The golf club at Chatham University appeared to have been in a rough spot with many of the previous members graduating last year. However, some new life has taken over the organization and looks to get more students involved in the game of golf.
Golf Club President Rainey Jessup ‘25 and Vice President Erin Carter ‘25 took over Chatham’s student-run golf club in August, and Assistant Athletic Directors Dani Pais and Kailin Nelson assisted the duo in their startup process.
“We both golfed over the summer, and we knew a lot of people around campus were interested in joining,” Carter said. “So we just decided to take over the club and get it going.”
Jessup and Carter realized how many student-athletes would be interested in a golf club. So far, the club is made up of 33 members, a large majority of the members also being part of the women’s and men’s ice hockey teams and the men’s lacrosse team. Rainey and Carter are hoping to gather more student-athletes and students without athletic experience to diversify and grow the program.
“We’re trying to expand our reach to anybody who wants to do it,” Jessup said. “Some of the people in the club have absolutely no golf experience at all so it doesn’t matter if you can play or not to join.”
Jessup and Carter highlighted the importance of the existing golf simulator in the Athletic and Fitness Center to the program. The simulator allows for folks to practice hitting golf balls on simulated courses. While the simulator is currently broken, they hope that it will be fixed soon so that the group has more resources to practice.
Hoping to get involved with more events outside of Chatham, Jessup and Carter have already organized two outings at Topgolf in March.
Like other clubs at Chatham, the golf club looks to get students involved more in campus activities.
“The golf club has given me a chance as a dual sport athlete to get involved in the school atmosphere that I otherwise wouldn’t have,” member Sam Barrett ‘25 said. “I joined as a relatively inexperienced golfer, and everyone is very welcoming and able to help each other succeed.”
The group is planning its first event at a golf course on April 21 at 3 Lakes Golf Course. The members expect this outing to encourage even more interested parties to join. To learn more or to register for the event, students should message the group’s Instagram page @chathamgolfclub.
