A Visit With Coach Mike McGraw

A Visit With Coach Mike McGraw
Native Ponca Citian Mike McGraw was named the head coach of
the powerful Oklahoma State University men’s golf team before
the start of the 2005-06 season. The assignment carries a
tremendous amount of responsibility since the primary expectation
each and every year is very clear-cut; to maintain or improve on
the national dominance that the Cowboys have shown over the last
60 years under their two legendary coaches, Labron Harris and
Mike Holder.
Under McGraw’s leadership, the Cowboys captured their 10th
national championship and he was named the recipient of the Dave
Williams Award as the 2006 National Coach of the Year. His
first-year success as the men’s head coach at Oklahoma State came
as no surprise to those that knew him while he was growing up in
Ponca City. Coach McGraw has been a winner his entire life.
Many people in Oklahoma think of the McGraw clan as Oklahoma’s “first family of golf” and
it’s easy to understand why. Mike and his twin sister Patty were born in Ponca in 1960, the 6th
and 7th children of Gervis and the late Pat McGraw. Older brother Tim was born three years
earlier. Gervis was the head golf professional at Ponca City Country Club from 1957 until 1982,
so all of the McGraw kids literally “grew up” on the PCCC golf course.
Prior to his appointment as the O.S.U. men’s coach, Mike McGraw spent the 2004-05 season
working as the head coach of the Cowgirl golf squad after a seven-year stint as an assistant with
the Oklahoma State men’s team.
He served as an assistant coach at Edmond Memorial High School from 1987 until 1993, and
was head coach at Edmond North High School from 1993 until 1997. Under his guidance, the
team won three state titles and he was named the Daily Oklahoman’s High School Coach of the
Year on three occasions. As a collegiate golfer at Central Oklahoma, McGraw was named an
honorable mention All-American in 1981. He graduated from U.C.O. with a bachelor’s degree in
broadcast journalism in 1982.
Patty McGraw-Coatney is now in her 4th year as the successful
head coach of the University of Central Oklahoma women’s golf
team. She has been named the Lone Star Conference Coach of
the Year two times.
Coatney, one of the most decorated amateur golfers in state
history, started all four year for the Cowgirls while attending
O.S.U. She has won a total of nine Women’s State Amateur
crowns over 4 different decades. She was also the winner of the
state high school girls championship in 1977, representing Ponca
City High School.
Chuck Coatney, Patty’s husband, is currently an assistant golf professional at Kickingbird Golf
Club in Edmond. He was named the Assistant Professional Player of the Year for the South
Central Section of the PGA in the year 2000 and was recognized as one of the top 5 instructors in
the Central Oklahoma Region of the PGA in 2004.
Tim McGraw played in the Men's State Amateur at age 11 and made
the cut at age 12. He won the Boys State Junior Championship in
1971, the Texas-Oklahoma Boys Junior Championship in 1973 and
brought home the 4A Individual Boys High School State Champion’s
trophy in 1974 while attending Ponca City High School. McGraw won
several tournaments while attending Odessa, Texas Junior College and
tried qualifying for the PGA Tour a couple of times.
All of the McGraw children were
taught the game by their dad,
Gervis. He decided to turn pro after
a very successful high school
career and played in the U.S. Open
at Medina at the age of 19.
Tim McGraw
McGraw worked as an assistant at
the Abilene Country Club until being hired by Southern Hills
Country Club in 1953. He was the first assistant at the
Wichita Country Club from 1955 until accepting the job of
head golf professional at PCCC in May of 1957. Today, at
age 76, he works every day with his son Tim as the owners of
the highly successful Gerv’s Golf Center on North
Pennsylvania Avenue in Oklahoma City.
Gervis McGraw
There were four more McGraw siblings that played golf while growing up in Ponca. Debbie is
now a psychologist in Tulsa, Vickie is a dispatcher in Oklahoma City, Sherrie is an artist in Taos,
New Mexico and Sandy is a school teacher in Ponca City.
Long-time Ponca City High School golf coach Jerry Orr remembers coaching Mike and Patty in
high school. “Mike always played in the #1 spot for me and Patty would play #3. This was
during the time when girls could play on the same team as the boys if they were in the top five.
Mike always told me that his biggest fear was that Patty would beat his score in a match or
tournament someday. He would always run to the scoreboard after each round and check to see
what she had shot. I’m not going to say if she ever beat him or not. I’ll take the 5th amendment
on that!”
Mike still has a deep love for Ponca City and a tremendous amount of loyalty to Ponca City
Country Club. He agreed to take some time out of his busy schedule and reflect on his
“growing up” years in Ponca City. He also talks about what it is like to be a head coach at the
Divison I level and shares information on what the other members of the McGraw family are
doing now. His comments follow . . . . .
What values did you learn by growing up in a small town, with a very close-knit family,
that now help you in coaching?
Hard work goes a long way. My dad told me that one should enjoy doing a good job just for the
sake of doing a good job and not for the money or rewards attached. I also learned that in a big
family, you must always be willing to share.
Where did you go to school while living in Ponca?
I attended St. Mary’s School for grades 1st through 6th, went to East Junior High from the 7th
through 9th grades, and then attended Po-Hi.
Your dad was the head golf professional at PCCC for many years. When did you first take
up the game?
I was 10 years old. All of my siblings started at the age of 5. I was a late starter and wasn’t really
interested in golf when I was very young. Once I started, I was hooked!
Did your dad push you to practice and get better?
Dad never pushed me, but he was always there for me if I needed to talk about any aspect of the
game. He was very busy running the PCCC Golf Shop and did not have the time to travel and
attend my junior tournaments. I always considered a lesson with my dad to be a lot of fun.
Did you play any other sports besides golf?
I played a little bit of basketball and, from the 7th grade on, ran 2 to 3 miles each day.
Jerry Orr was your high school golf coach. Who were some of the other players on the high
school team?
Jerry was a great coach. He played with us quite a bit and was one of the best putters I had ever
seen. Other players on the team included Scott Lewis, Alan Wilson, Steve Harper, David Shears,
Joey Harry, Kent Pickrell, Mike Dimond, and Bill Kinsinger.
What were some of the most fun things that you did while in high school?
I really enjoyed running with Dr. Gus Kever. Working with my dad every day was also fantastic.
The quiet solitude of hitting balls on the old range, by #15 tee box, was also neat. Usually, I was
the only one there. The entire high school experience was all fun.
Did you work in the PCCC Golf Shop and/or the course while you were growing up?
I did any and all of the following: cleaned clubs, washed golf carts, swept the carpet in the shop,
picked up range balls, loaded the clubs on carts, answered the telephone, etc. It truly was a
family operation, so we all pitched in. I worked every day from the age of 11 until I went off to
college.
What is your most cherished memory as a youngster in Ponca City?
Probably the walks with my dad to and from the PCCC course. We lived right behind #6 tee box.
We did a lot of talking on those walks.
What is the funniest thing that you ever witnessed on the PCCC course?
One cold day during the winter of 1977, Gene Gann didn’t set the parking brake on his golf cart
and it rolled into the pond by the old #8 tee box. Editor’s Note: We asked Gene Gann about this incident
and he shamefully admitted that he disrobed down to his undies and went in the water to retrieve his cart!
Did you always dream of being a teacher/coach?
I always dreamed of playing on the PGA tour. As that dream faded, it became obvious to me that
I truly enjoyed working with young people that shared the same dream that I had as a boy.
How did you meet your wife Pam?
She was a school teacher. We met while I was doing my student teaching in her classroom.
You have a very positive attitude about life and obviously care about people. Where did
you learn those attributes?
My mom and dad were excellent role models. We had a couple of employees at PCCC who were
poor and trying to raise kids, grandkids, and even great-grandkids. I always saw how my parents
treated them, and how kind and generous they were to them. That stuck with me.
You were an assistant for the O.S.U. men’s and women’s teams before becoming the
women’s head coach and then the men’s head coach. What is the biggest difference
between coaching men and women?
The biggest difference in men’s and women’s golf at the collegiate level is that almost every one
of our guys arrive on campus with the dream of playing professional golf in the future. On the
women’s side, there are fewer that have that as their dream.
Who are the best players that you have ever coached?
There have been many outstanding players. Charles Howell, Bo Van Pelt, Hunter Mahan, Anders
Hultman, Casey Wittenberg, Pablo Martin and Jonathan Moore would all be at the top of the list.
What is a typical day (from sunrise to sunset) like for you now that you have assumed the
men’s head coach responsibilities?
I am up at 5 am each day. I have done that since the 7th grade! I work out at the arena on
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and then try to get to the office by 7:00 or 7:30 am. I do
correspondence with recruits, donors, and other coaches until noon and then have lunch with the
team. In the afternoons, I am at practice until the last guy leaves, usually around supper time. My
wife and I live at Karsten Creek and my golf office is in the Karsten clubhouse.
What kind of pressure do you feel to succeed since you are only the third coach in the 60
year history of the Oklahoma State men’s golf program?
There is pressure, but it is good pressure. It’s the kind of pressure that helps keep me sharp and
makes me pay special attention to all of the tasks at hand. That includes recruiting, fund-raising
and coaching the team. I came into this job with my eyes wide open. I know that if I don’t get the
job done here that I will be doing something else, and I am okay with that. This job is fun,
despite the inherent pressure to win. If I work hard and work smart, I should do well.
What do you do to unwind and get away from golf?
I love walking our dogs, a Yellow Lab and a Rhodesian Ridgeback/Boxer mix. I exercise almost
every single day, I read quite a bit, and I also enjoy going antiquing with my wife Pam.
Do you ever get the opportunity to play a casual round of golf with friends?
I usually only play with the guys on our team. I actually played 9 holes yesterday and I really
enjoyed it. I don’t get to play very often.
How is your dad doing?
Dad is feeling fine and doing good. He and Tim are busy running Gerv’s Golf Center in
Oklahoma City. He works in the shop every day and plays an occasional round of golf.
Is Tim considering trying to qualify for the Senior PGA tour when he turns 50 years of
age?
Tim still has that dream. He has a great deal of talent; much more than I ever did.
Does Patty enjoy coaching at the college level?
Patty is a natural. She can recruit, she has a positive attitude, and she can still beat the girls she is
coaching! Her main challenge is figuring out how to recruit and sign girls that are better than she
is. If she can do that, she will have some special teams in the years ahead.
Patty, Tim and Mike
Mike
The McGraw Children
Patty and Mike in 1st Grade
Debbie, Sandy, Sheryl and Vicki McGraw
George McGraw, the father of Gervis,
in the old PCCC golf shop in 1962.