Chris Haack - Men's Golf Coach - University of Georgia Athletics

The Georgia men's golf team celebrating its tournament win at the Puerto Rico Classic on Feb. 13, 2024.

Chris Haack

Title:
Head Coach/Director of Golf
Email:
chaack@sports.uga.edu
Phone:
706-369-5932

2-Time National Coach of the Year (1999, 2005)
5-Time SEC Coach of the Year (1998, 2000, 2006, 2010, 2015)
2 National Championships (1999, 2005)
8 SEC Championships (1998, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2015)
70 All-Americans (14 1st Team, 18 2nd Team, 8 3rd Team, 30 HM)
73 All-SEC Selections (45 1st Team, 28 2nd Team)
2012 GCAA Hall of Fame Inductee
2016 GSGA Georgia Golf Hall of Fame Inductee
2018 State of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Inductee
1 Ben Hogan Award Winner
1 Fred Haskins Award Winner
6 SEC Players of the Year
8 SEC Freshmen of the Year
67 Team Championships (at least 1 victory in 22 seasons)
63 Individual Medalists
19 Scholar All-Americans
1 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Recipient
8 Faculty Athletic Representative Awards (highest team GPA at Georgia)
7 Team and Individual School Records
2001, 2006 U.S. Palmer Cup Coach

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, 67 team tournament titles, and virtually every squad and individual records.

Under his tutelage, 27 Bulldogs have accumulated 63 medalist titles. Thirty-one of his players have rolled up 70 All-America honors, while 33 have earned 73 All-SEC certificates. He also has coached 19 Scholar All-Americans. Eleven of Haack’s pupils have amassed 44 PGA Tour wins and, all told, his former players have earned more than $200 million at the pro level.

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 top-10 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.

In 2022, Haack led the Bulldogs to the Linger Longer Invitational title, giving him at least one win in 22 of his 26 seasons. He guided his team back to the NCAA Championships with a fourth-place showing in the Bryan Regional. Haack coached Trent Phillips to his fourth straight All-America certificate (the fifth Bulldog to accomplish that feat) and his fourth consecutive First-Team All-SEC recognition (the first Bulldog reaching that status) and Maxwell Ford to the SEC’s All-Freshman Team. Phillips picked up medalist honors in the Williams Cup and was on the watch list for several prestigious postseason awards.

In 2021, Haack piloted the Bulldogs to team titles in the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate and the Old Waverly Collegiate Championship. He coached Phillips and Davis Thompson to medalist honors in the Gator Invitational and Tiger Invitational, respectively. Thompson was named First-Team All-America and was picked as the SEC Golfer of the Year. Phillips became a third-time All-American and joined Thompson as First-Team All-SEC. Thompson, Phillips, and Connor Creasy earned All-America Scholar recognition. Sepp Straka, an All-American for Haack in 2016, represented Austria in Olympics in Tokyo with his brother and former UGA teammate Sam on the bag.

Haack led the Bulldogs to wins in the Jim Rivers Invitational and the Crooked Stick Invitational in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. Thompson and 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.

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 2009-10, Haack coached Henley to National and SEC Player of the Year honors. He 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 at the NCAAs. In 2007, Georgia won five out of seven tournaments. Despite placing second at the NCAAs, Georgia held the final No. 1 ranking. In 2006, Haack led the Bulldogs to a school-record-tying six tournament wins and he was chosen as the SEC Coach of the Year. He was selected by the GCAA as the 2006 head coach for the U.S. Palmer Cup Team.

The Bulldogs won three tournaments in 2005 – including the most memorable one in the spring as Georgia capped the season with a wire-to-wire win at the NCAAs. Haack was chosen as the National Coach of the Year. Haack’s 2004 Bulldogs won the SEC title. In 2003, his Bulldogs cracked the win column at the Tennessee Tournament of Champions. Though his 2002 Bulldogs did not win a tournament, Haack was recognized as one of the nation’s top coaches as he was chosen as coach for Team USA for the Palmer Cup.

Haack’s 2001 Bulldogs won six events, including a school-record four straight, and finished the season ranked No. 1 in the nation. Haack’s 2000 Bulldogs won three tournaments and he earned SEC Coach of the Year honors.

Haack’s breakthrough season with the Bulldogs came in 1999. No Georgia team had ever ascended to the No. 1 position in the polls, but Haack’s team did so early in the spring campaign. The Bulldogs later validated their ranking by winning the program’s first national championship. Haack was named National Coach of the Year.

In 1998, Haack led Georgia to four wins, including its first SEC crown since 1988. Haack’s first Georgia squad in 1997 showed glimpses of what lay ahead as the youthful Bulldogs finished fourth or better in seven of 11 events and advanced to the NCAA Regional.

Before being named Georgia’s coach, Haack was a driving force for the American Junior Golf Association. He joined the AJGA in 1981 as a tournament director before becoming director of operations in 1984 and director of development in 1985. He served a seven-year stint as captain of the Canon Cup West Team, squads that included Tiger Woods. In an initiative begun as foundation director from 1988-90, he organized and established fund-raising programs to build surplus moneys for the AJGA’s perpetuity, bringing in more than $750,000 for the foundation and other junior programs. Haack served as assistant executive director from 1990-96, helping manage a staff of 22 and an annual budget of $2.5 million. He helped oversee the running of 50-plus events nationwide.

The recipient of the AJGA Sportsmanship Award, Haack graduated from Newnan High School in 1978. He attended West Georgia College, where he played on the golf team, and he received his degree from Mellen.

Haack is married to the former Ronda Livesay and they have six children (Kasi, Charlie, Kassidy, Katie, Kaylee, and Katie Beth) and one grandson (Banks).