Auburn men's golf has a new face at its helm this season.
Nick Clinard assumes the position after eight years as head coach at the University of Central Florida.
The Gastonia, N.C., native said he began teaching golf in Dallas.
"Teaching for Hank Haney originally sparked my interest in coaching, and I thought being a college coach would be challenging and enjoying," Clinard said.
Hank Haney is a golf instructor who has coached the likes of Tiger Woods and Mark O'Meara. He also had a TV show on the Golf Channel to try and teach former Auburn basketball great Charles Barkley how to swing a club.
Clinard said he came to Auburn for the opportunity to work for Jay Jacobs.
"The tradition, facilities, family environment and the opportunity to coach in the SEC brought me to Auburn," Clinard said.
As it is in every sport, recruiting is a big factor in a Clinard's job.
He said the hardest part of coaching is the recruiting, but he loves it.
"It's a chess match, and I love winning the recruiting battles," Clinard said. "Auburn is an awesome university to recruit to, too."
Clinard comes from a UCF team that ended last season with a top 10 finish at the 2009 NCAA Tournament at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.
Under Clinard, the Knights won nine tournaments, one Atlantic Sun Conference championship and one Conference USA championship.
Individually, Clinard coached one All-American, four Academic All-Americans, two conference players of the year, three individual conference champions and eight all-conference selections for UCF.
As a player, Clinard began golfing at a young age.
"I started playing when I was 9 and competitively when I was 11," Clinard said.
He began his collegiate playing career as a freshman at Southern Methodist University before transferring to Wake Forest University for his sophomore through senior years.
Clinard helped the Demon Deacons to top 10 finishes in his three years with the team.
He played professionally for five years during the late '90s and early 2000s on tours such as the Nike Tour and the Canadian Tour.
Clinard currently has the Tigers ranked No. 25 in the nation, according to Men's Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index.
As a coach who is no stranger to success, he said he always expects tremendous work ethic and heart from his golfers.
"I think we will have a great year, and we will work extremely hard as coaches to develop our players and instill a positive attitude and direction of the program," Clinard said.
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