Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Former golf stars’ journeys reunite them at MT
10/18/2018 1:00:00 PM | Men's Golf, Women's Golf
Bulle, Narramore together again in first season as coaches
When 17-year-old Kentucky native Kent Bulle stepped onto the Middle Tennessee campus for the first time, his stomach was spinning as much as the balls he'd smacked with a 9-iron many times before. He had all the talent in the world and was looking to become part of the group that would help MTSU's men's golf program take the next step toward national prominence.
Little did Bulle know on his first visit to Murfreesboro that a guy he was about to spend the day with, Chas Narramore, would not only end up playing alongside him at the NCAA Championships, but also, they'd become lifelong friends.
"There was something special about (MTSU), and I started to figure that out on my first visit to campus," Bulle said. "I met [former head coach Whit Turnbow], and then he let me hang out with some of the guys. It was Chas, Rick Cochran, Jason Millard, Craig Smith, Spencer Provow – who lives in my neighborhood now – and Bart Barnes, who's at Troy.
"Chas, Jason and Rick were all in my wedding. We're all still great friends."
The competitiveness between Bulle and Narramore bared good fortune for both throughout their careers. That fortune peaked in the spring of 2008 at the NCAA Regionals when the duo combined to shoot 4-under par for the tournament at the Council Fire Golf Course in Chattanooga to give MTSU its first NCAA Championship berth.
"One of the reasons why (Kent and I) were so good was because we were competing with each other daily," Narramore said. "It seemed like all of us on the team, with Jason, Kent, Rick and Craig, were so competitive at home so that when we got on the road, things were easier and we didn't have so much pressure on us."
By 2011, both had turned pro and would continue to become trendsetters for future Blue Raiders.
Narramore collected nearly 10 wins in his career across multiple professional tours. The Kingston, Tennessee native became the only player to win twice at the Savannah Lakes Village Classic with his 2015 victory, which came just after he'd qualified to compete on the PGA Tour's Web.com Tour alongside Bulle.
Bulle, who played in his first Web.com Tour event in 2011, finished among the top 25 on the leaderboard seven times in his career. But, arguably the biggest moment of his career thus far came just last year.
After a win at the Argentina Open in November 2016, Bulle qualified for the 2017 Open Championship.
Narramore caddied for Bulle at The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay and guided him to a 13th-place finish on a fill-in basis. That made choosing a caddie for The Open an easy call for Bulle.
"Absolutely [making the call for Narramore to caddie] was super easy," Bulle said. "That was the guy I wanted to take over there. That was such a cool experience to go through with him, because we had some success going for a while and got to play with some of the best players in the world."
As his own career, which included 26 appearances on the Web.com Tour, began to wind down, Narramore looked to fulfill one of his lifelong passions: coaching.
After many talks with Turnbow, his former MTSU coach, about getting into coaching, Narramore got his shot this summer, being hired by Middle Tennessee women's golf coach Chris Adams to be her assistant.
"Whit [Turnbow] was an unbelievable role model for me and my teammates," Narramore said. "He had such a passion, and I liked seeing him and how he reacted around us when he was pretty much my age now. I know he really enjoyed (coaching)."
Narramore has passed some of his knowledge on from both Turnbow and his own professional career to the women at MTSU, and they've responded by carding seven top-10 individual performances as a team this fall.
The circumstances that led his 30-year-old counterpart Bulle to MTSU weren't quite as welcomed.
After The Open, Bulle developed a shoulder injury, forcing him off the course for an extended period of time to rehab.
With the exit of former MTSU men's golf coach Brennan Webb over the summer, the timing of Bulle's injury opened the door for him to join new head coach Mark McEntire on the Middle Tennessee men's golf staff as his assistant.
"Being on [the coaching] side of [golf], it opens my eyes to a lot of things that I don't think about all the time," Bulle said. "It's always good for people to get back to the fundamentals. I like helping out the guys, and it's really nice for me to be able to recharge the batteries a little bit and see things from a different side."
Despite Bulle's given circumstances, if you hopped in the DeLorean, fired up the flux capacitor, traveled back to 2008 and asked a then 20-year-old Bulle if he believed he'd one day be back at MTSU coaching with Narramore in 2018, he'd respond with a, "No. Not for one second."
On the other hand, a then 21-year-old Narramore would tell you he, "could definitely see himself doing this."
Back in 2018, they're together in the coaching ranks in Murfreesboro. Things have changed quite a bit since the day Turnbow introduced Bulle to Narramore and his future teammates, but their
careers shaped the way golf is played at Middle Tennessee today.
Even if it's only for a year while Bulle rehabs, the friends of over 10 years have another club to add to their bag: coaching together at their alma mater.
Anthony Fiorella is a student writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @a_fiorella74 and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
Little did Bulle know on his first visit to Murfreesboro that a guy he was about to spend the day with, Chas Narramore, would not only end up playing alongside him at the NCAA Championships, but also, they'd become lifelong friends.
"There was something special about (MTSU), and I started to figure that out on my first visit to campus," Bulle said. "I met [former head coach Whit Turnbow], and then he let me hang out with some of the guys. It was Chas, Rick Cochran, Jason Millard, Craig Smith, Spencer Provow – who lives in my neighborhood now – and Bart Barnes, who's at Troy.
"Chas, Jason and Rick were all in my wedding. We're all still great friends."
The competitiveness between Bulle and Narramore bared good fortune for both throughout their careers. That fortune peaked in the spring of 2008 at the NCAA Regionals when the duo combined to shoot 4-under par for the tournament at the Council Fire Golf Course in Chattanooga to give MTSU its first NCAA Championship berth.
"One of the reasons why (Kent and I) were so good was because we were competing with each other daily," Narramore said. "It seemed like all of us on the team, with Jason, Kent, Rick and Craig, were so competitive at home so that when we got on the road, things were easier and we didn't have so much pressure on us."
By 2011, both had turned pro and would continue to become trendsetters for future Blue Raiders.
Narramore collected nearly 10 wins in his career across multiple professional tours. The Kingston, Tennessee native became the only player to win twice at the Savannah Lakes Village Classic with his 2015 victory, which came just after he'd qualified to compete on the PGA Tour's Web.com Tour alongside Bulle.
Bulle, who played in his first Web.com Tour event in 2011, finished among the top 25 on the leaderboard seven times in his career. But, arguably the biggest moment of his career thus far came just last year.
After a win at the Argentina Open in November 2016, Bulle qualified for the 2017 Open Championship.
Narramore caddied for Bulle at The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay and guided him to a 13th-place finish on a fill-in basis. That made choosing a caddie for The Open an easy call for Bulle.
"Absolutely [making the call for Narramore to caddie] was super easy," Bulle said. "That was the guy I wanted to take over there. That was such a cool experience to go through with him, because we had some success going for a while and got to play with some of the best players in the world."
As his own career, which included 26 appearances on the Web.com Tour, began to wind down, Narramore looked to fulfill one of his lifelong passions: coaching.
After many talks with Turnbow, his former MTSU coach, about getting into coaching, Narramore got his shot this summer, being hired by Middle Tennessee women's golf coach Chris Adams to be her assistant.
"Whit [Turnbow] was an unbelievable role model for me and my teammates," Narramore said. "He had such a passion, and I liked seeing him and how he reacted around us when he was pretty much my age now. I know he really enjoyed (coaching)."
Narramore has passed some of his knowledge on from both Turnbow and his own professional career to the women at MTSU, and they've responded by carding seven top-10 individual performances as a team this fall.
The circumstances that led his 30-year-old counterpart Bulle to MTSU weren't quite as welcomed.
After The Open, Bulle developed a shoulder injury, forcing him off the course for an extended period of time to rehab.
With the exit of former MTSU men's golf coach Brennan Webb over the summer, the timing of Bulle's injury opened the door for him to join new head coach Mark McEntire on the Middle Tennessee men's golf staff as his assistant.
"Being on [the coaching] side of [golf], it opens my eyes to a lot of things that I don't think about all the time," Bulle said. "It's always good for people to get back to the fundamentals. I like helping out the guys, and it's really nice for me to be able to recharge the batteries a little bit and see things from a different side."
Despite Bulle's given circumstances, if you hopped in the DeLorean, fired up the flux capacitor, traveled back to 2008 and asked a then 20-year-old Bulle if he believed he'd one day be back at MTSU coaching with Narramore in 2018, he'd respond with a, "No. Not for one second."
On the other hand, a then 21-year-old Narramore would tell you he, "could definitely see himself doing this."
Back in 2018, they're together in the coaching ranks in Murfreesboro. Things have changed quite a bit since the day Turnbow introduced Bulle to Narramore and his future teammates, but their
careers shaped the way golf is played at Middle Tennessee today.
Even if it's only for a year while Bulle rehabs, the friends of over 10 years have another club to add to their bag: coaching together at their alma mater.
Anthony Fiorella is a student writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @a_fiorella74 and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
MTSU Men's Basketball Post Game Press Conference vs Kennesaw State 12/17/25
Thursday, December 18
Blue Raider Breakdown Postgame Show - December 16th - Women's Basketball
Wednesday, December 17
MTSU Women's Basketball vs. Auburn Postgame Press Conference on 12/16/25
Wednesday, December 17
MT Women's Basketball | Together: Episode Three | It's gotta mean something to you
Tuesday, December 16
