The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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46 ■ THE WOLFPACKER WHEREARETHEYNOW? BY JACEY ZEMBAL F ormer NCSU golfer Nolan Mills Sr. has seen plenty of changes at NC State, but one aspect always has remained the same — Richard Sykes, who is in his 44th year as head coach of the Wolfpack. In his senior year for Sykes, Mills won the 1983 individual ACC championship, earned All-ACC honors and was named a Golf Coaches Association of America All- American. Mills is one of six ACC individual cham- pions for NC State, and he ranks tied for third in school history with five career tour- nament victories. Now his son, Nolan Mills Jr., is a soph- omore in NC State's golf program under Sykes. "I think it is great that my son is getting the chance to play for him," said Mills, who graduated with a degree in business from NC State. "I had a great time at NC State, and I still have a close relationship with Richard, 30- plus years since I have been gone. He has a pretty quick wit." Mills passed along his love of golf to his son and tried with his daughter, Keat- ing, who is a freshman at Georgia, but she hasn't reciprocated the appreciation for the game yet. The Charlotte native returned home to the Queen City after finishing at NC State, and he has been successful in real estate. "I've had a couple of businesses over the years and then sold those, and I'm now in commercial real estate," Mills said. "Basi- cally, what I do is find and sell land to large developers." Mills still tries to play about 20 to 30 rounds a year. His drives might be a little shorter now, but otherwise his game is about the same. "I don't get to play very much, but I did play in the U.S. Senior Amateur out in St. Louis this year, since I am now eligible," Mills said. "I qualified in match play and got to the top 32 in the country. I had a good little run, but unfortunately I drew the guy that won the whole thing. I had a chance to beat him, but just didn't do it." Mills won four different events during the 1982-83 season, including the ACC Cham- pionships when he shot a 12-under-par 205. He also was All-ACC in 1982. "We had some very good golf teams while I was there, and I played with a good group of guys," Mills said. "It was a lot of fun. The only thing we really didn't accom- plish was winning the ACC as a team. Other than that, we won a lot of golf tournaments." Mills still remembers getting a birdie on the 18th hole at the Northgreen Country Club in Rocky Mount, N.C., in his final campaign for Sykes and thinking another prize awaited the Wolfpack. "I thought on the 18th hole that we had won it as a team," Mills said. "At the time, Richard had never won the ACC. As excited as I was to win the individual, I was a little disappointed that we didn't get his first ACC championship, finishing second." Mills finished tied for 12th (288 strokes) in 1982 at Pinehurst No. 2 at the NCAA Championships in Pinehurst, N.C. He fol- lowed up by tying for 20th (293) at the 1983 NCAA Championships at the San Joaquin Country Club in Fresno, Calif. The Wolf- pack finished eighth as a team in 1982 and 30th in 1983. Nolan Mills Sr. Men's Golf (1980-83) Age: 56 Living: Charlotte, N.C. Occupation: Senior Vice President of MVP Prop- erties Did you know? Mills was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary Men's Golf Team. ? WHERE ARE THEY NOW During his senior campaign in 1982-83, Mills took medalists honors at four events — in- cluding the ACC championship — and earned all-conference and All-America accolades. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS DETERMINED A Hard-Nosed Approach Led To An ACC Individual Title And All-American Honors In His Senior Season Mills (left), who has had a successful career in real estate in his hometown of Charlotte, sent his son Nolan Jr. (right) to play at NC State for his former coach, Richard Sykes. PHOTO COURTESY NOLAN MILLS