Colorado University Athletics
Former Buffs Star Grady Finds His Passion In Coaching
January 27, 2017 | Men's Golf, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — When Roy Edwards called two years ago, Pat Grady couldn't say no.
Edwards, head men's golf coach at Colorado, wanted Grady to become his assistant. Grady, a former Buffs star who had just entered the world of public accounting after a fling with professional golf, had all kinds of reasons to politely decline. Thousands, actually.
"I had worked incredibly hard to get my CPA license as a tax accountant," Grady remembered. "I was on a really good path with a really good firm with the potential to make a ton of money."
But Grady, who had been recruited to Colorado by the late Mark Simpson, had played for Edwards for three seasons and trusted him. So he listened.
"To tell you the truth, I'd never even thought about coaching until Roy called," Grady said. "We talked about it for a long time. I definitely wasn't in the business of applying for assistant coaches' positions at the time and I wasn't even thinking about coaching."
Grady knew the money he was set to make in the accounting world would be excellent. He knew his job security would be rock solid down a career path that had virtually no obstacles. It was a safe, sound road.
But trouble is, that career path wasn't one Grady was excited about traveling. While it had all the necessities, it didn't provide him with the one thing he wanted most.
"There was no passion in it," Grady said. "It was just a career. All I would do every day is try to get my work done as soon as I could so I could go out and play nine holes."
Grady found that he missed golf. He missed being around the game on a daily basis. He missed the game, the camaraderie and the challenge.
In Edwards' offer, he saw all those things — and more. He also saw the chance to make a difference in someone's life, to provide the guidance and tutelage that his mentors had provided him through the years.
"When I thought about it, I realized some of the most influential people in my life have been coaches, whether it was high school or junior baseball or college," Grady said. "None of those people have been tax accountants. I realized that at the end of my career, I'd like to know I was influential in someone else's life."
So he took the job — and now he's helping Edwards turn the Buffs into what they believe can be a consistent top 25 program.
"To me, it was a very easy thing to say, 'We want Pat' when we went looking for an assistant," Edwards said. "He was an incredibly impressive player here. Not just how he played, but his hard work, his care for his teammates, his love for the University of Colorado — it was something we'd been trying to gauge his interest on for a number of years. We were just fortunate that it finally worked out."
Grady indeed left a rather significant imprint on the CU record books by the time he graduated. A lightly recruited player out of high school, he ended up as one of the most successful Buffs in program history.
In his senior year (2008-09), he played in all 13 tournaments for CU, finishing with two wins, five top-five finishes, eight top 10 and 10 top 20. His 71.98 stroke average for the season was third-best in school history, earning him PING All-Region honors and honorable mention All-American accolades. He finished as the nation's 46th-ranked player.
He also excelled in amateur play during his time as a CU player. He became the first player in state history to win the three "majors": the Colorado Golf Association Match Play title in 2005, the Stroke Play title in 2006 and the Public Links crown in 2007; and he was a two-time state amateur player of the year.
He also excelled in the classroom. As a senior, he was named to the prestigious GCAA All-America Scholar team (golf's version of Academic All-America), and was a two-time first-team Academic All-Big 12 team member.
He thus became the only golfer in CU's storied history to earn All-American and Academic All-American honors.
"He has all the things you look for in somebody," Edwards said. "He's very talented as a coach and he's incredibly hard working and competitive. He was an elite player himself, so he understands how that mind ticks. Those are all skills that we knew he was going to bring to the table on Day One, on top of the fact that he played here and was one of the most decorated players in CU history."
Grady still finds time to scratch his competitive itch, something he couldn't do often as an accountant. Last year, he was named the CGA Apprentice Player of the Year after he won the Colorado PGA Assistants Championship in August and then placed 11th in the National Assistant PGA Professional Championship in October.
"I went from playing every single day for a living to nothing, to working taxes full time," Grady said. "This is such a great balance — I probably play 50 rounds of golf a year. I'll play four or five tournaments and it gives me a chance to still compete."
But while he still plays competitively when possible, he devotes the majority of his time to his passions: teaching golf and the Buffs.
Grady is, after all, a Buff through and through.
"I have so many great memories here, even growing up," Grady said. "I remember Kordell Stewart and the Michigan game. I followed Colorado football all these years. Then, after seeing us struggle for 10 years, this year was just so special. The opportunity to come back and help the golf team — it's my home, it's where I grew up. It's one of the most beautiful places in the country. Honestly, there's no place I'd rather be."
The Buffs will open the spring season next week at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate in Hawaii. They'll enter the meet as the the No. 24 team in the nation according to Golfweek.
"I think we can consistently be in the top 25," Grady said. "Roy has put all the pieces into place. When I was here, when Roy first got here, we didn't have a great travel schedule. We didn't have an indoor practice facility. So coming here was an actual disadvantage.
"But right now, with the way our travel schedule is set up, with our indoor building at Colorado National, there's no way we're at a competitive disadvantage anymore. I tell recruits that and I wholeheartedly believe it."
Recruiting is one of Grady's top priorities, and it's something he's come to love. He can sell Colorado, the university and the program because he has an intimate knowledge of them all.
"Right now, there's something you can do every day here to get better at golf, whereas seven or eight years ago, you couldn't do that," Grady said. "I see us as a perennial top 25 program and that's where I want us to be. That's a realistic goal."
And as a bonus, he's going to work every day at a job he loves.
"Here, none of this is really work," he said with a grin. "I love being with the team, I love coaching the team, I love traveling with the team, I love recruiting. It's not like I'm trying to finish up what I'm doing as fast I can so I can go do something else. This is what I like to do and it's where I want to be."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
