Hauschka: Seattle Seahawks kicker loves his time on the course

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Updated: September 3, 2014

Maybe one day Seattle Seahawks’ kicker Steven Hauschka will be known for his golf game. But just not now. He does have the skills. He is a five handicap and shot an even-par 72 at the Golf Club at Newcastle’s China Creek course this summer.

For now, it’s about the football for Hauschka, not the golf. The 29-year-old Hauschka is one of the NFL’s best kickers and a big reason the Seahawks won the Super Bowl last year and are a good bet to get back there again this season. His numbers on the football field speak volumes: Hauschka made 33 of 35 field goals last year for the Seahawks and in his three years in Seattle, has been rock solid. In fact, after the Super Bowl victory, the team rewarded him with a new three-year deal worth $9 million.

Not bad for a guy who got talked into kicking for his Middlebury college (Vermont) football team by a buddy one day in a dorm room chat. Hauschka was a junior varsity soccer player and had doubts about making varsity. He tried out for the Middlebury team, made it, and the rest as they say is Super Bowl history.

“Right place right time,” said Hauschka. “I was lucky there was a spot open. I took advantage of the chance.”

Hauschka eventually finished his college career at North Carolina State and was signed by the Baltimore Ravens in 2008. He got cut not only by the Ravens, but also by the Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions and Denver Broncos. He wound up with the Seahawks in 2011, made the team and has been one of the best kickers in the league ever since. He has missed only a handful of field goals in his career.

At 6-foot-4, Hauschka might seem big for a kicker but he would have been even bigger for the profession he nearly went into: Being a dentist. His mother and brother are both dentists and Hauschka himself was accepted by four dental schools before this kicking thing worked out.

So much so that he out scored the Denver Broncos by himself in the Super Bowl win.

Hauschka has always liked sports and when he was 15 he took a particular interest in golf. He played early and often. He almost got discouraged as a youngster when he topped a shot into a pond and killed a duck. “I was devastated,” he said. “I almost didn’t ever want to play again I felt so bad about what happened.”

But, like kicking, Hauschka stuck with it and now carries a five handicap and a driver which goes 300 yards. During a round at Glendale County Club, he opened with a 260-yard hybrid tee shot off the first tee and then threw a sand wedge to 15 feet. He rolled in a slick downhill breaking putt for a birdie. “Not bad after not playing for a couple of weeks,” he said.

As he stood on the third tee, he was asked about hitting 300-yard drives. “I read somewhere that you can hit the ball 300 yards,” I said, trying to throw down the long ball challenge.

Hauschka grabbed a rangefinder, scoped a tree in the distance and said he it was about 300 yards from the tee. He cranked his driver down the middle with the ball landing near the tree. “I think I might have just given you that 300-yard drive with that one,” he said. Sure enough, he measured 302 yards. I would not harass him again about any shot.

As we stood near the fourth green, he asked me how far it was to the pin. I said it was 54 yards. “Are you planning on making it?” I joked. “Wow, that’s just a little shot in golf but a big field goal on the field – and look at that, it doesn’t even look that far on the golf course but it’s a long way to kick a football.”

Hauschka is one of only a handful of Seattle Seahawk players who play golf and says that when the season kicks off this month, he will put the clubs away. He knows the weather is still good and there is some time, but he wants to focus on football. There is another Super Bowl to win you know.

Hauschka even picked up some national attention recently – and not for his kicking. Golf Digest featured him in the September issue with a full page picture of him hitting a golf ball in his uniform at the team’s facility. Just another perk from playing for a Super Bowl winner.

At Glendale Country Club, word spread quickly that Hauschka was in the house. Kenney Boyd, the head professional, Scott Williams, the teaching instructor and Clint Whitney, the general manager, all made their way to the putting green for pictures and autographs. A couple of guys putting nearby, stopped, wandered over and got into the conversation.

“Life changes after you win a Super Bowl–that’s for sure,” said Hauschka. “But it’s great. I hope we can do it again.”

Editor’s Note: Two days after the round with Steve Turcotte of Inside Golf, Hauschka kicked a career-long 59-yard field goal against the Chicago Bears. Hmmmmm. Merely a coincidence? Or just some good karma?