Nick Saban's assistants had a system for sneaking onto golf courses without him knowing, until it backfired

No matter where his assistant coaches went while at Alabama, former coach Nick Saban always had a watchful eye on his staff members who would sneak out of the office for a round of golf.

In Tuscaloosa, there were plenty of interesting stories to come out regarding Saban assistants finding time to get out of the office in the offseason.

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Whether it was scrambling to get a round of basketball in during their 'free time' or trying to decipher which golf course within driving range of Alabama's campus that Nick Saban was heading to for a round was all part of the game.

For Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding, there was a method to their madness, and it involved getting a tip from whomever Saban was golfing with that day.

Whichever course Saban went to, the assistants would head to the other one in town. That worked, until the now Rebels coach had a breakdown in communication on where their boss was actually at.

"There are two courses in Tuscaloosa. You got Indian Hills and you got North River," Pete Golding explained. "I was told that coach Saban was playing North River. So, I got our group together and said 'hey, let's go to to Indian Hills' during the day at like 2 o'clock. Sometimes in the spring after lunch, coach (Saban) would disappear. You wouldn’t know, he didn’t tell ya.

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"Well, we're on 10, which is a Par-3 over the water and sixteen is coming back in this direction. We got Stoops, Sarkisian and Freddie Roach. So, Sark is about to tee-off and we look down on sixteen green, and there's coach Saban with the Pro at Indian Hills and two of his buddies."

Ok, well right then Golding had to know the jig was up.

The Alabama assistant coach and his co-workers should have probably called it a day. But, given that they were already on the course, and their boss was down the fairway on another hole, the foursome decided to risk it.

Unfortunately, this would turn out to be one of the craziest experiences for the assistant coaches, thanks to a shot from now Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian.

"We're deciding should we hit or not, and Sark is like we'll just be quiet and hit," Golding recalled. "He hits like 145 or whatever, with an eight-iron. He hits it, then it hits like one time and goes in the hole. A hole-in-one. It's like you're watching a movie in mute. Nobody wants to say anything, because we can't let Saban know.

"The pro over there sees it and asks 'who hit that'. We bee-lined straight for the carts, like nobody else even hits and we're down there hiding in the woods or whatever."

In case you were wondering, it did not take long for coach Nick Saban to find out about the insane hole-in-one from his assistant coach, Steve Sarkisian. If you've never been to Tuscaloosa, I promise you that word travels fast, especially on the golf course.

"We hear about it the next day. He ain't gonna sit around and come over there and make it awkward."

Imagine that. Hitting a fantastic shot, knowing that the strictest coach in college football is standing just over on the next green, and you cannot celebrate the shot.

This actually makes the entire afternoon that much better, at least in my eyes.

Nick Saban is known for being a competitor on the course, so figuring out that Steve Sarkisian drained a hole-in-one while the staff was supposed to be back at the office breaking down film during the spring undoubtedly had the former Alabama coach looking for answers.

And, it wouldn’t take him long to find out who hit the shot.

I think we've all heard the stories of what it was like working for Nick Saban as an assistant coach at any one of his stops as a head coach.

But, deciding to still move forward with their round of golf knowing the boss would find out at some point took fortitude.

Now, imagine the other stories that could be told from Saban's time at Alabama.