Spring Break
'Haacker' aims to keep men golfers 'loose'
NICK PARKER
Issue date: 3/20/09 Section: Sports
When playing for the No. 1 ranked men's golf team in the country, when each shot can determine a tournament's outcome, the pressure can be immense.
However, the Georgia golf team knows it always has someone to keep it loose and laughing in these pressure-filled moments - its coach, Chris Haack, affectionately known as "Haacker."
"I like to keep things loose and make these guys not take things so seriously all the time," he said. "So I'm always kind of playing pranks on them and just try to make them realize that there is a lot more to having fun and life than hitting bad golf shots."
Haack wasn't quick to divulge his infamous pranks, though.
"It's not any particular prank; I'm just always feeding them a bunch of bologna and picking on them about stuff," Haack said. "It's just kind of hard to explain unless you're around us, but it's just all around having fun."
Senior golfer Adam Mitchell remembered a particular instance of Haack's escapades.
"One time last Valentine's Day, a bunch of us were going to Hilltope [Grille] with our girlfriends, and he got this big scheme together with the owner and the women's golf coach and convinced us that they had to move our reservations back two hours, or they could get us a reservation at Applebee's," Mitchell said. "He went on and on for about an hour before telling us that he was messing with us."
And no one is immune from a Haack wisecrack.
"He likes to give all of us pretty much a hard time about anything he can," Mitchell said.
And the jokes don't stop once the tournament rounds begin. While most coaches are offering their players advice, Haack seizes the opportunity to ensure that they get a nice laugh before their next shot.
"I drop a few during the round, and they've heard them all now," he said. "One of my favorites is 'Man, I love you guys, if we ever went to war, I'd be right behind you all the way.' Originally they take that as a compliment, then they realize I'm sending them out there to take the bullets," Haack said.
Haack's antics should be on full display this weekend as the Bulldogs play in the Linger Longer Invitational in nearby Greensboro at Reynolds Plantation.
However, the Georgia golf team knows it always has someone to keep it loose and laughing in these pressure-filled moments - its coach, Chris Haack, affectionately known as "Haacker."
"I like to keep things loose and make these guys not take things so seriously all the time," he said. "So I'm always kind of playing pranks on them and just try to make them realize that there is a lot more to having fun and life than hitting bad golf shots."
Haack wasn't quick to divulge his infamous pranks, though.
"It's not any particular prank; I'm just always feeding them a bunch of bologna and picking on them about stuff," Haack said. "It's just kind of hard to explain unless you're around us, but it's just all around having fun."
Senior golfer Adam Mitchell remembered a particular instance of Haack's escapades.
"One time last Valentine's Day, a bunch of us were going to Hilltope [Grille] with our girlfriends, and he got this big scheme together with the owner and the women's golf coach and convinced us that they had to move our reservations back two hours, or they could get us a reservation at Applebee's," Mitchell said. "He went on and on for about an hour before telling us that he was messing with us."
And no one is immune from a Haack wisecrack.
"He likes to give all of us pretty much a hard time about anything he can," Mitchell said.
And the jokes don't stop once the tournament rounds begin. While most coaches are offering their players advice, Haack seizes the opportunity to ensure that they get a nice laugh before their next shot.
"I drop a few during the round, and they've heard them all now," he said. "One of my favorites is 'Man, I love you guys, if we ever went to war, I'd be right behind you all the way.' Originally they take that as a compliment, then they realize I'm sending them out there to take the bullets," Haack said.
Haack's antics should be on full display this weekend as the Bulldogs play in the Linger Longer Invitational in nearby Greensboro at Reynolds Plantation.
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