Northeast Mississippi Community College Men's Golf

Hatfield, who brings a superlative work ethic and passion to the greens, started his tenure as Northeast Mississippi Community Colleges seventh head golf coach during the spring 2015 campaign. Hatfield returned to his alma mater four years ago as the director of facilities and maintenance. He still holds those responsibilities and is in his second season as the leader of a tradition-rich program that has won a pair of National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 23 titles and had 11 men advance to the NJCAA National Tournament as individuals. He guided the Tigers to a pair of fifth place finishes during tournaments at Dancing Rabbit Golf Club in Philadelphia and at Senatobias Back Acres Country Club in his inaugural campaign at the helm.   Hatfield instructed freshman Alex Tull, who became one of the fastest rising stars in the country. He was named to the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) All-State team and also received medalist honors at Dancing Rabbit. Tull qualified for the NJCAA National Tournament by concluding the regular season fourth in the Magnolia State with a scoring average of 74.25 in 12 total rounds, including the MACJC State Tournament at Lion Hills Golf club. Hatfield walked the pristine course at the Goose Pond Colony Resort in Scottsboro, Ala., with Tull during the championship event. He guided Tull through some difficult decisions on the greens and helped him compile a four-day total of 68-73-71-73285. Tull tied for 13th at the NJCAA National Tournament with his solid three-under par performance. He made the All-Tournament Team and also received NJCAA All-American recognition for his stellar inaugural season under the watch of Hatfield at Northeast. Hatfield has visited many courses and claimed multiple titles during a lengthy career as a player himself. He is a five-time champion of the Booneville Golf and Country Clubs annual tournament. He captured three club crowns during a stretch from 1985-88. Hatfield rose to glory once again following an 11-year hiatus and grabbed top honors for the final times on the City of Hospitalitys beautiful nine-hole course in 1999 and 2006. Hatfield came to the cusp of qualifying for a handful of events on the Professional Golfers Association of Americas (PGA) Ben Hogan Tour, which is now known as the Web.com Tour. He was able to play several rounds with some of the top golfers in the United States. They include 1996 British Open champion Tom Lehman, Jeff Maggert, who is the seventh gentleman to win at least one match on each of the PGAs three sponsored tours, and two-time Masters victor Ben Crenshaw. Hatfield tutored his son Blake, who became the third Tiger to garner NJCAA All-American status. Blake Hatfield was also the first-ever Northeast golfer to participate in the NJCAA National Tournament during back-to-back seasons on an individual basis from 2009-10. The Booneville native holds an Associates degree from Northeast and a Bachelors degree through Mississippi State University. He is married to Karen and the couple also has one daughter, JJ.