BERMUDA'S top female golfer, Laura Robinson, hardly has a minute to herself these days.

That's because the 18-year-old is competing against the best women college players in the United States while trying to keep her grades up at Wofford College in South Carolina.

While some universities in the United States tend to give athletes on scholarships an easy ride in the classroom, Wofford ranks in the top 10 colleges in the country which has athletes on scholarships who graduate with a degree.

"If you do not keep your grades up you cannot play golf - it is that simple," said Robinson who attended Bermuda High School for Girls for 12 years.

The Bermudian who was recently back on the island for spring break, added: "We have struggled with numbers this year (for the team) because some of the girls have been injured and some can't play because their grades slipped. If you do not make a certain grade point average you cannot play.

"We practise every day but get a day off at the weekend. It is really hard keeping your grades up because you have classes in the morning and then it is straight to the golf course in the afternoon to practise. I also do weight training because I had a back injury which thankfully, is fine now."

Robinson said that the season is "pretty much all year round". She said: "We do get December and January off but for the most part we are playing all the time - some big tournaments and some smaller ones."

There are five players on the team from Wofford - nicknamed the Lady Terriers. "In a tournament the best four scores count," said Robinson who has played some of the US south east coast's best courses including Pinehurst (8) in North Carolina and Big Tree Golf Plantation in Myrtle Beach where the LPGA stages some of their tournaments.

And when she arrived at the renown Pinehurst course Robinson was happy to see a picture of top Bermuda golfer Michael Sims gracing the clubhouse. "He won the North/South there and it was great to see his picture up. I have played some of the courses he has and it is amazing the scores he shoots," said Robinson of Sims who just turned professional this year after a excellent college career.

Asked if she would like to turn professional, Robinson said: "I have no thoughts about that. I just want to play college golf and get my education. After that who knows?"

The toughest course she has played in tournaments was also Pinehurst (8).

She said: "I am usually thinking I will two-putt once I get on the green but you cannot think like that at Pinehurst. The greens there are domes! They are tough."

When she is back in Bermuda Robinson also likes to play field hockey. "I still like to play. I used to play for Canaries but now I play for Cardinals. The fitness you get playing hockey is good. And when you play so much golf you build up aggression and hockey is a good way to get it out."

Robinson is on a partial scholarship at Wofford since this is her first year. But after time, depending on her scores and grades, the scholarship grant rises.

The biggest adjustments playing in the US have been the greens - and longer courses. "The courses there are quites a bit longer and the greens are different. It takes some getting used to. The greens also tend to have more breaks to them. It really is just different, not necessarily tougher."

Her home courses are the Carolina Country Club and the Spartanburg Country Club.

NCAA tournaments are 36 holes over two days. "We leave Sunday in a college van for a tournament and have a practise round and then play on Monday and Tuesday getting back to school on Tuesday night. It can be a little tiring," she said.

While her fellow teammates are American, Robinson has said she is finding more players from Sweden and Mexico competing in the NCAA.

Her coach is Randy Mahaffey and there is another coach who keeps on top of the players' grades and organises the tournaments. Mahaffey is basically the swing coach of the team, she said. "Right now he has been working with me on my putting which lately has needed work. I have made too many putts recently. And if your putting is off, your whole game can go down."

Although the NCAA tournaments she has been in are stroke play, Robinson tends to prefer match play. "I like the one-on-one situation," she said.

Robinson was recently back in Bermuda where she won the Glidden Bowl and when she returns for the summer break she is hoping to play in the Bermuda Stroke Play Championships and also to defend her crown at the Canadian Championships.

And although she looked at a number of other colleges in the US, she decided on Wofford because it is small but still plays in the NCAA Division One. "It is the smallest school in Division One," she said. "It has a really nice campus and there are only about 1,100 students. I think they tend to care more about their students than big schools. There is no problem speaking with professors. You can talk with your teachers really easy. I went to BHS for 12 years and knew everyone and then I went to Gunnery Boarding School in Connecticut and I knew everyone there. I knew I couldn't go to a huge school - I would feel overwhelmed."