Quick Chat: Mookie DeMoss

By John Frierson
Staff Writer

It was about a year ago that former Georgia men's golf standout Mookie DeMoss returned to the program as an assistant coach. After leading the Bulldogs to the NCAA Final Four as a senior in 2015, DeMoss played professionally on different tours for about eight years and even did some caddying for former Bulldogs like Chris Kirk and Brendon Todd.

When longtime head coach Chris Haack initially reached out about returning to Athens on his staff, it happened not long before DeMoss and his wife Betsy had their first child, Jane. The timing couldn't have been better.

During a Quick Chat, DeMoss talked about transitioning to coaching after playing pro golf, what life is like on the lower tours, the value of having PGA Tour players like Kirk and Todd around, and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:

Frierson: So what is it like being back in this capacity?

DeMoss: It's been great — I've loved it. I love being part of a team, and it's been fun. The guys have been super welcoming, which has been great. I've enjoyed being back in this capacity, for sure. I've enjoyed it even more than I thought I would, to be honest.

Frierson: Why do you think that is?

DeMoss: When I graduated in 2015, I started playing professionally up in Canada and Latin America, and a little bit of Korn Ferry (Tour) and kind of all over the place, and just competing for about eight years professionally. Switching gears into coaching, I wasn't sure how much I'd be missing competing, missing playing, but I'm absolutely loving it. I'm thinking that I'm right where I need to be.

Frierson: What is life like on the lower tours? It looks pretty nomadic and maybe a little lonely.

DeMoss: It's tough. There are worse ways to make a living, but it is a hard way to make a living, for sure. I got to see a lot of really neat places doing it, especially playing Canada and Latin America and places in the world I probably would have not seen otherwise. And it definitely helps if you've got a roommate or two that can travel with you, and guys you can you travel with. It helps because it definitely can get lonely out there.

That's the other thing I think that's so special about team golf, and why I think a lot of these guys on the PGA Tour work so hard to get on these Ryder Cup and President Cup teams, because there's nothing like it.

Frierson: Do you still play much?

DeMoss: I really don't. My wife and I had our first baby girl last October, so she just turned 1. That really shifted my perspective a lot. And I missed at Q School last fall, the week after she was born, and could not have expected how much that shifted my perspective. My wife was kind of asking where my heart was at with everything, and I said I don't want to go back to Latin America with a baby at home and do all of that travel multiple weeks in a row.

So Coach Haack had approached me, I guess it would have been last August, about potentially joining the coaching staff, and got the wheels turning a little bit, and then when our baby girl came, I really thought I might like it, and I had always kind of been drawn to coaching at an early age.

Frierson: I saw Brendon Todd walking off the range when I arrived. Is it valuable having guys like Brendon and Chris (who live in the Athens area) around?

DeMoss: A hundred percent, yeah. Our guys get to pick their brains about things, and I've caddied for both of those guys, been fortunate to do that a few times out on the PGA Tour, and I've learned a lot from those guys, and they've been super generous with their time, and they practice out here at our facility when they're home.

Frierson: What was it like caddying after so many years playing?

DeMoss: I really enjoyed it. I probably learned more about the game of golf from that side of the bag, from the perspective of caddying for those guys, than even playing. Obviously, they're some of the best players in the world, and just getting to be around them and see how they operate and what their week-to-week, day-to-day looks like out there, as well as how well they know their games and how they approach everything. So I've learned a lot, but I really enjoy it. And they're they've been good friends for a long time, so I think they take it easy on me and give me some slack.

Frierson: What's something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?

DeMoss: I would say Taqueria del Sol.

Frierson: That's a very good answer. Do you have a standard order?

DeMoss: I typically get two or three tacos and an enchilada, and then always some guacamole. And when I go with my wife, we get a queso and a guacamole. And then our daughter, Jane, loves the guacamole. She'll eat that almost by herself. I usually get the fried chicken taco, the Memphis taco, and then the chicken enchilada.

My wife, after we graduated, she was the assistant manager at Lululemon, which used to be right across the street, so I would meet her there for lunch quite a bit.

(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)

Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.

University of Georgia Athletics

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