Q&A with WC golfer Catherine Haas-Black

Ironically, Catherine Haas-Black wasn't a golf fan when she was young. This was despite having a strong family connection to the game, including a mother who teaches golf and an uncle who played on the PGA Tour.  

Now, she's playing the game at the college level and making history as part of the inaugural Weatherford College women's golf team.  

A product of Arlington Heights High School, Haas-Black played varsity golf for four years, earning all-district honors three times (she was injured as a senior), with her team winning three district titles. She graduated with a 3.8 GPA and was in the art program for four years, receiving an award as a senior for one of her pieces.  

Her college career began in 2022 at Arlington Baptist University. Like Weatherford, it was their first season to have a women's golf program. However, the school failed to recruit a full team, leaving her as the only player.  

So, she decided to travel about 45 miles west.  

Q: When did you start playing golf, and what drew you to the game?  

CHB: My mother, Holly Haas, is a golf instructor at Leonard's Golf Links in Fort Worth, and I was basically raised on a driving range. The first time I played a round of golf was at the Benbrook Par-3 course. I want to say I was 4 or 5.   

I didn't start taking golf seriously until I reached eighth grade. Before that, I used to hate golf, mostly because the tournaments I played were during summer.   

Then, I realized golf was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. What really drew me to the game is that it's only you on the course. Yes, you do compete with other golfers and can have a caddy helping you, but at the end of the day, the only person controlling how you play is yourself.  

One of my favorite quotes by Arnold Palmer is this, "Golf is a game of inches. The most important are the six inches between your ears."   

Q: What's a major lesson you learned from your uncle, Hunter Haas, who played for several years in the PGA?  

CHB: At one point, while he played on tour, he was ranked a top-10 player in putting. A few years ago, my parents and I had dinner at Hunter's house, and we got to talking about putting. I was explaining to him how I struggle with putting and, at the time, how my putting stance wasn't comfortable.  

He grabbed his putter, I had mine in the car, and he gave me like a 45-minute putting lesson in the driveway. He helped me with my putting grip and how to find what feels comfortable for me when standing over the ball. Hunter is extremely successful and very knowledgeable in golf, so the fact that he would take the time to help improve my game means a lot.  

Q: Did you play junior golf?   

CHB: I was only 7 the first time I played in a tournament. I don't know how many junior tournaments I played in, but I have a decent-sized box at home filled with medals, pendants, and trophies awarded for all the times I won or placed.   

I also participated in the Fort Worth City Girls Tournament several times. I was 13 when I placed first in the nine-hole division.   

Q: What is your favorite part of the game?  

CHB: Football fields will always be 100 yards long, but in golf you will never find a course exactly like another. Every hole is a new challenge, which also leads me to say I love how every shot in golf is a new opportunity.   

I would probably say my favorite thing about golf is that it is insanely challenging yet extremely rewarding, so long as you always keep a positive attitude and view each shot as a new opportunity to do something good.  

Q: You had one of the most exciting moments of your life and one of the most heartbreaking within just a few days, right?  

CHB: In February 2021, my junior year of high school, I signed up for my first tournament on the All-American Tour. A week before the tournament, my grandpa, Jim Haas, and I went out to play a practice round at the course, and I broke 80 for the first time. The first time you break 80 is the happiest day of your life.  

Unfortunately, my life got turned upside down three days later. The club volleyball team I played for had its first tournament between my practice round and the golf tournament. On the second day of play, during the first game and my very first play of the game, I went up to spike the ball, and when I landed, I felt and heard multiple pops in my left knee. I got an MRI scan, and the results broke my heart.  

I had a hairline fracture in my tibia, a sprained MCL, a torn meniscus, and every athlete's worst fear, a torn ACL. My volleyball career ended, but I couldn't have cared less about that. I'm pretty sure the first thing I asked the doctor was, "When can I play golf?"   

I had surgery on April 21, 2021, and was in physical therapy until February 2022. I didn't play on a golf course for nine months.   

I never gave up. Two weeks after my surgery, I was practicing putting at Leonard's while still using crutches. I came back strong by taking second place in the high school district tournament. If those two things don't show you grit and an absolute love for the game, then I don't know what will.  

Q: Who in your family plays golf?  

CHB: Man, where do I even begin? I'll start with my dad's side of the family. My father, Doug Black, played golf for Southwestern Oklahoma State University. His father, Bill Black, played at The University of Oklahoma and was a member of three conference championships and attended nationals in those three years.   

Now, my mother's side of the family is where golf is big. A fun side note is that all their names start with the letter "H." My mother, Holly Haas, is the oldest of seven. Their father, Jim Haas, taught all of them how to play golf. They all played in high school, and five of them played in college. Holly played at TCU. Hans played at the University of Oklahoma and the University of Arkansas. Heather played at Ohio State University. Hunter played at The University of Oklahoma. Heidi, the sixth oldest, played at Southern Nazarene University.  

I am very proud to say I come from a family of such successful golfers. I hope to follow in my mother's and Uncle Hunter's footsteps and play for TCU or OU.   

Q: What are you studying?  

CHB: My current field of study is business. I plan on transferring to a four-year school to play golf and study landscape architecture. For the past few years, I have been fascinated by the structure of golf courses and how they are designed and built. I hope to one day design my own golf course.  

Q: What are your thoughts on being part of the school's inaugural women's golf program?  

CHB: I think it's amazing that I get to be a part of something new. Weatherford College has had a lot of success in athletics, and the fact that they decided to add women's golf to the program is incredible. When you're a part of something new, you are given the opportunity to set a standard for the program and its success on the course and in the classroom.