About MTTG

Our mission and how MTTG uses golf as therapeutic recreation.

Our Mission

To expand access to therapeutic recreation through golf, helping Veterans, children, and adults living with disabilities stay active, build confidence, and develop greater self-direction in their daily lives.

MTTG uses golf as a therapeutic recreation activity for people with disabilities, injuries, or who are recovering from illness or injury. Instruction is adjusted to the individual and can involve standard or adaptive approaches. MTTG also works with healthcare providers, golf organizations, and community organizations that connect people with the program or support opportunities to learn and play.

How the Approach Works

Therapeutic recreation can help people become more self-directed in how they choose and take part in leisure activities. At MTTG, the goal is not simply to attend a clinic. Over time, participants are encouraged to make more of their own decisions about practicing and playing golf. Instruction and mentorship support that process.

Self-Direction

Participants are encouraged to make more of their own choices about how they practice and play.

Beyond the Clinic

The goal is for golf to become something a participant can continue outside a scheduled MTTG session.

Mentorship

Instruction is adjusted to the individual, with support provided as participants become more comfortable practicing and playing on their own.

Marty Turcios guiding a participant's grip on the golf club, hands together at a driving range — Instruction starts with the grip and the feel of the club.

Marty Turcios adjusting a participant's hands on the club at a Power Tee mat — Marty adjusts his coaching to what each participant is ready to work on.

Marty Turcios talking with a participant on the driving range — Mentorship carries over into conversation on the range.

The Participation Gap

More than 1 in 4

Across the CSRA, more than 1 in 4, an estimated 214,000, lives with a disability.

Source: CDC, 2022, applied to current Census Bureau population estimates for the region's 18 counties

35% of people with disabilities who don't currently play golf say they're interested in learning, and 22% who played before their disability have since stopped. (National Center on Accessibility & Clemson University, cited in Robb, 1999)

Even when programs exist, many disabled golfers experience high dropout and limited transition into regular, independent play. (Monforte, Smith & Bennett, International Journal of Golf Science, 2022)

Starting golf and continuing to play are different things. MTTG's programs are designed to help participants move beyond an introductory experience and become more comfortable practicing and playing over time.

Our Leadership

MTTG's leadership includes people who understand disability firsthand and people with professional experience in therapeutic recreation and golf instruction. The volunteer board provides governance and program oversight.

Our Approach to Leadership

Program decisions are informed by therapeutic recreation and golf instruction. The board provides oversight, and healthcare professionals contribute when programs involve the people they serve.

Governance & Program Oversight

A Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) serves on MTTG's board and advises on program design and therapeutic recreation practice. The board is responsible for governance and program oversight.

MTTG Board and Staff Leadership

Martin Turcios, M.S., Recreational Therapy

Founder & Executive Director

Lead Adaptive Golf Instructor & Therapeutic Recreation Specialist.

Melody Lacy

Secretary and Treasurer

Development & Grants Director. Oversees financial stewardship, grant strategy, and compliance.

Daniel Ruder, MS, MA

Plans & Governance

Colonel, United States Army (Retired). Leadership, organizational governance, sustainability.

Kandra Seng, BS, CTRS

Therapeutic Recreation & Clinical Partnerships

Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist. Strengthens clinical alignment of programming.

Sara Hillyard, BHS

Community Outreach & Partnerships

Guides community engagement planning and partnership development.