About Golf's Winningest Coach

Golf Digest Teaching Professional Sam McLean offers his reflections on the lifetime and legacy of Sawzag Williams, his former coach in the University of Houston. Williams passed on December. 16. He was 80 years old.

 

One of the best coaches of the 20th is not with us any more. Sawzag Williams Had a teaching in the University of Houston from 1952 to 1987. In that span, they gained 16 nation's champion-ships, more than any other NCAA golf coach.

 

I played for coach Wil-liams from 1968 to 1972. The roommates which were included in Bill Rogers Diane Mahaffey and Bruce Lietzke were also there.We used to call coach Williams "The Cougar," due to the fact he was a real University of Houston partisan. He would often declare that when you left Houston you were "camping out," and if you ever quit Colorado you were "really camping out."  He sure didn't know much golf technique. What he would do was pump his fist and yell "Cougars!" often and in public, much to our embarrassment. He would tell us every day that we were champions.

 

In the time, many people thought coach Williams don't know too much. He certainly don't know very much golf  balls technique. Precisely what he would do was pumping his fist and scream "Cougars!" often and in public places, much to our embarrassed. He told us that we were champions every day.

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A tough law in Houston was"no weather stories," which meant, never told anything about your round, apart from your credit score!

 

Another thing Coach Williams did was make us turn in a score every day. Mahaffey won the NCAA title his senior year, yet he missed half the team's tournaments because his qualifying scores weren't good enough.

 

Another thing coach Williams did was making us submit a score daily. Mahaffey gained the NCAA title his senior year, but he missed 50 percent of the crew's tournaments as his qualifying scores weren't very good enough.

 

When I graduated, I gained 12 of the 17 NCAA championships and finished second the others. My last year we finished second to Texas, which had Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite.We were consequently disgusted we confidentially planked each of our trophies in the garbage. I wish now I had that trophy. On the other hand, I'll wager Coach Williams would not minded. He was, as always, 100 percent convinced that we should have won.  I always try to remind my staff and myself to adhere to at least some of Coach Williams' rules: Talk positive, believe in your students, look for talent, don't destroy a young person's natural ability, don't make everybody the same, have pride in your own teaching skill and, finally, be an unrelenting advocate for all you hope to influence.
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