Alabama's football coach has long been known to be a golf fan. Nick Saban said:Unreasonable measures“To make a tee time,” said self-described golf fanatic Hugh Freeze. Played at He was a frequent visitor to Augusta National Golf Club, and former Auburn University coach Gus Malzahn was also known to spend time on the course.

But a new face has emerged poised to wrestle golf dominance from Saban and Freese. Par analysis The show, hosted by co-host Alex Kirschner of the college football podcast “Split Zone Duo,” sees UAB head coach Trent Dilfer described as the best golfer not just in the state but in the country.

We rank all FBS coaches who hold an official golf handicap.

Which one are you? I'm either Ryan Day or Kirby Smart. https://t.co/ntSLHEer2p pic.twitter.com/a9VWmST4Cs

— SplitZoneDuo (@SplitZoneDuo) May 10, 2024

Kirchner searched the United States Golf Association database and found that 18 current FBS head coaches maintain official handicaps. Dilfer led the group by a wide margin with a handicap of plus-0.1, nearly six strokes ahead of runner-up Jason Candle.

Auburn's Hugh Freeze ranked third on the list with a 6.9 handicap, while Alabama's Cullen DeBoer was 14th with a 17.7 handicap. For reference, the recently retired Nick Saban has a 10.6 handicap, better than DeBoer but worse than Freeze.

For those unfamiliar with golf lingo, a handicap is the number of strokes a player is expected to score over or under par for the course. The lower the number, the better the player. Dilfer's +0.1 handicap is not only impressive among his fellow coaches, it also ranks highly among amateur golfers in the United States.

Analytics from Golf Websites Original source It was revealed that DeBoer ranks in the bottom half of amateur golfers, while Saban ranks in the 65th percentile, Freese in the 83rd percentile and Dilfer in the 98th percentile.

“Trent Dilfer told me he played 218 rounds of golf in 2018 after being fired from ESPN — and that handicap is real,” The Athletic's Chris Vannini posted after news of Dilfer's talent began circulating on social media.

Trent Dilfer told me after he was fired from ESPN that he played 218 rounds of golf in 2018. That handicap is real. https://t.co/DxadOObtQP

— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) May 10, 2024

Dilfer's interest in golf is nothing new. Former NFL quarterback Recorded He has competed in the annual Lake Tahoe celebrity tournament “American Century Champions” nearly 20 times, and in 2011, Even the discussion He may even play on the PGA Champions Tour. Dilfer says his love of golf began during his time as a football player.

“Years ago, I was playing pretty well in football and golf and thought I was a good player. [Former NFL quarterback John Brodie] “He called me one night after a practice round at a black diamond tournament in Florida,” Dilfer once told Golf Digest. “He put me in golf spikes and started coaching me in football. He was yelling at me on the putting green, telling me, 'Do this, do that,' practicing my drops, working me through my golf gear and telling me how to be a better football player.”

“After the game, we were having a beer and he looked at me and said, 'You're a guy who shoots for par as a football player and you're a guy who shoots for par as a golfer. That's not good enough.' I was a plus-one or something and a pretty good football player, but that stuck with me. I wasn't working on the right things. That year I started working on my golf swing. That year I started applying the mental, emotional and technical principles of golf and football together.”

Dilfer made his first appearance at the Regions Tradition Golf Tournament last week along with Saban, DeBoer and Freese.

“I hit the ball a lot,” Dilfer said. He told ABC 33/40 Before teeing off, I head to the driving range to rest my brain. “At this time of year, I leave the office in the evening and head to the driving range to rest my brain. [this year.] The other day I was lucky enough to get six birdies, but lately I've been able to get double bogeys faster than anyone else.”

Charles Vaughn is a contributing writer for Yellow Hammer News.