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Head Coach/Director Of Golf Chris Haack
Chris haaCK
head CoaCh/direCtor oF GolF 25th SeaSon
Chris Haack was named the Georgia men’s golf coach on July 18,1996 – and he has guided the Bulldogs to their highest levels of success.
Haack has coached the Bulldogs to two national championships (the only two in school history), eight Southeastern Conference crowns, 65 team tournament titles, and virtually every squad and individual records.
Under his tutelage, 28 Bulldogs have accumulated 59 medalist titles. Thirty-one of his players have rolled up 67 All-America honors, while 32 have earned 68 All-SEC certificates. He also has coached 18 Scholar All-Americans.
Haack was inducted into the GCAA Hall of Fame in 2012, the GSGA’s Georgia Golf Hall of Fame in 2016, and the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.
Haack’s Bulldogs have had nine top10 and 17 top-20 efforts at the NCAAs, including the 1999 and 2005 national championships, runner-up efforts in 2007 and 2011, and third-place showings in 2009 and 2015.
Haack led the Bulldogs to wins in the Jim Rivers Invitational and the Crooked Stick Invitational in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. Davis Thompson and Trent Phillips earned First-Team All-America honors and they were joined by Calum Masters as All-America Scholars.
His Bulldogs won thrice in 2019, taking the Puerto Rico Classic, the Linger Longer Invitational, and the NCAA Athens Regional. Phillips, Spencer Ralston, and Thompson were chosen as All-Americans and Phillips became Haack’s eighth SEC Freshman of the Year. Moreover, Keith Mitchell won the Honda Classic, giving Haack 10 former players with wins on the PGA Tour.
In 2018, Ralston earned All-America recognition for the Bulldogs, who finished second in three events. Greyson Sigg was an All-American while Ralston was chosen for the Freshman All-SEC squad in 2017.
In 2016, Haack led the Bulldogs to four team titles, including the 29th SEC Championship in school history and the Tuscaloosa Regional. Haack was chosen as the SEC Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his career. Lee McCoy was picked as an All-American and as the SEC Golfer of the Year after claiming conference medalist honors. Bubba Watson, an All-American for Haack in 2000, represented the United States in the 2016 Olympics.
In 2015, Haack led the Bulldogs to three victories, then piloted the squad to the “Final Fore” in the NCAA Championships. McCoy was an All-American after claiming medalist honors a school-record-tying four times and Zach Healy was an All-American.
Haack’s 2014 Bulldogs won four times, including the San Antonio Regional. Haack’s charges picked up two titles in 2013, winning the Brickyard Collegiate Championship and the Bulldog Battle at Mountain Lake.
In 2012, Haack guided a quintet of one junior, three sophomores and one freshman to the NCAAs.
Watson became the first Bulldog to win a professional major as he captured the 2012 Masters title. In 2014, Watson won the Masters again, made the U.S. Ryder Cup Team, and was one of an unprecedented six Bulldogs (joining Brian Harman, Harris English, Russell Henley, Chris Kirk and Brendon Todd) to win a PGA Tour event.
In 2012, Haack added the position of Director of Golf. He serves as the liaison between the Athletic Association and the UGA Golf Course, oversees the Boyd Center and the adjacent practice facilities, and is available as counsel to women’s coach Josh Brewer.
Haack piloted the 2011 Bulldogs to the final match of the NCAAs. In 200910, Haack coached Henley to National and SEC Player of the Year honors. He also guided the Bulldogs to three wins, including the SEC Championship. In the Williams Intercollegiate, Haack’s squad made up a 15-shot deficit after two rounds to win by one shot – the largest rally in his tenure.
The 2009 Bulldogs won five tournaments, including the SEC title. His Bulldogs finished No. 1 in the final Golfstat poll and came in third at the NCAAs. The 2008 Bulldogs finished the year with the No. 1 ranking. Haack’s team won three times and came in eighth
