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Dave Williams (golf coach)

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Dave Williams
Biographical details
Born(1918-10-14)October 14, 1918
Randolph, Texas, U.S.
DiedDecember 16, 1998(1998-12-16) (aged 80)
Wharton, Texas, U.S.
Alma materEast Texas State Teachers College
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1951–1987Houston
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
16 NCAA Division I Championship (1956–1960, 1962, 1964–1967, 1969, 1970, 1977, 1982, 1984, 1985)
5 MVC (1956–1960)
9 SWC (1974–1980, 1984, 1985)
Awards
GCAA Hall of Fame (1980)
Texas Golf Hall of Fame (1982)
Texas Sports Hall of Fame (1983)

David Glenwood Williams (October 14, 1918 – December 16, 1998) was an American college golf coach.[1] He is known as "The Father of College Golf" due to how he revolutionized the sport in the United States.[2] As head coach of the Houston Cougars men's golf program, he won 16 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) team national championships and coached eight individual national champions.

Life

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Williams was born in Randolph, Texas. Before becoming head coach at Houston, he was a professor in the engineering department at the university, having earned degrees from East Texas State Teachers College and the United States Naval Academy. After he began to beat then-UH athletic director Harry Fouke at golf on a regular basis, Fouke made him the head golf coach.[3] He served in that position from 1951 to 1987.

In addition to winning 16 team national championships and eight individual ones, Williams' teams won 14 conference championships and 342 tournaments overall. Several of his players would go on to have professional golf careers, including Fred Couples, Steve Elkington, Nick Faldo, Butch Harmon, Bruce Lietzke, John Mahaffey, Dave Marr, Phil Rodgers, Bill Rogers and Fuzzy Zoeller.[4] Future broadcaster Jim Nantz also played under him.

Williams' contributions to the sport live on to this day, as the scoring system he devised is used at the high school level all the way up to Division I. He was also the first coach to start outfitting his teams in the same uniforms featuring the school colors.[5]

Williams died in Wharton, Texas in 1998. The Dave Williams Golf Academy at the Golf Club of Houston is named after him.[6]

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Houston Cougars (Missouri Valley Conference) (1951–1960)
1951–52 Houston 2nd NCAA 11th place
1952–53 Houston 3rd NCAA 8th place
1953–54 Houston 2nd NCAA 5th place
1954–55 Houston 2nd NCAA T–4th place
1955–56 Houston 1st NCAA Champion
1956–57 Houston 1st NCAA Champion
1957–58 Houston 1st NCAA Champion
1958–59 Houston 1st NCAA Champion
1959–60 Houston 1st NCAA Champion
Houston Cougars (Independent) (1960–1972)
1960–61 Houston NCAA 12th place
1961–62 Houston NCAA Champion
1962–63 Houston NCAA University Division Runner-up
1963–64 Houston NCAA University Division Champion
1964–65 Houston NCAA University Division Champion
1965–66 Houston NCAA University Division Champion
1966–67 Houston NCAA University Division Champion
1967–68 Houston NCAA University Division Runner-up
1968–69 Houston NCAA University Division Champion
1969–70 Houston NCAA University Division Champion
1970–71 Houston NCAA University Division Runner-up
1971–72 Houston NCAA University Division Runner-up
Houston Cougars (Southwest Conference) (1972–1987)
1972–73 Houston 2nd NCAA University Division 6th place
1973–74 Houston T–1st NCAA Division I 3rd place
1974–75 Houston T–1st NCAA Division I 12th place
1975–76 Houston 1st NCAA Division I 3rd place
1976–77 Houston 1st NCAA Division I Champion
1977–78 Houston 1st NCAA Division I 18th place
1978–79 Houston 1st NCAA Division I T–9th place
1979–80 Houston 1st NCAA Division I 18th place
1980–81 Houston 2nd NCAA Division I 3rd place
1981–82 Houston 2nd NCAA Division I Champion
1982–83 Houston 2nd NCAA Division I 3rd place
1983–84 Houston 1st NCAA Division I Champion
1984–85 Houston 1st NCAA Division I Champion
1985–86 Houston T–2nd NCAA Division I 5th place
1986–87 Houston T–2nd NCAA Division I 10th place
Houston:

MVC: 5
SWC: 9
National: 16

Total:

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

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  1. ^ Underwood, John (June 19, 1967). "Dauntless Dave". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  2. ^ Brown, Clifton (December 19, 1998). "Dave Williams, 80, Influential Golf Coach". The New York Times.
  3. ^ Maisel, Ivan (June 4, 1984). "He's now the proud father of 15". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  4. ^ "Dave Williams". Texas Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  5. ^ "Coaching Legend Williams Dies". CBS News. December 17, 1998. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  6. ^ Bailey, Mike (June 22, 2011). "New golf academy to honor legend, serve UH's future". Houston Chronicle.