Back Nine With Brad McMakin: Part 1

In mid-July, we traveled to Springfield, New Jersey (my hometown) to watch the second round of the 71^st US Junior Amateur (eighteen and under) at Baltusrol Golf Club (see posts “Baltusrol” and “US Junior Amateur…”).  As documented, we had a tremendous front row experience, following our friend, and USGA Rules Official, Paul Romano (“Rules of Golf Part 4 and 5…”).  One of the highlights of our trip was meeting (by dumb luck) and visiting with Brad McMakin, Men’s Golf Coach at the University of Arkansas, who was following a prized recruit.  Brad was personable, engaging and kind enough to hang out with us for a few holes as well as agreeing to an interview at a future date.

Biography:

• Native of Beaumont, Texas
• Co-captain of the 1989 University of Oklahoma’s National Championship Team
• Spent four years as a professional golfer, competing on several mini tours as well as playing on the Nike and Hooter Tours
• Spent ten years as the Head Coach of Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas
• Currently in his 13th season as the University of Arkansas’s Head Coach
• 2009 SEC Coach of the Year
• Career Record 1,393-648-42 (.679)
• Six NCAA Championship appearances at Arkansas, four in the last six years… 2009 NCAA runner-up
• 14 All-SEC selections and seven SEC Freshman team honorees
• 64 Spring SEC Academic Honor Roll honorees and 21 First-Year Academic Honor Roll winners
• Brad and his wife Tonia have one son (Matthew)

This is the first of a three part interview with Brad.  It is an interesting look at collegiate golf and a coach who cares deeply about the growth and direction of his players.  Enjoy!

What were the events that led to your decision to leave the Tour?

Every kid dreams of playing on the PGA Tour.  I gave it a try for a couple of years, however I always knew I wanted to coach if I did not make in on Tour.

Funny story!  I was leading a college tournament in Las Vegas my senior year.  I played my final round with Phil Mickelson and he closed with a 63.  Immediately following the round, as I walked off the green, my Dad said the following; “Son, you need to finish school, get your degree and get a future because you can’t beat that guy!”  I can thank Phil for my coaching career as he crushed my pro golf dreams.

I assume your experiences at Oklahoma University and on Tour were helpful in your transition from playing to coaching?

I played for a great coach at the University of Oklahoma (Greg Gross) and was fortunate to play with a ton of great players: Todd Hamilton (winner of The Open Championship on 2004), Craig Perks (winner of the Player’s Championship in 2002), Doug Martin (played on the PGA Tour for twelve years) and Glen Day (played on the PGA Tour and currently on the PGA Champions Tour).  Coach Gross has been extremely influential in my life.  He understands how to be successful, how to work hard and how to prepare.  My five years at the University of Oklahoma were extremely beneficial to my development as a person, a player and a coach.

I taught for a year and a half after my playing days.  A coaching opportunity opened at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas and I was hired at a young age.  The program was in rough shape and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to recruit the superstar junior golfers right away, so I needed to develop my players. In addition to my time with Coach Gross, I had spent time with David Leadbetter and Chuck Cook (successful teachers), learning the craft.  Fortunately I was able to translate my experiences to my players, improving their games and improving the program.  My Lamar University players included Chris Stroud (PGA Tour, with one win), Sean Stefani (PGA Tour), Justin Harding (tournament wins in Asia) and Davie van der Walt (secured his Tour card in 2017).  I would like to think I helped my players understand how to practice and how to practice the right way.  We got things moving in the right direction.

Tell us about your coaching journey…ten years at Lamar University and now thirteen years at the University of Arkansas.

At the time, Mid-Majors were not competing with the big schools.  We qualified for eight straight NCAA Regional Championships and in my final year at Lamar, we finished 9^th in the nation.  I subsequently received a call from Frank Broyles out of the clear blue.  I flew to Fayetteville, Arkansas, interviewed for the position and was hired. The following year, Lamar University finished 3^rd in the nation.  We built a successful program at Lamar University however it took some time, recruiting the right kids who wanted to do the right things.  Our success at Lamar propelled me to the University of Arkansas and my Lamar players are the reason why I am coaching in the SEC.  I am grateful for those guys.

Based on our limited time together at the Junior Amateur, I was pleased to hear the academic component seems to be a priority.  That isn’t always the case these days in college athletics.  Why is this such a priority for you?

As a coach, we have the opportunity to influence the lives of 18-22 year old kids and that is why many of us have chosen this career.  It is very fulfilling to watch a young man grow as a player and as a person.   There is a 1% chance that a college player will make it to the PGA Tour however most, if not all of my kids, have those dreams.  My job is to prepare our kids for life after golf.  We look for the four-year guys with a proven academic track record.  A good student typically has sound time management skills.  Time management skills are critical as we miss a lot of days in class due to our travel schedule.  It is challenging to go to school and play Division 1 golf.

Austin Cook (PGA Touring Professional and 38^th in 2018 Fed-X Points) was a pre-med major.  Austin had no real aspirations for a professional golfing career and he winds up winning a PGA Tour event in 2018.  Austin always prioritized his schoolwork, golf was clearly secondary and now he is a top forty PGA Tour player a mere three years later.

The families of my players place a lot of faith in me.  They expect their sons to get a degree, they want their sons to have an opportunity to chase their PGA Tour dreams and they expect me to prepare their sons for life after golf.  These are lifetime relationships!

As I said, it is fulfilling to be able to influence their lives and to help them be successful on and off the course.  We have had some success with our kids playing on Tour however we have had far more success with our kids going out into the world, making a living and raising families.

Part Two with Brad next Sunday!

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The back nine can only get better!