Vanderbilt and Tennessee Hall of Fame golfer Lew Conner dies at 87

Vanderbilt Athletics and Tennessee Golf Hall of Famer Lew Conner died on Sunday. He was 87.

Conner, a prominent Nashville attorney and renowned philanthropist, played golf at Vanderbilt (1957-60) and later played a key role in building the program into one of the best in the NCAA.

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Conner, who served on the Tennessee Court of Appeals from 1980-84 and later as special chief justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court, also had leadership roles with the Nashville Sports Council, the Music City Bowl, and the National Commodore Club.

Arrangements are Friday with other details pending.

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In 2005, Conner dedicated the Conner Short Game Practice Facility at the Commodores’ home golf course, Vanderbilt Legends Club. It is a two-acre facility located adjacent to the driving range at Legends Club. It features five different bunkers and three greens: one for putting, one for chipping, and one with a 130-yard practice hole for practicing shots of various distances and lies.

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Conner, a Chattanooga native, continued to support Vanderbilt’s golf programs as a lead donor in numerous other projects over the years. He was inducted into the Vanderbilt Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017.

Conner served as chairman of the Tennessee Golf Foundation and was a longtime director and president of the Tennessee Golf Association.

“When it comes to the cooperative culture that Tennessee golf is known for, Lew was probably the single most important person in getting us to where we are today,” said Dick Horton, who served as executive director of the Tennessee PGA Section and the Tennessee Golf Association from 1973 to 2007 and as president of the Tennessee Golf Foundation from 1991 to 2018.

In the early 1970s, when both the Tennessee Golf Association and the Tennessee PGA Section faced financial struggles, Conner helped bring the two groups together under a joint operating agreement. Relying on his legal expertise and influence with the local golf community, Conner helped preserve both entities, which are still in place today.

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“Lew was legal counsel for the TPGA and served on the TGA board at the same time,” Horton said. “He played golf at Richland Country Club with (TPGA board member) Joe Taggert, and between those two, the wheels really started turning. At the time, the TGA and TPGA didn’t really care for one another. There was competition and distrust. But Lew was as good a negotiator and mediator as there was in the Southeast. His saying was always, ‘If it’s good for Tennessee golf, we’ll do it. We don’t care who gets the credit.’”

In 2002, Conner was the inaugural recipient of the Society of Tennessee Golfers’ Person of the Year Award. He was inducted into the Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame in 2010.

“Lew was a towering figure who led our game in Tennessee for many years,” current Tennessee Golf Foundation president Whit Turnbow said. “His leadership and support played a vital role in bringing us to where we are today, and we are honored that The Little Course at Conner Lane will forever stand as a tribute to his legacy.”

Conner was an accomplished amateur golfer. He was the 1973 Tennessee Player of the Year, selected to 20 Tennessee Challenge Cup teams, and won multiple state titles. He won the 1975 TGA Four-Ball with Ed Brantley and the 1995 TGA Senior Four-Ball with Joe Faison.

Reach MIke Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt and Tennessee Hall of Fame golfer Lew Conner dies at 87