George Langham was born to be a Bulldog. As the son of two Georgia graduates and hailing from Peachtree City, one could say that he was destined to attend the University of Georgia.
Representing the red and black is a privilege for Georgia’s student athletes, but for life-long fan Langham, it is a dream come true.
Langham grew up in a golf family. His dad, Franklin, was a member of the Georgia golf team from 1989-1991, where he was named an All-American following his senior season. When he was in high school, George found a love of the game and realized that he was good enough to play at the next level.
Although Georgia was his dream school, after a heart-to-heart conversation with head golf coach Chris Haack, Langham’s dream was put on hold for a while. If he wanted to play for the Bulldogs, he would have to start his college golf career playing at a smaller school.
This would provide an opportunity for Langham to improve and become a more complete golfer who could compete against top-tier talent across the SEC and the nation. Based on Coach Haack’s recommendation, he chose to attend Coastal Georgia in Brunswick.
“Haack thought that Coastal Georgia was a good school. Mike Cook, the coach down there, played at Georgia earlier in the 80s, so there was a connection,” Langham said.
After graduating from Starrs Mill High School, Langham headed to the Golden Isles to attend school and play on the Coastal golf team. While competing for the Mariners, he won two individual tournament titles and was named a three-time NAIA All-American.
This included a first-team selection following his junior season, during which he shot par or better in 22 of 29 rounds. Following the 2023 spring season, George decided that the time was right to make his dream of playing golf at Georgia a reality.
After transferring to Georgia, Langham was nervous for his first qualifier. He was eager to prove that he belonged. Like many Bulldog golfers, he said that earning his Georgia bag was his “I made it” moment.
“You have to shoot in the 60s in qualifying to get your Georgia bag, and I did that on the first qualifier, which made me settled me a little bit,” Langham recalled. His dad still has his Georgia bag from his time in Athens, so it was a very special moment for him.
The addition of assistant coach Mookie DeMoss to the staff has had significant impact on the squad. As a former men’s golf letterman at Georgia and captain of the 2015 Final Four team, DeMoss has impact and experience that is insightful to this year’s team.
“I would say that Mookie has brought a little bit more of a modern aspect to the team,” Langham said. “It’s been a really great add, and he’ll be awesome to have on the team.”
Langham will be redshirted this year, but he is going into each qualifying with the same mentality: practice like he is not. He is interested in seeing how many tournaments he would qualify for, as well as how he would stack up against competition.
He looks forward to building stronger relationships with his teammates over the next two years. If he was tasked with selling Georgia to a recruit, Langham draw attention to the overall team chemistry.
“I would definitely put an emphasis on how close we are as a team. The guys on the team are already some of my best friends that I’ll have for the rest of my life.”
George looks forward to competing with the “G” on his chest next year as he fulfills a lifetime dream and builds his own legacy as a Bulldog.