after college, and since then it has been an integral part of my life. From winning the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur four separate times to competing in U.S. Women’s Opens and finishing top-20 in the U.S. Senior Women’s Open, I have been fortunate enough to find success in the game of golf.

That is part of the reason I wanted to pass along my love for the game of golf to our next generation of female golfers through coaching. I have had the pleasure of seeing firsthand how the golfers I have had the privilege to coach have benefited from being able to compete at the collegiate level. 

Unfortunately, with the direction college sports are headed and the risks on the horizon, I worry about what the future holds not just for college golfers but for men and women competing in a variety of sports. 

Under a bill that just passed California’s state Assembly this month, schools would be forced to use football and men’s basketball revenue to make direct payments to athletes in those sports. This would take money away money that is typically used to fund Olympic and non-revenue sports such as golf. As a college tennis player at the University of Missouri before my post-graduate career in golf, I know how valuable the experience in college athletics can be in preparing athletes for success after graduation. 

I also appreciate that college athletes can now make money off their name, image, and likeness. It’s an incredibly positive development and something I wish would have been in place when I was in school. Already, many collegiate golfers — Texas A&M’s Sam Bennett, for example — have benefited from this policy. Unfortunately, however, many of those opportunities will be taken away under this new revenue-sharing proposal in California.

If revenue sharing becomes required by law, there will be fewer opportunities for golfers, tennis and volleyball players, wrestlers, gymnasts, and other athletes in non-revenue sports. The fewer programs that remain, the fewer athletes will be able to take advantage of the name, image and likeness revenue.

Ultimately, this is why we need a uniform standard that ensures no sports are subject to being placed on the chopping block due California’s potential new law.

Sports have been such a huge part of my life. They have provided me with the tools and skills that have helped me succeed. Opportunities to obtain these skills and have life-altering experiences for future athletes at all levels could disappear if we move to a revenue sharing model.

It is my hope we find a national solution that will ensure female golfers and all young athletes will continue to be inspired to pursue their dreams, just as I was.

Ellen Port is an amateur golfer and former collegiate golf coach, a four-time winner of the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, three-time winner of the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, and she captained the winning team of the 2014 Curtis Cup. She is an inductee of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.