William Lewis was a pioneer.
Justin Martin is one of the rising stars in the world of golf. But he wouldn’t likely be a PGA assistant professional, the lead instructor at Atlanta’s Bobby Jones Golf Course and on the game’s fast track if it weren’t for the influence of Lewis, his longtime coach and mentor who died on Friday at age 70 after a long illness.
“He was my first golf coach,” said Martin, who was barely able to choke back the tears when he mentioned Lewis while accepting the Georgia PGA’s Player Development Award at the Georgia PGA awards banquet.
It was Lewis who taught Martin the rudiments of golf on the range and practice green at The First Tee. Lewis gave Martin his first set of golf clubs, a set of Mizuno MP-14s with the directive to “figure it out.” But his impact was more than just instructional and technical to Martin and thousands of students just like him.
“He put the love for the game in me that I have today,” Martin said.
That sort of magic happened all the time. The gregarious Lewis offered encouragement to the stream of newcomers from non-traditional golf backgrounds. He happily watched the new youngsters celebrate with the same gusto as Tiger Woods at Augusta when they drained a 5-foot putt for the first time. His eye was keen enough to spot a flaw in the swing of a better player and help them improve. More than 20 of his students progressed to play college golf.
“William was a pioneer with the First Tee of Atlanta program and was inspirational to so many young people helping them learn both golf and life skills,” said longtime First Tee volunteer and coach John Marshall. “I’m sure that many of them who are now adults are mourning his passing, as am I.”
Lewis, known to his friends as “June Bug,” was one of the city’s legendary golf figures, as a competitor, a professional and later as a coach.
Lewis grew up in Huntsville, Alabama, the oldest of seven children. He began to work as a caddie at Huntsville Country Club when he was 11 to help support his family after his father died when he was 10. There, he was befriended and encouraged by Robert Lowery, president of the local bank, who hit balls with him and bought Lewis a new set of clubs when he went off to play golf at Alabama A&M.
He was a dominant player in college, winning 28 tournaments during his career. In 1970 and 1972, he won the Southern Intercollegiate Golf Tournament; he finished second in 1971 and 1973. As a senior, he visited John A. White Park in Atlanta, where Elijah Walker – his former caddiemaster – offered Lewis a job as his assistant.
He competed as a professional on the North American Golf Association Tour alongside Charlie Sifford, Jim Thorpe, Jim Dent and Lee Elder. He won more than 20 events as a professional, including the Atlanta Open and the West Georgia Open in 1978 and the Greensboro (N.C.) Open in 1979 and 1981. He tried his luck at PGA Tour Q-School and made the finals in 1978 and 1981 before running out of money. Lewis held the course record at five courses, including a 29 on the back nine at Atlanta’s Tup Holmes Golf Course.
Lewis worked as a golf professional at Tup Holmes Golf Course and Browns Mill Golf Course in Atlanta, where he was the general manager. He moved to now-defunct River’s Edge Golf Course in Fayetteville in 1995 and obtained his Class A status with the PGA of America. In 1999, he joined The First Tee at John A. White as the head instructor of golf and held that position until 2017.
“William was the consummate PGA professional,” said Mike Paull, former executive director of the Georgia PGA. “A great player, teacher and coach who introduced thousands of young people to the game. He was a mentor and a pioneer and not just on the course, but off it as well. He was very kind and giving of his time, and he was always one of the first to volunteer to play in charity pro-ams. His impact on the game of golf in Georgia will continue to live on.”
In 2001, Lewis started the golf program at Morehouse College and steadily grew it into a national power. The Maroon Tigers won the 2011 National Minority Golf Championship, and Lewis was named SIAC Golf Coach of the Year for three straight seasons.
Lewis enjoyed many accolades. He was elected to the Black Golf Hall of Fame in 2000, the Huntsville-Madison County Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame in 2022, just months before his death.
John Bryan, former executive director of the Georgia PGA, recalled how Lewis unexpectedly asked him to give his induction speech at the Black Golf Hall of Fame. The two had met 20 years earlier at a mini-tour event that Bryan was helping run in St. Louis. Bryan remembers spending one evening watching the NCAA basketball playoffs with Lewis and getting to know him, unaware they would work together in the future.
“I wasn’t sure why he asked me to give the induction speech, so I asked him and he said, ‘John, it’s because you’re a good friend of mine and I’ve known you for 20-something years, and I think you’d do a great job,” Bryan recalled. “I tell you, of all the experiences I’ve had in golf, including playing Augusta National and the PGA Championships, being a part of that was one of, if not the best experiences I’ve ever had.”
Credit: John Bryan
Credit: John Bryan
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