Former Alabama coach Nick Saban has carved out a niche for himself as one of the most insightful analysts since his shock retirement in January 2024. Saban is widely considered the most successful coach in college football history and is highly regarded in his new role as an analyst on ESPN’s “College GameDay” show and SEC Media Days commentary.
College Football Fans React to Nick Saban’s Golf Swing
During the week, Saban, who is an avid golfer, made an appearance at the Regions Tradition Pro-Am golf tournament in Birmingham, Alabama, alongside some of the most prominent coaches in college football.
In a clip posted on X featuring all the coaches playing at the tournament, college football fans were not impressed by the former Crimson Tide coach’s skewed swing.
SEC insider Chris Phillips expressed his doubts regarding Saban’s claim about the effectiveness of his game.
“Nick Saban said earlier this week on @PatMcAfeeShow, he recently shot 82 at Augusta National … … with THAT swing, I seriously have my doubts,” Phillips tweeted.
Former college football player and current journalist Brooks Austin also threw shade at the former Alabama coach’s less-than-impressive swing.
“I’m not calling Nick Saban a liar. But that swing would be lucky to shoot 182 at Augusta,” Austin tweeted.
The “College Football Only” account on X posted a meme of a suspicious-looking cartoon from “The Simpsons” with the caption:
“Nick Saban said he shot an 82 at Augusta.”
Saban’s obsession with golf was in evidence during his tenure as the Crimson Tide coach, and in 2018, he was part of the ownership group of the Waterfall Club, which is an exclusive golf club.
What Nick Saban Claimed About His Augusta Golf Score
During an appearance on the “Pat McAfee Show” last week, Saban made a huge claim about how good he was at golf and how he used the lessons learned from the game in his daily life.
“I’m playin’ a lot of golf,” Saban said. “Sometimes good, sometimes bad, man. That’s a metaphor of life, that game. You hit a good shot, you’ve got to deal with success. You hit a bad shot, you’ve got to deal with failure and focus on the next shot. And if you don’t focus on every shot, you get punished. It’s the damndest thing.
“I’ve shot my age three times. (I most recently did it) about a week ago. I’m 74 years old. The older you get, the easier it gets to hit the number. I actually shot 82 at Augusta about a month ago. I was nine-over on the front and one-over on the back. I went through Amen Corner one-under, birdied the 12th.”
In addition, during his glorious Crimson Tide tenure, Saban played golf with numerous famous personalities, including former world No. 1 Justin Thomas in 2022 and Tom Watson in 2015.
