| The Tennessee Golf Association provides numerous services to its member clubs - the most important being the handicap service. Working closely with the Tennessee Section PGA, the TGA operates the USGA's Golf Handicap and Information Network (GHIN), which provides a uniform handicap service to all golfers in Tennessee. The TGA is most visible through another service - its championships. Twenty (20) TGA Championships are conducted annually, and none more rich in tradition than the State Amateur Championship, which began in the inaugural year of 1914. Former winners of this event include the legendary Dr. Cary Middlecoff, winner of two U.S. Opens and The Masters tournament; former PGA Tour star Mason Rudolph; and Chattanooga's Lew Oehmig, who has won the event eight times in five different decades. Other competitions include the Men's and Women's Tennessee State Open; the Men's Match Play and Senior Match Play Championships; the Four Ball and Senior Four Ball Championships; the Women's Amateur Championship; the Boys and Girls Junior Amateur Championships; the Women's Four Ball Tournament; the Men's and Women's Senior Amateur Championship; the Mid-Amateur Championship; and the Tennessee Challenge Cup Matches, which pits the top amateurs against the top professionals from across Tennessee. The TGA also serves as a direct liaison with the United States Golf Association. This enables the TGA to assist in administering the Rules of Amateur Status, which is at the very heart of the game, and is an important element in protecting the tradition and integrity of golf. Information on the Rules of Golf, Course Rating, Course Measuring, and turfgrass advisory are other services the TGA provides to its member clubs through its relationship with the USGA. The TGA also conducts numerous qualifiers throughout the year for USGA National Championships. The TGA is also part of Golf House Tennessee. In 1991, the Tennessee Golf Association and the Tennessee Section PGA combined efforts forming the Tennessee Golf Foundation, which in 1995 built Golf House Tennessee. This unique facility offers golfers a great opportunity to experience the history and tradition of golf in Tennessee. Golf House Tennessee features a nine hole, par three course (The Little Course); Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame exhibits; USGA exhibits; and an Association History Room which houses many of the TGA Championship trophies and memorabilia. Much of the turfgrass research for TGA member clubs in being conducted at The Little Course which features over 50 varieties of turfgrass. The TGA is governed by a Board of Directors which represents all geographic regions of the state. These directors, along with the TGA's staff of administrators, are dedicated to serving the needs of the TGA member clubs and the needs of amateur golfers in Tennessee. |    |
| | |