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"IF YOU LIKE GOLF"
online golf column
by
Chris Dortch
April 27, 2007
When
then-Chattanooga athletic director Steve Sloan entrusted Mark
Guhne with his golf program a couple of years ago, the move might
have seemed risky.
Guhne had never been a head coach in any sport at any level, and
before taking a job as former Moc coach Reid Sanderlin’s assistant
in 2003, had made his living in the construction business. To
some, even a couple of his closest friends, the elevation of Guhne
to head coach after Sanderlin’s retirement was a puzzler.
True enough, Guhne had never coached, though he’d spent a good
deal of time working with younger players while running the
Chattanooga District Golf Association’s junior program. He had
limited knowledge of NCAA rules, little experience recruiting, no
network of coaching cronies to facilitate scheduling.
What Guhne did have in abundant supply was competitive spirit.
Wrestling at 118 pounds in high school, the 5-foot-7 Guhne won
seven Tennessee state championships. His prowess on the mat earned
him a scholarship to Chattanooga, but the fates were cruel—Guhne
blew out his knee in his first semester and never competed for the
Mocs.
With all that fire still burning inside him and no outlet for it,
Guhne returned to golf, which he had played as a boy, soon
becoming one of the top amateur players in the Chattanooga area.
However big or small the tournament, Guhne treated them all the
same. He grinded and worked and scratched out the very best score
he could, and when the results didn’t match up to his own lofty
expectations, Guhne didn’t hide his disappointment. Playing
poorly, losing, runs counter to Guhne’s genetic makeup.
Anyone who asked whether Guhne was up to the task of running
Chattanooga’s golf program got an emphatic answer to that question
April 24. On that historic day, in just his second full season as
a head coach, Guhne led the Mocs to their first Southern
Conference championship since 1987. The victory advances them to
the school’s first appearance in the NCAA Regionals—the SoCon
didn’t receive an automatic bid 20 years ago—and lifted them to
their highest ranking ever—31st in the current
Golfworld Top 25, tied with mighty Texas.
Guhne is quick to give credit where credit is due. Sanderlin, a
respected English professor, toiled with the program for years
while also handling a full teaching load. Still, he was able find
to enough support to endow the program’s 4.5 scholarships. And when
the time came for Sanderlin to retire to the golf course, he
pushed for Guhne to replace him.
Guhne is also appreciative of Sloan, also retired, for taking a
chance. “Those two guys stuck their necks out,” Guhne said. “They
fought hard for me. It was up to me to make them look good.”
Lifted by the confidence Sanderlin and Sloan placed in him, and
not shackled by the restrictions of teaching, Guhne hit the road.
Recruiting was an all-important task that Guhne had all the time
the NCAA allowed to get done. As an assistant, Guhne had helped
recruit Bryce Ledford and Mitch Brock—the senior stalwarts of a
team that has won four tournaments this spring. His job as a head
coach was to find players to build around them.
With a goal of recruiting local and in-state players, Guhne got
busy, and a little lucky, too. He found Jonathan Hodge, whose
sterling junior resume had been overlooked by larger schools, in
Jefferson City, Tenn. and tossed him into the fray a year ago.
Hodge won SoCon Freshman-of-the-Year honors in 2006, and this
season he was voted the league’s player of the year. His scoring
average (72.71) is the lowest in school history.
Guhne also convinced multi-sport athlete Derek Rende of
Soddy-Daisy, Tenn. to stay close to home and focus on golf, then
had the wisdom not to red-shirt Rende when the youngster insisted
he was ready to play this season. Given his play this
spring—including a tournament victory during which he battered the
field with a school-record 63—it’s safe to say Rende’s self
confidence wasn’t misguided. Rende is Chattanooga’s second
straight SoCon Freshman of the Year honoree.
Guhne has also worked to establish international connections.
Swede Fredrik Qviker, a freshman, was a key cog in the SoCon
Tournament victory. Englishman Ben Rickett, a sophomore who
started last season, is another talented player who awaits his
return to the lineup. At the semester break last December, Eric
Forsman, yet another native of Sweden, transferred from Pfeiffer
after being ranked among the top 30 in Division II last season.
He’ll be eligible next season.
Recruiting talent is one thing. Developing it is another. Guhne
believes in developing the mind as well as the body. He’s put
together a broad-based program that includes rigorous weight
training and cardio-vascular exercise. It’s no secret why
Chattanooga’s final-round average has been solid all spring.
If
the Mocs don’t fatigue physically, they also stay in the game
mentally, thanks to their access to a couple of sports
psychologists.
The community has rallied around the cause. Private donations are
at an all-time high. Chattanooga’s best golf courses—and there are
several great ones—have opened their doors to the Mocs. Money has
been raised to build, in conjunction with the First Tee Program of
Chattanooga, a practice center. To be built by noted architect
Bill Bergin, the new facility will feature three practice holes, a
wedge-only range and practice greens with two different types of
grass.
With success come the spoils. Titleist has now pledged its support
to the program, which previously had no affiliation with an
equipment manufacturer. For a team that used to compete without
rain gear, the gloves, shoes, clubs and all the Pro-V1s they can
hit have been a godsend to the Mocs.
Chattanooga golf has arrived. That’s why the Southern Conference
championship—and next month’s trip to the NCAA Regionals—was so
important to the evolution of the program.
“It puts a validation stamp on our program,” Guhne said. “We are
for real. And with so many young players [the Mocs started two
freshmen and a sophomore to go along with seniors Ledford and
Brock] we’re not going anywhere. The future looks bright.”
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