Surf’s up for Dalton’s Miller

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Misty Watson/ The Daily Citizen Dalton High senior Chase Miller, center, looks over a display of photos of his career along with his brother Grant, left, and Ryan Cobb on Monday at the freight depot. Miller has signed a golf scholarship with College of Coastal Georgia.

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April 26, 2010

Adam Krohn adamkrohn@daltoncitizen.com The Dalton Daily Citizen Mon Apr 26, 2010, 11:55 PM EDT

Free golf on the best courses the Golden Isles has to offer. The beach. A college scholarship and a chance to help build a golf program from scratch.

Can college life get any better?

Not as far as Chase Miller is concerned. The Dalton High senior, who last week won medalist honors at the Region 7-4A tournament in Rome, signed with College of Coastal Georgia in Brunswick on a partial athletic scholarship on Monday.

“That’s a hard gig to turn down,” Catamounts coach Chad Jordan said. “The facilities they have access to and all the courses they get to play on make that school a really easy choice.”

In the fall, CCGA began its transition from a junior college to a four-year school and continues to develop its athletic program. The school — which already has men’s basketball and softball teams — plans to add 11 new sports, with golf, tennis and women’s basketball programs being added this fall. Men and women’s cross country and volleyball will be added in 2011 and soccer and baseball will join in 2012 and 2013, respectively.

“It’s going to be awesome,” Miller said. “It’s kind of a dream come true. To play at the Sea Island Golf Club and have a driving range right on the ocean — that’s pretty sweet.”

The Mariners will be led by Mike Cook, who will coach the men and women’s golf teams on a part-time basis while keeping his job as golf instructor and assistant pro at Sea Island Company. Because of Cook’s Sea Island affiliation, the Mariners will have access to all of its facilities as well as other courses in the area.

For now, the Mariners will continue to compete in the National Junior Collegiate Athletic Association but CCGA’s Athletic Futures Committee is coordinating a move to NCAA Division II “as soon as practicable,” according to the committee’s report available on the school’s Web site. The report, released in November of 2009, said CCGA will remain in the NCJAA through 2010 and possibly 2011.

Miller’s signing with CCGA comes after he verbally committed to South Carolina, where his brother, Bryan, is a senior golfer for the Gamecocks. The Gamecocks came to Rocky Face in September to play in the Carpet Capital Collegiate Classic golf tourney, where Miller said he was offered a spot on the team by coach Bill McDonald.

However, Miller’s ACT test score wasn’t high enough to gain immediate acceptance in to South Carolina and he was informed by McDonald he’d have to wait until the second semester to attend the school, so he began seeking other options.

Miller received offers from Newberry (S.C.) and Austin Peay (Clarksville, Tenn.), but never gave them much consideration over CCGA. He will receive $500 per semester in scholarship money to play golf for CCGA and is also eligible for the HOPE Scholarship.

He plans to major in business with the idea of one day returning to Dalton to work at Clayton Miller Hospitality Carpet, which is owned and operated by his father. But Miller is hoping that is more of a backup plan to his dream, which is to play golf on a professional level.

“I’m going to try and make golf work first,” Miller said. “My short game has to get a lot better, but I can work on that.”

Brunswick is roughly 400 miles from Dalton, but — in addition to the beach and golf courses — Miller will have a familiar face around to help him cope with the distance from home. Cats teammate Zac Coquerille will room with Miller, along with another golfer for the Mariners, in an apartment near the school campus. Coquerille will try to make the golf team as a walk-on.

“It will be great having Zac around,” Miller said. “We’ve been close friends since the seventh grade and he’s one of my best friends. It makes it a lot easier.”

Jordan believes Miller will excel at CCGA.

“I think Chase will have a successful college career,” Jordan said. “He’s a hard worker and with the facilities and teachers that are available to him, he’s one of those kids that when he has his mind set, he’s going to accomplish his goal.”

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Surf’s up for Dalton’s Miller

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