Chris Haack was named the Georgia men’s golf coach on July 18,1996 – and he not only has sustained the Bulldogs’ lofty standards but he has pushed them to a new level.

Haack has guided the Bulldogs to two national championships (the first ones in school history), six Southeastern Conference crowns, 41 total team victories, and several team and individual records. The Bulldogs have seven top-10 showings at the NCAA Championship in the last 11 years, including the 1999 and 2005 national titles. Many of his players have been honored nationally and by the SEC for their efforts on the course, in the classroom and in the community. In fact, Haack has developed 45 All-Americans during his tenure, 10 more than the next-closest school in that span.

Since Haack took over in Athens, he has led Georgia to at least one win in 11 of the previous 13 seasons. With 41 victories, Haack will enter the 2009-10 season just three shy of the school record of 44 set by Haack’s predecessor, Hall-of-Famer Dick Copas.

In 2008-09, the Bulldogs won five tournaments, including the 27th Southeastern Conference title in school history – and the sixth under Haack’s watch. His Bulldogs finished No. 1 in the final Golfstat poll and came in third at the NCAA Championship (their fifth straight top-10 finish). The five Bulldogs in the NCAAs lineup – Brian Harman, Russell Henley, Hudson Swafford, Harris English and Adam Mitchell – earned All-America honors. Harman was chosen as a Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholar for his efforts in the classroom for the second straight year.

The 2007-08 Bulldogs finished the year with the No. 1 ranking as determined by the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index. Haack’s team won three times, including the NCAA East Regional, and came in eighth at the NCAAs.

In 2006-07, the Bulldogs were the nation’s hottest team in the spring. Under Haack’s guidance, Georgia won five out of seven tournaments. Though they finished second at the NCAA Championship (thanks to a spirited rally from 16th after the second round), the Bulldogs held the final No. 1 ranking in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index.

In 2005-06, Haack led the Bulldogs to a school-record-tying six tournament wins. Haack was chosen as the SEC Coach of the Year, his third such designation, and his program also produced the SEC’s Player of the Year (Chris Kirk) and the Freshman of the Year (Harman). Haack was selected by the Golf Coaches Association of America as the 2006 head coach for the United Palmer Cup Team. He also coached the 2002 squad and is the only man to guide the Americans twice.

The Bulldogs won three tournaments in 2004-05 – 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 Eaton/Golf Pride National Coach of the Year as well as the Southeast Regional Coach of the Year.
Haack’s 2003-04 Bulldogs won the SEC title, with four golfers placing in the top 20 at the SECs, including medalist and SEC Freshman of the Year Brendon Todd.

Haack’s 2002-03 Bulldogs finished 16th at the NCAA Championship and third at the SECs, but cracked the win column at the Tennessee Tournament of Champions.

Though his 2001-02 Bulldogs did not win a tournament, Haack still was recognized as one of the nation’s top coaches. He was chosen as coach for Team USA for the Palmer Cup.

Haack’s 2000-01 Bulldogs won six events, including a school-record four straight, and finished the season ranked No. 1 in the nation. At the Golf World Invitational, Georgia set school records for the lowest round (20-under 268) and the lowest tournament total (42-under 822) as well as the two lowest individual scores in school history (Ryan Hybl at 15-under 201 and Erik Compton at 14-under 202).

Haack’s 1999-2000 Bulldogs won three tournaments and he earned SEC Coach of the Year honors.

Haack’s breakthrough season with the Bulldogs came in 1998-99. No Georgia team had ever ascended to the No. 1 spot in the polls, but Haack’s team did so early in the spring campaign. The Bulldogs later validated their No. 1 ranking by winning the program’s first national championship. Haack was named National Coach of the Year by Golfweek/Sagarin.

In 1997-98, Haack’s second season, Georgia burst back onto the national scene, winning four tournaments, including its first SEC crown since 1988. Haack guided the Bulldogs to 11 straight top-5 finishes and their first NCAAs berth and top-5 ranking since 1991.
Haack’s first Georgia squad in 1996-97 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 also served a seven-year stint as captain of the West Canon Cup Team, squads that included Tiger Woods and Chris Riley. In an initiative begun as foundation director from 1988-90, he also 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. Additionally, he helped oversee the running of 38 events and 19 qualifiers 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 and his wife, Tori, have a son, Charlie, and a daughter, Katie.