I doubt anyone would state the answer as 'absolutely'... so, the other factors to consider are: coaches and players.
The chief advantage Haack brought to UGA when he arrived in July 1996 was having spent 16 years with the American Junior Golf Association... so, he was well-positioned to know and chart the potential talent rising from the junior ranks across the country. That led to early success in both recruiting and performance on the course. One year into his job, Haack's 1997-1998 team won an SEC championship. The next year: a National Championship. And, so it went for the better part of twenty years.
There is no 'coaching' per se in college golf. Each player customarily retains their personal coach for the technical aspects of what they do. College golf coaches, for the most part, simply seek to find the best mix of players to compete in tournament formats... much like Ryder Cup captains do every other year.
The 'coaching' is mostly recruiting. Better players translate into better teams... as evidenced by the early success of UGA golf during Haack's tenure and the post-graduate success of players from that era. UGA was very good pre-Haack with 21 SEC championships to its credit and one (1) national champion individual, George Hamer. Haack took the next step and has added eight (8) SEC Championships and two (2) National Championships.
The question I posit is whether our recruiting of great players has been more impacted by facilities or a coach long out of the talent-development vista he brought to UGA in the first place?
If the latter, maybe the quick, easy fix is to hire an assistant more attuned to the available talent pool. If the former, then let's pool the capital necessary to get the job done sooner rather than later... for two (2) items seem obvious to me:
1.) Haack can do great things with great talent; and,
2.) Our current trajectory is not good.
The chief advantage Haack brought to UGA when he arrived in July 1996 was having spent 16 years with the American Junior Golf Association... so, he was well-positioned to know and chart the potential talent rising from the junior ranks across the country. That led to early success in both recruiting and performance on the course. One year into his job, Haack's 1997-1998 team won an SEC championship. The next year: a National Championship. And, so it went for the better part of twenty years.
There is no 'coaching' per se in college golf. Each player customarily retains their personal coach for the technical aspects of what they do. College golf coaches, for the most part, simply seek to find the best mix of players to compete in tournament formats... much like Ryder Cup captains do every other year.
The 'coaching' is mostly recruiting. Better players translate into better teams... as evidenced by the early success of UGA golf during Haack's tenure and the post-graduate success of players from that era. UGA was very good pre-Haack with 21 SEC championships to its credit and one (1) national champion individual, George Hamer. Haack took the next step and has added eight (8) SEC Championships and two (2) National Championships.
The question I posit is whether our recruiting of great players has been more impacted by facilities or a coach long out of the talent-development vista he brought to UGA in the first place?
If the latter, maybe the quick, easy fix is to hire an assistant more attuned to the available talent pool. If the former, then let's pool the capital necessary to get the job done sooner rather than later... for two (2) items seem obvious to me:
1.) Haack can do great things with great talent; and,
2.) Our current trajectory is not good.
| Season Start | Season Finish | SEC Champion | SEC Tournament | NCAA Championship | NCAA Finish |
| 1996 | 1997 | Mississippi State | 4 | East Reg | 16 |
| 1997 | 1998 | Georgia | 1 | Championship | 17 |
| 1998 | 1999 | Florida | 2 | Championship | 1 |
| 1999 | 2000 | Georgia | 1 | Championship | 16 |
| 2000 | 2001 | Georgia | 1 | Championship | 5 |
| 2001 | 2002 | Auburn | 3 | Championship | 21 |
| 2002 | 2003 | Florida | 3 | Championship | 16 |
| 2003 | 2004 | Georgia | 1 | Championship | 11 |
| 2004 | 2005 | Kentucky | 3 | Championship | 1 |
| 2005 | 2006 | Georgia | 1 | Championship | 6 |
| 2006 | 2007 | Tennessee | 6 | Championship | 2 |
| 2007 | 2008 | Alabama | 3 | Championship | 8 |
| 2008 | 2009 | Georgia | 1 | Championship | 3 |
| 2009 | 2010 | Georgia | 1 | SC Regional | 6 |
| 2010 | 2011 | Florida | 4 | Championship | 2 |
| 2011 | 2012 | Alabama | 4 | Championship | 17 |
| 2012 | 2013 | Alabama | 9 | Championship | 19 |
| 2013 | 2014 | Alabama | 4 | Championship | 11 |
| 2014 | 2015 | LSU | 7 | Championship | 3 |
| 2015 | 2016 | Georgia | 1 | Championship | 14 |
| 2016 | 2017 | Vanderbilt | 9 | Regionals | 10 |
| 2017 | 2018 | Auburn | 11 | Regionals | 11 |
| 2018 | 2019 | Arkansas | 5 | Championship | 24 |
| 2019 | 2020 | COVID | COVID | COVID | COVID |
| 2020 | 2021 | Vanderbilt | 1 | Championship | 17 |
| 2021 | 2022 | Vanderbilt | 6 | Championship | 12 |
| 2022 | 2023 | Florida | 9 | Championship | 14 |
| 2023 | 2024 | Auburn | 4 | Regionals | 7 |
