Former national champion Brewer returns to lead men's golf program

Lipscomb Athletics | 

Will Brewer has been named Lipscomb University’s Director of Golf Programming and head men's golf coach.

Athletics Director Philip Hutcheson t. 4, that Brewer will begin his duties immediately.

“When considering all of the traits that we were looking for in a coach - proven competitor, established success as a coach, involved in and known throughout the golfing community and a man of character who reflects the values of a place like Lipscomb - I would have felt blessed to have found someone who met two or three of these qualifications,” Hutcheson said. “However, in Will, we have all four as he is a coach whose resume seems custom-built for a place like Lipscomb.

“His record as a competitor both during and since college, his accomplishments as a coach and teacher, his experience on the business side of the game and his reputation among all of those with whom he's worked all made him an easy choice to lead our program and to help grow Lipscomb golf throughout the middle Tennessee region and beyond.”

Brewer, a 1977 graduate of Lipscomb, was the NAIA National Champion in 1976, a three-time NAIA All-American and and is a member of the NAIA Hall of Fame. He is also a Lipscomb Hall of Fame inductee and was the 1998 Tennessee PGA Player of the Year.

He has served as an instructor, teaching pro and/or director of golf at various places including Belle Meade Country Club, The Golf Club of Tennessee and Legends Club.  He was named as Golf Digest's Instructor of the Year for the state of Tennessee and also has been presented the Lou Frank Award for cooperative service and support of the Tennessee Golf Foundation.

His two sons, Clark and Campbell, both played collegiately at Ole Miss and Middle Tennessee, respectively. Brewer has also coached six state high school champions and several college champions. He has also coached tour players as well.

“All that (teaching) is not just swinging a club,” Brewer said. “It is mental. It is a Christian world view. I can do all of that here. I am excited.

“The No. 1 thing is we need to rebrand the golf program and No. 2, we need to recruit. If we do those things well we will have the momentum to allow us to have some conversations in the golf community and the Nashville community overall. We want to have a brand that is going to be noticed.”

Brewer’s passion for the game also helped make his selection to lead Lipscomb’s program an easy one of Hutcheson.

“Above and beyond all of the golf accolades, Will is a committed, Christian man who understands, having played and having raised two sons who both played golf collegiately at Ole Miss, MTSU, the expectations, demands and rewards that come as a result of the college athletics experience,” Hutcheson said. “I am confident that our program will benefit immeasurably from the combination of knowledge, passion and experience that Will brings to it and we am thrilled to have him here.”

Brewer quickly discovered that Lipscomb has changed in many ways since he was a student here and those changes under the leadership of L. Randolph Lowry, university president, made the job even more appealing.

“Dr. Lowry’s vision is very attractive to me,” Brewer said. “I see where he wants to grow the university and, obviously athletics is a large portion of that because it can be easily branded. This was a very attractive time for me to come back and do this.

“I think I am gifted in teaching and coaching. It is a great opportunity to do this at a university that I love.”

Buddy Harston will continue to coach the Lady Bisons golf team, allowing him time to concentrate more on the development of that program.

"For seven years, Coach Harston has done a tremendous job in trying to juggle the all of the things that come with coaching not one, but two, completely different teams in what started as a "part-time" agreement,” Hutcheson said. “It has taken a few years to reach the day when our programs could take the next step toward excellence.  I appreciate Buddy's willingness to manage our ‘growing pains’ throughout these past years and I know that all those who love Lipscomb agree.

“Buddy has done so much to not only build our program on the course, but he has also built a tremendous amount of goodwill around the community and we all continue to benefit from that in the years to come. I am so happy that Buddy has agreed to continue to coach the women's team and that he is now able to focus his teaching and mental approach talents on helping one team, as opposed to two, improve.”

Hutcheson expects that the combination of coaching talent will elevate both programs.

 “With Buddy and Will both able to focus on building their respective squads, I am confident both will prosper and will continue to move up the ranks in the A-Sun and beyond."

— Mark McGee