CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's golf team has built an impressive resume on the collegiate golf scene since head coach Mark Guhne took over the program prior to the 2006-07 season. Its steady rise in prominence has not kept the Chattanooga student-athletes from giving of themselves to their supportive community.
The Mocs had a good start to their 2010-11 season on the course both athletically and socially. While the team was competing against the top teams in the country through five events, it was also taking time to help mentor on the course with the city of Chattanooga's C.H.I.P.S. program.
C.H.I.P.S.stands for Character, Honesty, Independence, Pride, and Sportsmanship. It is one of the many programs Therapeutic Recreation Services facilitates for individuals who have disabilities. Founded with grant assistance from USGA in 2007, C.H.I.P.S. makes it possible for anyone regardless of his or her disability to be able to play the game of golf.
"It's a great program," said head coach Mark Guhne. "Ben Rickett (assistant coach) got us started with it and has done a fantastic job getting our guys involved. We look forward to continuing the relationship."
C.H.I.P.S. provides individualized instruction during the spring, which is then applied in the fall. UTC golfers volunteered play days at different times in the fall and are planning to schedule an instruction day in the spring.
ABOUT C.H.I.P.S.
C.H.I.P.S. Golf is one of the many programs Therapeutic Recreation Services facilitates for individuals who have disabilities. Founded with grant assistance from USGA in 2007, C.H.I.P.S. makes it possible for anyone regardless of his or her disability to be able to play the game of golf. C.H.I.P.S. is also the only community-based program of its kind in the Chattanooga area whose purpose is to use the sport of adaptive golf as a therapeutic tool to teach life skills such as Character, Honesty, Independence, Pride, and Sportsmanship. C.H.I.P.S. also focuses on teaching proper social skills, enhancing cognitive reasoning skills, increasing physical abilities, and much more.
ABOUT CHATTANOOGA GOLF
The mission of the Chattanooga athletics department is to guide, encourage and support our Student-Athletes in their quest for comprehensive excellence - academically, athletically and socially. Above all else, we pre pare Students for productive and meaningful lives. The men's golf program has been an excellent example of the application of this mission. It has won three of the last four Southern Conference Golf Championships and competed in four straight NCAA Regionals and the 2009 Final. It has enjoyed a strong academic record in both grades and graduating its student-athletes and continues to impact its community with programs such as C.H.I.P.S.
GoMocs.com is the official website of the Chattanooga Mocs. The Mocs can also be followed on their official Facebook page, www.facebook.com/ChattanoogaMocs, or on Twitter, www.twitter.com/GoMocs.
