Aside from his love for football, Hugh Freeze spends his leisure on a perfectly trimmed golf course at the Auburn University Club. However, his football coaching efforts have not been as perfect over the last nine weeks. Saturday was brutal, as Kentucky handed Auburn its fifth loss of the season, 3-10.  But Freeze is back on the golf course.

Remember how Lane Kiffin took a jab at the Tigers’ HC for his popular pastime during the offseason? According to a report by AL.com, Freeze was reported to have hit the golf course 20 times over the calendar year, with 10 of those coming in June alone. After another upsetting loss in the season, Freeze scheduled a tee time within the next 24 hours.

On the Auburn University Club website, Jill Freeze (Hugh Freeze’s wife) has booked the 1:30 pm slot for Sunday. This move comes after Freeze asked for patience from the fans yesterday. “I wish I could ask for patience, but that’s not really something people want to give in this day and time,” he said, per AL.com’s Michael Casagrande.

The head coach is already sitting on a hot seat. With the Arkansas win, the sole conference win this season, his 2025 season hasn’t exactly gone how he would have hoped. It’s his third season with the Tigers, and patience is running thin. A 15-19 record with just one bowl appearance has Auburn looking for a replacement. “I’ll tell you, they’re about to open up here in a week or two if they wise up,” SEC analyst Michael Bratton had said last week. “I think Jon Sumrall is the perfect next Auburn coach.”

Pete Nakos reported that if the program were to relieve him of his duties (at the end of the 2025 season), they’d owe him $15.4 million. Last month, AD John Cohen had said, “I don’t know if I’m going to walk outside and my car is going to start or not; I think it is,” Cohen kept things straight. “I have an expectation it will.”

He continued, “But if my car doesn’t start enough, then I will evaluate that and make decisions about my car.” The message was clear. “But that’s not my expectation at this point about our football program.”

HHowever, Hugh Freeze has defended his golfing activities.

Hugh Freeze defends himself

The Auburn head coach had defended himself, saying, “I enjoy golfing,” reassuring fans that his leisurely pastime is not affecting his responsibilities as a coach. “I assure you, I never missed a camp day or a recruiting day,” he added.

Freeze would schedule the tee time at the Club, taking swings with his friends and his wife, Jill. “If camp got over at three o’clock one day, and Jill [Freeze] and I go out at 4:30, we absolutely might do that. And I’m not apologizing for that part of it,” he said in a conversation with David Pollack on the See Ball Get Ball.

Back in July, he had shared his achievement at the 1st annual Ryder Cup between MMCC and BCC at Sage Valley, captioning, “The Cup comes home to Auburn this year! Great Times!” Lane Kiffin hadn’t shied away from commenting on Freeze’s love for golf. “He’s doing amazing at that, so that’s great for him.”

Though Freeze assured his fans that football remains his priority, fans haven’t seen that promise executed on the field. Already coming off a poor 5-7 record, Freeze’s 2025 campaign hasn’t been going that smoothly. The initial momentum was impressive, with back-to-back wins against Baylor, Ball State, and South Alabama. After that, fans witnessed an upsetting four-game loss streak against four ranked opponents. They faced off against Oklahoma, the Aggies, Georgia, and Missouri.

Then came the win against Arkansas; however, fans still clung to their uneasiness. And Saturday finally showed them what they were dreading. Ashton Daniels never reached the end zone. This was his first start of the season, and he was sacked seven times and threw for just 108 yards.

Freeze’s response? “At the end of the day, I’m frustrated, too,” Freeze said. “We all know that when we sign up for this. We accept it. I love what we’re doing here, but we haven’t gotten the results.”

Further down the slate, they still have two fierce competitors in Alabama and Vanderbilt. Can Freeze secure those wins?