"IF YOU LIKE GOLF"
weekly online golf column
by
Chris Dortch
September 26, 2000

Two upcoming books will feature Chattanooga’s rich golfing tradition in full detail.

The project that will produce the most far-reaching of those books is being underwritten by the Tennessee Golf Association, which has commissioned Gene Pearce of Jackson, Tenn. to write The History of Golf in Tennessee. Pearce has been doing research on the book for more than a year.

"It’s going to be an impressive overview of golf in Tennessee,’’ said TGA executive director Dick Horton. "Tennessee has a proud golfing history. We thought it would be appropriate to chronicle that history in the form of a book. It’s proven to be quite an undertaking, but Gene has done great work. He’s been a real bulldog when it comes to digging up material."

Pearce has paid several visits to Chattanooga, where his research has convinced him what Chattanoogans already knew: Our city is the hotbed of Tennessee golf, and always has been.

Consider these words written by Pearce in his chapter on Chattanooga:

"Chattanooga has a rich golf history, dating back to 1896 when it was played on amusement park land that bordered the north side of the Tennessee River," Pearce wrote. "This was the year the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club was organized. Out of this club, which is still playing golf on this same piece of land, have come more golf champions than from any other club in Tennessee.

"The first golf club was organized in Bristol two years earlier and British cotton buyers in Memphis were playing golf on a crude course, but no formal club had been formed there. The course played by members of Chattanooga Golf and Country Club has gone though several transformations, but its members are still playing on the same land used for golf over a hundred years ago. No other club is steeped in tradition like Chattanooga Golf and Country Club."

Pearce supports his statement by producing the names of past Tennessee Amateur champions (men and women) who were members of the country club when they won their titles. The list:

Garner Watkins (1915), Polly Boyd (1920, 1921, 1922, 1930), Ewing Watkins (1924), Kate Raney (1928), Darden Hampton (1931), Lew Oehmig (1937, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1955, 1962, 1970, 1971), Wes Brown (1948), Billy Ragland (1950), Marnie Polk (1951, 1952, 1953), Betty Probasco (1954, 1955, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1980, 1981, 1986), Judy Eller Street (1962, 1966), and Ed Brantly (1972).

No release date for The History of Golf in Tennessee has been determined, but Pearce is hoping to finish the bulk of his research soon. His travels will take him back to Chattanooga in the first week of October for research on one of his final chapters that will look at the evolution of golf course design. His target: Lookout Mountain, which was rebuilt to its original 1926 Seth Raynor design two years ago, and Black Creek Club, which just opened. Black Creek was designed to commemorate Raynor and other classic architects. Note designer Brian Silva, Golf World’s 1999 Architect of the Year, did the restoration work at Lookout and also designed Black Creek.

The second book in development is an as yet untitled biography of the great Lew Oehmig, one of the country’s finest career amateurs. I’m well familiar with this book, because I’m writing it. Early in my research, I’m uncovering interesting details about the man, but the common thread I’m finding is how well respected Oehmig was by everyone.

This was a man, who, if he were so inclined, might have turned professional and beaten the likes of Sam Snead and Ben Hogan. But Oehmig made his money in business ventures, and kept his golf strictly for the enjoyment of the game.

The project will be completed in late 2000 or early 2001. Oehmig’s sons, King and West, wanted the book to be written to pay tribute to their father, who was a multiple winner of the U.S. Senior Amateur and winner of the USGA’s prestigous Bob Jones Award.

Delving into the career of this great champion will be a treat.

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