Game (Still) On

From NCAA to PGA and beyond, Jay Haas is ‘blessed for sure’

Catching up with Jay Haas is always a pleasure. He is a gentleman from another era, both literally and figuratively. It would be easy to say that they just don't make men like that anymore – but they do.

The hardest thing to do in a conversation with Haas is to get him to talk about himself. But ask him about his family and you hear the pride in his voice for his wife, children and, of course, grandchildren. I spoke with Haas the day before his 67th birthday in early December. I had seen him a couple of months prior at the Sanderson Farms Championship caddying for his FedEx Cup-winning son, Bill Haas. So that is where we started the conversation.

JM: How did it come about that you were caddying for Bill in Jackson, Mississippi?

JH: I caddied for him once in the Western Junior Championship years ago, and probably the next time was three years ago at Sea Island. I've caddied Sea Island the last few years, and it's fun. He lets me carry the small bag and I really enjoy it.

He hasn't been playing as well as he believes he's capable of and I wanted to give him a mental boost. We work a little on swing and thoughts, but mostly I just want to keep it positive. All those guys on the PGA Tour hit great shots; it's just a matter of not hitting the wrong shot at the wrong time. And then of course it comes down to putting – you make a couple of 12-footers and you feel like you are playing well… miss a few and you are playing bad.

I've had a ton of fun with him. I try to use my experience as a player but also what I've seen in other caddies and caddies who have worked for me.  

JM: You guys are such a golf family [Haas’s son Jay Jr. runs the Haas Family Golf Center in Greenville, South Carolina; son Bill Hass is a current PGA Tour player; brother-in-law Dillard Pruitt is a long-time PGA Tour player-turned-rules official; and his Uncle Bob Goalby won the 1968 Masters, among other things]. When you get together, do you talk about golf?

JH: We don't avoid it, but usually we are talking about the grandkids, their kids. We watch tournaments and talk about what we saw, but it's not all-consuming by any means. We try to play while we are home and get together. With Jay Jr. teaching, we talk golf swing quite a bit. We talk about why guys are playing well. I mean, it is our jobs, so we definitely talk about it.

JM: Jay, you mentioned that golf is your job. A lot of guys your age don't have a job anymore. Have you considered hanging it up, moving to Pawley's Island and beating up the old guys at The Reserve?

JH: It's more of a thought than it was a few years ago. I played poorly the last couple of events and I don't want to quit on that note. I feel like there is more out there for me. But I don't want to play great and shoot 75 just to be out there. If I play poorly and shoot 75, I am okay with that. There is room for improvement.  

The truth is that my game is not suited to a lot of the courses that we play now. I laugh when people think that we are playing golf courses on the Champions Tour at 6,500 yards. I don't remember the last tournament we played under 7,000 yards. Some of the guys that are playing still hit it a long way. Ernie [Els] and of course Phil [Mickelson] when he plays, bombs it out there; Jim Furyk still moves it as well. So there are fewer and fewer courses on which I feel like I can compete. If halfway through the season next year I don't have a top 10 or a top 5, I might just fade away. No big announcement, just head off to Pawley’s Island and hang out at The Reserve.

JM: You have a record that will probably never be broken [most cuts on the PGA Tour at 591]. You've captained a Presidents Cup Team. Is there a single thing that you are most proud of?

JH: Well, I have been blessed for sure. I can remember thinking when I started on Tour at 23 that if I could play for 20 years that would be a great career. I could put some money away and then figure it out. To think it's nearly 45 years later and I still get to play tournament golf is more than a dream. The Champions Tour is a blessing for all of us at this age. I talked to Ernie and he loves it. Jim is starting to embrace it. It's not too bad being in the hunt again.

Watching [my sons] Bill play and Jay teach is amazing, then being the captain of that Presidents Cup Team when Bill won the deciding point. It doesn't get much better than that. That was the thrill of a lifetime to be able to be there and share that, and for him to accomplish that. Any parent would much rather see their children succeed than themselves. So, as far as golf goes, those are the big things.

JM: In 2010, you showed up in Palm Springs when Bill had a chance to win the former Bob Hope Classic. What do you remember?

JH: Believe it or not, that was a Monday finish in Palm Springs because of weather so I flew in from Hawaii where we were playing [on the Champions Tour]. I caught him with about six holes left to go. Jay Jr. was caddying for me in Hawaii and when Bill knocked it on 18 in two, needing a birdie to win, I borrowed Jay Jr.'s phone to call [my wife] Jan. She answered, “Hey Jay,” thinking it was Jay Jr.

I couldn't say anything. I was so choked up and emotional knowing that he was about to get his first win. It's so difficult to win out there and it's such a big deal, I just couldn't talk. I knew how hard he had worked and how much he wanted it, and knowing how difficult it is I just couldn't talk. Finally, I must have made some sort of sound into the phone and Jan said, “Oh, this is my husband Jay.” And yeah, that was really incredible. I remember my first win like it was yesterday and the sense of accomplishment to know that you can do it is amazing.

JM: Why the desert? You and Bill are from the Southeast. Why all the success, particularly in Palm Springs?

JH: Yeah, I guess it's because when you are on the east coast and you go west for the start of the year, you are ready to go. Bill has won twice there and lost in a playoff. I don't know what it is. Back in the old days it was a five-round event, a nice way to play your way into the year. But other than the fact that there are 18 holes on a golf course, there aren't too many similarities between Greenville, South Carolina and Palm Springs.

JM: Before we let you go, you played on what is considered the greatest college golf team of all time at Wake Forest (I didn't finish the question when he said)…

JH: I spoke with one of my teammates this morning. Curtis [Strange] called while he was driving down to Florida. He just called to say hello. We had a very good team, no question about it. We won the NCAA Tournament by the most strokes ever and all that. But you can never compare eras against each other. I hear Curtis say all the time that college golf was the most fun he ever had in his life. And it’s fun, I still keep in touch with quite a few guys.

John Maginnes is a former PGA Tour player; the current co-host of “Katrek and Maginnes on Tap” on Sirius XM as part of the PGA Tour Radio; and an analyst for “PGA Tour Live.”