Pete Golding said the Alabama assistants thought they had figured out a way to slip away for golf without drawing Nick Saban's attention. Then Steve Sarkisian hit a hole-in-one, and the whole arrangement collapsed in an instant.
Golding's story lands now because it offers a rare look at how closely Saban watched his staff at Alabama and how even a simple offseason round could turn into a small emergency. He said there were two courses in Tuscaloosa, Indian Hills and North River, and the group tried to steer around Saban by choosing the opposite course once they were told he was at North River.
Golding said he gathered his group at about 2 o'clock and headed to Indian Hills, figuring the route would keep them out of sight. That plan held only until he looked down on 16 green and saw Saban there with the pro and two of his buddies. The assistants had tried to play it cool, but the sight of Saban on the same course made the round feel like it was already slipping away.
What followed was the part Golding remembered best. On 10, a par-3 over the water, Sarkisian stepped up with an eight-iron and sent the ball about 145 yards, one hop and into the hole for a hole-in-one. Golding said the group went silent because nobody wanted Saban to hear about it, and when the pro asked who had made the shot, they bee-lined for the carts and hid in the woods.
Golding did not say what Saban did in the moment after learning about the shot, but he said it did not take long for him to find out. That is what makes the story hang together: the assistants had a system, Saban showed up where they least wanted him, and Sarkisian's perfect shot turned a quiet golf outing into a story Saban would hear almost immediately.
