Mal Moore found himself in Augusta, Ga., and not for the Masters golf tournament or a fundraising function. He came for a coach: Jay Seawell.
“He called me and he wanted me to be a part of the Crimson Tide,” Seawell said, who has been Alabama’s men’s golf coach since 2002. “I was part of a great program in Augusta, Ga. (Augusta State), Augusta is the home of golf, my family is from there, my wife’s family is from there, we were pretty happy.
“But there was an intrigue about it so we decided to come over here and
Alabama men’s golf coach May Seawell.
On Seawell’s visit, the Capstone’s presentation was not enough to sell him like it has been after almost 15 years of Moore’s supervision.
“It was beautiful here, but nothing that set its eye on me,” Seawell said. “The facilities were, surprisingly, very average. But something happened in my meeting with Coach. We sat down and had lunch and had a meeting and he began to talk to me about the Crimson Tide, and what this place was.
And Moore is what turned the tables, both on Seawell and, in turn, Alabama men’s golf.
“When I sat down with him, I heard something in it: it wasn’t selling anything, it was a passion, it was a life, and I fell in love with it right there,” Seawell said. “So, that 95 percent flipped right then and now I have to find out where we stand, and I said, ‘We might need to talk about golf facilities, if you want me to come.’ And boy, if I didn’t hit his sweet spot right there.”
That vision Moore laid out for Seawell and his wife, the vision that has since put Alabama at its pinnacle of athletic success, is what attracted Seawell to UA before it all began back in 2002.
“There aren’t many places where the golf coach gets to follow Nick Saban,” Seawell said.
