By Dylan Fink | Sports Writer
Highly decorated Baylor men’s golf coach Mike McGraw announced his retirement Wednesday afternoon to take care of his wife of 30 years, Pam McGraw, who has to take dialysis three times a week for five hours at a time.
“I am stepping away from coaching to help [my wife] Pam with her health issues,” McGraw said. “I need to be there for her.”
McGraw has spent over forty years coaching men’s golf at both the high school and collegiate levels, including the past 11 at Baylor. In his 28 years coaching at the Division I level, McGraw won three NCAA national championships while competing in the NCAA championship tournament 21 times.
McGraw, a Ponca City, Okla., native, played collegiate golf at Central Oklahoma with dreams of becoming a professional golfer. When he saw that door closing, a new passion of helping others reach that goal became his purpose.
“A lot of people have the dream of being a professional golfer, so I thought maybe I could help kids get closer to the dream than I did,” McGraw said in a 2025 interview with The Lariat. “My failed professional career served as a desire to help these kids that I coach reach higher heights.”
McGraw began coaching as an assistant at the high school level in 1984 and became a head coach in 1994 at North HS in Edmond, Okla. There he led the program to three state titles in four years before joining Oklahoma State as an assistant.
From 2006-13, McGraw served as the head men’s golf coach at Oklahoma State, leading the Pokes to a national championship in his first season.
In a statement announcing his retirement, McGraw thanked Oklahoma State, Alabama (where he won another national title as an assistant) and Baylor for giving him the chance to coach at the collegiate level.
“It’s been an amazing journey,” McGraw said. “Thankful to have been on it with so many great people.”
McGraw has achieved his dream of helping budding golfers find their path to the pros, as he has produced and worked with a number of notable players on the PGA Tour. Household names such as Rickie Fowler and Charles Howell III, as well as young stars like former Bear Johnny Keefer, have all credited McGraw with their success at the highest level.
“It would be very hard for you to find someone that’s a bigger Coach McGraw fan than I am,” PGA veteran Ben Crane said told the Lariat in 2025. “He’s one of the greatest coaches in the history of golf. If I had been able to play for Coach McGraw, well, that would’ve been a dream.”
McGraw took Baylor golf to new heights. When he came to Waco, the Bears had made five NCAA national championship tournament appearances in program history. McGraw led the Bears to six of the past nine.
“Any list of the most influential leaders in college golf for the past generations has to include Coach McGraw,” Baylor Athletic Director Doug McNamee said. “We saw that firsthand here in his dedication to excellence on the course, in the classroom, and in leading young men to successful careers in golf and beyond. We are deeply grateful for his service to the Baylor Family and wish him all the best as he enters this well-deserved next chapter.”
Assistant men’s golf coach Ryan Murphy will act as interim head coach for the rest of the spring season. The Bears journey to Montgomery on Feb. 9 to compete in the Bentwater Classic.
