By Dylan Fink | Sports Writer
A new face will be hung on the Mount Rushmore of golf coaches at all levels after Baylor men’s golf head coach Mike McGraw retired last week to help at home with his wife’s health.
“For several months now, my wife and I have been talking about how to go forward with her health considerations and just the considerations we had to be a Division I head golf coach,” McGraw said. “It would compromise both to keep going in this role — that is, both the Baylor golf program and Pam’s health.”
McGraw coached golf for over 40 years. He spent the past 28 at the collegiate level, including 11 at Baylor. The legendary leader won three Oklahoma high school state championships and three NCAA national championships, yet McGraw would argue that none of his trophies mean as much as the opportunity to help mold young athletes into men.
“The greatest gift of this whole journey has been getting to work with so many great young men,” McGraw said. “These guys here at Baylor, I just have so much respect for them.”
McGraw said he had been in discussion about the possibility of retirement with the university since the end of last semester, but wanted to wait until all of the team was back in town for the news to come out as he hoped to inform them all in person. McGraw called a team meeting on the morning of Jan. 21 to inform his players of his retirement.
“I have a great amount of affection for this group. I mean, I recruited all these kids, so I wanted them to hear it from me,” McGraw said. “At our team meeting we had scheduled I let them know, and then also made sure to have an individual meeting with each of the guys to talk about me leaving.”
News of his retirement broke earlier that day, though, and players went into the meeting having already heard the news.
“He called us in for our spring semester kind of team meeting and that’s when he let us know,” senior Jonas Appel said.
McGraw voiced how important it was to him to meet with each of his players individually to demonstrate his gratefulness for his players and any parting words of wisdom he may have had for them.
“Mainly I wanted to thank him for really just everything because I have nothing but gratitude,” Appel said. “He’s such a great coach. You know, he recruited me out of high school. And I’m not sure how many players from California are coming down here, but I just really wanted to tell him thank you for taking a chance on me.”
For the legendary coach, the feeling of gratitude is mutual.
“I’m so thankful for all the opportunities that have been provided for me over the years of my coaching career,” McGraw said. “From Oklahoma State, Alabama and to Baylor, just getting the chance to coach so many high-integrity guys has been a blessing.”
With McGraw stepping down, the team will be led by assistant coach Ryan Murphy on an interim basis. With the team coming off a disappointing fall semester, the players are eager to get back on the course and compete again — even without McGraw.
“Although he might not be finishing the year out with us, he made sure to let us know that he’s still going to be there cheering us on,” Appel said. “He might not be traveling on the road with us, but he’ll still stay connected. Despite that, we’re really looking forward to coming out of the gate strong and trying to start having some good finishes.”
McGraw has often talked about seeking to leave places “better than he found it.” Now as he steps away from coaching, he looks at his Baylor tenure fondly, seeing a bright future for the program after his retirement.
“I’m really just proud of getting the chance to coach at this school with this community,” McGraw said. “A lot of great guys came through here that I am proud to say I got the opportunity to both coach and watch grow into men.”
