The 2017 and 2024 ASUN Conference Coach of the Year, Will Brewer returned to the Lipscomb campus in 2012 to take over the men’s golf program and was laser promoted to Director of Golf in 2015 to assume a leadership role in both the men’s and women’s programs.
Under his guidance, the Lipscomb men’s program has climbed to unprecedented heights including the school’s first NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship appearance in Sugar Grove, Illinois in the 2016 season and the program's first ASUN Championship Tournament victory and automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament in 2024.
The Bisons have quickly risen under Brewer from a 239 ranking nationally when he inherited the program to back-to-back at-large berths in the NCAA tournament in 2016 and 2017 and an automatic berth in 2024. His squad was ranked No. 20 nationally by Golfweek in May of 2017 for their performance in the spring.
Brewer's guidance and dedication have developed the program into one which has begun to attract and develop his players to the professional level. Dawson Armstrong ('18) made the decision to turn pro following his senior season and has competed in tournaments on the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Latinoamérica, the PGA Tour Canada, and is currently playing on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Eric Ansett ('18) has logged time on the Mackenzie Tour and the LOCALiQ Series since turning pro after graduation and has recently begun competing in tournaments on the Forme and Korn Ferry Tours. Stoney Crouch, 2017 graduate of the program, has been competing regularly in PGA Tour Canada events and has made the cut in 13 of the 25 tournmants he has competed in, four times earning a spot in the top-25 and twice finishing in the top-10.
Nolan Ray ('20) made the decision to go pro following the cancellation of the 2019-20 season due to COVID-19 and has since competed on the Swing Thought Tour and most recently competed at a pair of Korn Ferry Tournaments in May of 2022. Ryan Terry ('14) has been playing at the amateur level since turning pro after graduation and in the early months of 2020 he earned victories at the FLorida Azalea Amateur and the Tillinghast Invitational.
Lipscomb men's golf had a successful 2023-24 season in which the squad earned the ASUN Championship Tournament trophy by a margin of 17 strokes. In addition, Will Holan and Ford Goldasich were tied for the ASUN Tournament Individual title after 54 holes. Will Holan ultimately claimed the title after a playoff. The squad earned an automatic berth to the 2024 Baton Rouge Regional where it finished 11th. The squad also won at the VCU Shootout with a (-33), winning the tournament in a playoff. All told, the Bisons had five top-five finishes on the season and were ranked 65th nationally at the end of the season.
In the 2021-22 season, Brewer's Bisons earned top-10 finishes in the first five tournaments they competed in and collected three top-5 finishes over the season. The squad ended the season by claiming fourth at the ASUN Championship, highlighted by Will Holan's fifth place overall finish.
Brewer guided the 2020-21 team through their condensed season with six top-10 finishes and a pair of fourth place finishes at the Seahawk Intercollegiate (T4, 871) and the Craft Farm Invitational (4, 881).
Following their tough schedule the year prior, the Bisons were getting off on a rapid clip in the 2019-20 season under Brewer's direction, earning five top-5 finishes in the first eight tournaments of their 12 tournament season before it was unfortunately cut short due to COVID-19.
Brewer challenged his team with a tough 2018-19 schedule in which they took competed in tournaments hosted by programs such as NC State, Auburn, Mississippi State, and Michigan.
In the 2017-18 season, Brewer's team earned top-5 finishes in seven of the 12 tournaments they participated in including a first place finish at the Bayou City Collegiate Classic with a total score of 849 (-15), highlighted by senior Dawson Armstrong taking first place overall with a 204. The Purple and Gold also claimed second place at the Ryman Hospitality Intercollegiate and finished the season with a second place finish at the ASUN Championship.
“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,” Lipscomb Director of Athletics Philip 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.”
From day one when Brewer was hired, he laid out the steps Lipscomb needed to take in order to build a prominent golf program.
“The No. 1 thing is we need to rebrand the golf program and No. 2, we need to recruit,” Brewer said when he was hired. “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. Our desire is to have a recognizable brand.”
In his stint at the helm, Brewer has stayed true to his beliefs and has the Lipscomb brand rising. His squad has posted nine wins and 55 top-five finishes under his tenure.
Brewer, a 1977 graduate of Lipscomb, was the NAIA National Champion in 1976, a three-time NAIA All-American and is a member of the NAIA Hall of Fame. He is also the first athlete inducted into the Lipscomb Hall of Fame and was the 1998 Tennessee PGA Player of the Year.
He has served as an instructor, teaching pro, director of golf and GM at various places including Belle Meade Country Club, The Golf Club of Tennessee and Vanderbilt Legends Club. He was named as Golf Magazine’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.
Brewer’s passion for the game also helped make his selection to lead Lipscomb’s program an easy one for Hutcheson.
