King Oehmig became head coach of the boys’ and girls’ golf teams at Chattanooga’s Baylor School in 1998. His passion for junior golf and his love of his alma mater, Baylor — where he himself was a three-year golf letterman and two-time All-Mid-South player — helped to fuel the historic success that both golf teams would achieve in his 12 years coaching there.
During his tenure at Baylor, Oehmig’s girls’ and boys’ teams combined to win 21 state championships, including 12 straight state titles for the girls — part of their record of 16 consecutive state championships. Five different Baylor girls won 11 individual state titles, while three different boys were awarded four individual championships. In 2007, “Coach O,” as his golfers called him, was recognized as the National Girls’ Golf Coach of the Year by the National High School Coaches Association.
His golfers’ success also carried on well after their years playing for Baylor. Twenty Baylor graduates who played for him earned collegiate golf scholarships. His formers players were twice Southeastern Conference Players of the Year, twice SEC Scholar Athletes of the Year, and include one NCAA Player of the Year, six NCAA All-Americans, and six golfers who play or have played on the PGA and LPGA Tours.
After his coaching stint at Baylor, he also served for three years as the head coach of the NCAA Division III men’s golf team at Sewanee: The University of the South. He was also the son of legendary amateur golfer, Lew Oehmig, who was also inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1973.
King Oehmig was an accomplished player himself, competing as a four-year letterman at the University of Virginia and having won numerous Chattanooga-area tournaments. A historian and advocate of classic golf course architecture, he played an instrumental role in the layouts of four of the region’s top courses.
Off the golf course, he held a Doctor of Ministry from The School of Theology at Sewanee and was an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church, serving in various parishes for nearly 40 years. Oehmig passed away in May 2015, and is survived by his wife, Margy, two sons and daughters-in-law and three grandchildren.