Reed Sanderlin Will Forever Be Known As The Heart Of UTC Men’s Golf

The sad news, while not totally unexpected, still hit Brian Millican like a ton of bricks last week. His friend, coach and mentor, long-time University of Tennessee at Chattanooga English professor and men’s golf coach Reed Sanderlin, had passed away.

The man who had served as the first full-time golf coach when the athletic department made the move to Division I, impacting countless lives over the course of his 28 years leading the program, would no longer be available to help guide Millican and others in doing life. But the memories created and the influence of Sanderlin’s life will never die.

“I knew he was on hospice, and I called his wife, Carla, trying to arrange a time to go see him,” Millican said. “When I got the news a couple of days ago, I’m sad that I didn’t get to see him one last time. He’ll forever be an important figure in my life and those who were fortunate enough to play for him.”

It is somewhat prophetic that, when pursuing his doctorate degree at the University of North Carolina, Sanderlin’s Ph.D. thesis was entitled “Alexander Graydon: The Life and Literary Career of an American Patriot.”

Graydon was an officer during the American Revolution whose early years were shaped by his mother who, after becoming widowed at a young age, took in numerous boarders in Philadelphia. His mother’s selfless actions were later chronicled by Graydon in his memoirs, something that inspired Sanderlin to articulate in depth.

In his own way, Sanderlin embraced those same noble traits of self-sacrifice and a love for literature during his lengthy tenure at UTC, both as an esteemed professor and as the godfather of the men’s golf program. He never met a stranger, and he had a history of making others feel valued.

Sadly, his decades of impacting lives both in the classroom and on the golf course ended last week at the age of 87 after a lengthy battle with cancer. But the legacy he created will never be forgotten among those blessed to have known him.

A native of Memphis, Sanderlin arrived as an associate English professor in 1969 as the University of Chattanooga was merging into the state-wide University of Tennessee system. He had previously taught at North Carolina, North Carolina State and Southern Miss.

Always known for his passion for literature, Sanderlin became a well-respected professor in UTC’s English department. But he had a love for golf, and he was named the first official golf coach in 1977. Previously, the golf team was “coached” by one of the football assistants. Legendary football coach A.C. “Scrappy” Moore would run ads in the campus newspaper seeking prospective golfers, and long-time assistant Joe Geri oversaw the program – basically meaning he drove the team to tournaments – for many years. Even athletic director Harold Wilkes served as golf coach the year prior to Sanderlin accepting the position.

But from the moment that Sanderlin assumed the helm, things changed. Over the next 28 years, Sanderlin helped build the program from scratch that was entrusted to Mark Guhne, who brought Chattanooga golf into national prominence, and is now being stewarded by Blaine Woodruff in hopes of building upon what his predecessors created.

College golf as we know it today looks much different than when Sanderlin began his coaching career. Money was scarce, practice facilities were non-existent as evidenced by the fact the team would practice at the Wilcox Golf Center driving range. Sanderlin was given a paltry stipend to head the program as he balanced his teaching duties along with his new role as coach.

That first season was a success. Led by a trio of players who earned all-Southern Conference status - Donnie Green, Tom McKenna, Mike Patrick – the Mocs finished second in the conference.

Sanderlin continued the building process with each passing year, finally capturing his lone conference title in 1987. But more importantly, his presence and influence are measured in the lives he impacted along the way before turning the reins of the program over to Guhne in 2005.

“Reed is the reason I got the job,” Guhne said. “I had been his assistant for two years when he decided to step away. Several donors did not want to hire me because they wanted somebody with more experience. But (athletic director) Steve Sloan and Coach Sanderlin convinced them to give me a chance. He went to bat for me, and because of him I got to become a coach.”

That decision proved to be monumental for Chattanooga golf, as Guhne led the Mocs to eight NCAA Regionals team appearances including a title in 2012, three trips to the NCAA Finals as a team and a No. 1 national ranking during the fall seasons of 2008 and 2009.

But the foundation built on a shoestring budget was constructed one life at a time. Millican, a Dalton native, arrived at UTC in 1987 and has come to appreciate Sanderlin’s influence on his life.

“We’d make fun of the fact he only gave us three golf balls for a tournament, but little did we know he was paying for those out of his own pocket,” Millican said. “Coach would volunteer to be on different tournament committees so he could get us into these bigger events. The bigger schools had more uniforms and equipment, but it didn’t bother us.”

In order to cut expenses, Sanderlin would drive the team van all night to tournaments to avoid the expense of an additional night in a hotel.

“We'd be at a fraternity party until 9:30, swing by Krystal for some food, and then get on the van at 11,” Millican said. “We started off in a panel van with bench seats. But then we got a van that had a TV and a VCR and we’d watch “Fletch” every single trip because we only had two movies.”

But on one occasion, Sanderlin offloaded the driving duties to one of his players when returning from a tournament in North Carolina.

“He made me drive the team van home from Greensboro one year because he got invited to go to the Masters the next day,” said Brendon Wilson, who played in 1998-99 after two seasons at an Alabama junior college. “He said, ‘I don't have to tell you this, but no beer in the van.’ I was like, ‘All right, coach’. Whether that happened or not, I'm not saying.”

With a passion for literature and history, Sanderlin was a voracious reader who was willing to impart his knowledge on his student athletes.

“I loved traveling with him,” Guhne said. “He would tell me stories in the hotel room at night about all the books he had read. When we'd have recruits in, he would tell them everything about the history of Chattanooga all the way back to the Civil War. I learned so much about our town being around him.”

Sanderlin played at Signal Mountain Golf and Country Club in the early years and at Black Creek during his later days, but he wasn’t an accomplished golfer himself. But he still had an insatiable desire for knowledge. Ever the learner, he would offer golfing tips from recent articles he’d read in golf publications.

“Whatever technique came out in Golf Digest each month, he would have us try it,” Wilson said. “He wasn't really a swing guy, but we knew he cared about us. He became a student of each of his players and really didn’t try to change our swings. He talked to me more about the mental side and to make sure I had a good game plan every time I played.”

One of Sanderlin’s attempts to offer constructive insight was fondly recalled by Millican.

“Coach’s intentions were always to help us play the best,” Millican said. “But he was always trying to get us to hit what he called a ‘lay back’ shot that he read somewhere. Let's say you’ve got 150 yards over bunkers and usually hit a 9-iron. He would say, ‘All right, we're going to hit a lay back, so I want you to take a 7-iron and put your hands behind the ball.’ It’s not easy to hit a ball with your hands two inches behind the golf ball, so we’d always hit the 9-iron during competition without him knowing. But that was just one of those things that make me smile when I think back.”

There was always a battle for funding the golf program. In fact, participation in two tournaments was scrapped in 1983 as the athletic department lacked the funds to cover the travel expenses. But Sanderlin was undeterred, stretching his limited funds and soliciting support from private donations.

“We had a budget of $12,000 when I started, but we had some guys in town donate money so we could buy shoes, gloves and some balls,” Guhne said. “We had to raise money for half of the travel costs, and we had to go buy buckets of balls at a driving range to practice because we only had access to Valleybrook and WindStone at the time.”

Harry Hartman, who lettered in 1992-95 after prepping locally at Notre Dame, remembers those lean times.

“We would only get two shirts, so we’d have to go wash our shirts when we played three-day tournaments,” Hartman said. “At one point we had a synagogue on campus where we had a hitting net inside where we could practice. It was just the way the budget was back then.”

Sanderlin steadily improved the program by recruiting players from junior colleges and adding international players. One such success story was Neil Connolly, who came to UTC from England in 1989 and became the first Mocs golfer to advance to the NCAA Regionals and is a current member of the UTC Athletic Hall of Fame. Today Connelly runs the Edge Golf College in Portugal, a respected performance, education and training center for Europe’s elite golfers similar to IMG Academy here in the U.S.

Connolly was at a two-day showcase in London attended by college coaches in hopes of garnering a scholarship offer. Feeling overlooked after the first day, Connolly approached a group of coaches gathered at a table.

“I explained that every player present had paid in excess of £250 to enter the trials,” Connolly said. “We all dreamed of playing Stateside and were wondering if we had wasted their money, as very few coaches had actually made it onto the course. It was then I had my first conversation with Coach Sanderlin, a man who would play a significant part in my life from that moment, and would be simply called Coach very soon after. He calmly explained that he had a system of splitting the field and he had the intention of watching me tomorrow.  

“Twenty-four hours later, I had secured a scholarship and would be heading out to Chattanooga in two months’ time. Four years later I would gain a degree, be nominated for All-American and have made the transition from boy to man, and amateur to professional. It was a special experience, made all the more wonderful by the man who recruited me, my American father as he is affectionately now known.”

Sanderlin later made the trip overseas when Connolly got married in Scotland, and was in attendance for his 40^th birthday party. When he got the news that his coach was entering hospice care, he flew to Chattanooga to make one final visit.

“I just needed for him to know how much he had meant to me and that everything was right,” Connolly said. “It was a special time for us both.”

Zeb Patten, who competed at UTC between 1984-86 before earning his PGA professional status, has come to appreciate the sacrifices made by Sanderlin in bringing the Mocs program into its current stature on a national level.

“Coach loved golf, and even more he loved the challenge of making the UTC golf program relevant for basically no pay and with no budget,” Patten said. “UTC golf will be forever indebted to him for his dedication. I know he will be in heaven watching with great joy as Coach Woodruff continues taking UTC golf to national prominence.”

Sanderlin’s contributions were recognized as the 2015 winner of the UTC Hall of Fame’s Joe Morrison Award presented to a former UTC student-athlete or coach for notable accomplishments and life experience. He was also given the title of UTC Golf Coach Emeritus. He remained in regular contact with his former players, and was always available long after his coaching days were over.

“He was a sounding board for me for years,” Guhne said. “I don't know how many times I called Coach on how to deal with a young man or needed advice on raising money. He was always available. He did so much that I could never fully repay him. Carla called me and I went by to see him a few weeks ago. I hope he knew how much he meant to me.”

As the current head coach of the Mocs men’s program, Woodruff has a sense of gratitude for the tireless investment into UTC golf by Sanderlin.

“When I moved offices this summer, I found an article when cleaning out the office written about Coach Sanderlin,” Woodruff said. “One of the things that stood out to me was that when he was asked to not only be an English professor but also be the golf coach, he mentioned that he didn’t just want to be a van driver. He wanted to be impactful.

“During every interaction that I have had over the last three years with him, I’ve felt that. He was genuine and caring. He would text me after almost every event and knew everything about each of our guys. You could tell his heart for Chattanooga men’s golf had never left. I’m grateful to him for what he did to start our program and lay a foundation for years to come.”

Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com