Father’s Day: The Oehmigs - King and Lew - Hall of Famers in Golf and Life

  • Sunday, June 19, 2016
  • B.B. Branton

“Sunday lunch at the club after church and playing the final six holes at Lookout Mountain with dad (King) and granddad (Lew) and my brother, Henry, were special times for all of us.”

John Oehmig, 34, youngest son of King and Margy Oehmig

“King couldn’t speak of his father (Lew) without smiling. It must have been a special relationship that you wish all fathers and sons could share.”

Gary Partrick, Baylor School golf coach

 

A precarious 30-footer, right side above the hole for birdie and the win on the Par 3, No.16 at Lookout Mountain.

Precarious? Maybe harrowing or sweaty palms time are better descriptions.

But for Henry Oehmig, son of golf coaching legend, King Oehmig, and his partner that day, it was nothing but bottom of the cup for the victory and earning a spot in the Swing Ding championship flight seven or eight years ago.

“The putt was pretty fast and if it doesn’t go in, the ball will be 12 feet past the cup for sure,” said Henry King Oehmig Jr. Friday in talking about good times with his late dad who past away in May 2015 at age 63.

“It was great to be able to play with dad in Swing Ding which he had won twice and to make the putt that qualified us for the championship flight (Oehmig’s finished third) was great.”

How many myriads of golfers have played and never birdied 16 at Lookout Mountain and now three generations of Oehmig’s had done it. And maybe one day, his son, Henry King III or daughter, Laura, will make it four, with another strong birdie putt.

Today -  June 19, 2016 – is special, yet tough for Henry, younger brother, John, and their mom, Margy, as they remember King on this Father’s Day as he would have celebrated his 65th birthday.

Hall of Famer: But through moments of sadness that King is not with them today, it’s also an exciting weekend for the family as King was inducted into the Tennessee State Sports Hall of Fame in Nashville last night.

It’s also rare that a father and son be in four, must less one hall of fame together as  the Oehmigs are members of a quartet of sports halls … Lookout Mountain, Baylor School, Greater Chattanooga and Tenn. State Sports.

“In Margy’s speech last night she said, “It is a bittersweet evening, but this (the induction) is a great honor for King and his father.

“King, who modeled his life after his father, was a man of many talents and also a man of passion.

“His passion for his God and his faith, for his family, for Baylor School golf and for his players and their families. He set the bar high for Baylor School golf for both girls and boys.”

Caddying For Dad: Henry also recalled the times he caddied for King a round or two when the elder Oehmig was on his way to winning Brainerd and Signal Mountain tournaments.

Asked if he ever gave his dad any advice on club selection, Henry stated with laugh, “I was 12 or 13 then and all I did was carry his bag and hold the flag stick.”

Church, Lunch and Golf: John recalls many Sundays with King and Lew.

“Many a Sunday after church we would have lunch at the Lookout Mountain Golf Club and then play the final six holes (Nos.13-16) with dad and grandad,” John, who turns 34 Tuesday (“my family thought I was going to be born on King’s birthday”).

“Those were special times for the Oehmig men.”

Henry stated, “Dad loved the tradition of the game and he would walk those last six holes on those Sunday afternoons and, of course, John and would do the same. Grandad was up in years then and would ride in a cart and play a few holes, but was more interested in watching us play the game he loved than be concerned if he parred or birdied No.15 for the umpteenth time or not.”

John notes that for his dad, it was fun to play golf with his kids, but more importantly he enjoyed just being with them.

“He loved to just hanging out with us and that was very evident to both Henry and I. And that was so important to know that he cared about us as people and not just golfing partners.”

Success with Baylor Golf: John said, “No doubt he had very talented golfers on his championship teams over the years (21 boys and girls state titles in 12 years and Baylor alums Harris English (playing today in the U.S. Open), Luke List and Brooke Pancake are currently on the pro tours), but most important of all they knew he cared about them and through that genuine interest in their lives, he was able to get the best out of them on the golf course.

”When times were tough and their backs were against the wall in a match that comraderie and trust Kinghad built with his players over the years was so key in many of the team wins.”

Wise Words: Henry stated, “Both my dad and granddad had a real competitive fire to win but were humble in victory and gracious in defeat and actually lived that way on and off the course. King often reminded his players that life does not always go your way.”

What Others Say

* Gary Partrick, Baylor School Golf Coach

“I was envious of the relationship that King had with his father. When he would speak of Lew, he sounded like a child that idolized a superstar.

“King couldn’t speak of his father without smiling. It must have been a special relationship that you wish all fathers and sons could share.”

* Chris Dortch, golf writer and author

“Lew of course was the greatest player who remained an amateur in Tennessee history, and the burden of his son trying to follow in his footsteps must have been difficult for King. But knowing Lew, I’m sure he didn’t pressure his sons, just introduced them to the game, and if it took, it took. King became a good player and won a few tournaments, so he became accomplished in his own right. But he knew as well as anyone there was only one Lew Oehmig.

 “I’m sure King didn’t pressure his own children to play the game. It was introduced as a pleasant diversion, nothing more. But when someone wanted to pick King’s brain about golf, he was always willing to share what he knew. That’s what helped make him such a successful coach at Baylor. In some ways, he was a father to all his players.

“Lew was a great friend of mine, and I was fortunate enough to be asked to write his biography. King, too, was a friend unlike many others, a go-to guy for quotes about any facet of golf, but especially its architecture, of which he had expert’s knowledge. The shock and sadness I felt on King’s untimely passing has not abated to this day.”

 

* Ed Brantly, hall of fame golfer … finished third low amateur at the 1961 U. S. Open 55 years ago this weekend.

 “One thing most people did not now about Lew was his weight training. At my first state senior amateur, I was changing clothes in Lew’s room and tried to move a pretty heavy bag. It was difficult to move and I discovered the bag contained dumb bells as evidently, Lew did various arm exercises on a regular basis long before weight training was popular.”

 

* Sam Woolwine, sports writer and longtime golf writer … Sam won a pair of 4-ball Bethel Celebrity tournament titles with King Oehmig in the 1980s

“Whenever I think of Lew Oehmig I think of a man who was a brilliant shot maker and his records in the Tennessee Amateur and the U.S. Senior Amateur bare that out. He was also the quintessential Southern gentleman.

“While King didn’t have the same success on the course as his dad, he also was a great shot maker and intense competitor who like his father, was very much a gentleman.”

 

contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net

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