Episode Summary

Legendary college golf coach Mike Griffin shares stories from Troy and Auburn, including coaching elite players, building championship programs, and the lessons that shaped his career.

Full Show Notes

Coach Mike Griffin is one of the most respected names in college golf, with a career spanning decades at Troy and Auburn. In this episode, he shares the stories, decisions, and lessons that defined his journey—from small-town beginnings to building nationally competitive programs.

We get into what it takes to develop players at the highest level, the evolution of college golf, and behind-the-scenes stories involving players like Jason Duffner and Paul Azinger.

Coach Griffin also shares one of the most impactful moments of his career—winning a tournament but not being selected to advance—and how that experience shaped his philosophy as a coach.

This is a conversation about leadership, development, and what it really takes to build champions.

Chapters

• 00:00 Cold Open: “You weren’t supposed to win”
• 01:05 Introduction to Coach Mike Griffin
• 02:00 Early life and learning the game
• 07:30 College golf at Troy
• 12:45 The moment that shaped his coaching philosophy
• 17:00 From player to coach
• 21:00 Building a winning program at Troy
• 26:30 Recruiting and developing players
• 29:15 The Jason Duffner story
• 32:00 The Paul Azinger story
• 42:20 How college golf has changed
• 54:00 Auburn years and legacy

Tags (Transistor)

golf podcast, college golf, Auburn golf, Troy golf, Jason Duffner, Paul Azinger, golf coaching, sports leadership, golf stories, Cart Barn Podcast

Lawrence Auer shares lessons from playing 500+ golf courses worldwide, his journey from Australia to Alabama, and why small-town golf still defines the game.

Show Notes

• Lawrence’s start in Australia and early golf influences
• Journey to the U.S. and career in Mobile
• Differences between public and private golf environments
• The significance of municipal golf courses
• Playing 500+ courses across 8 countries
• Favorite golf destinations and future trips
• Hidden gem courses vs “name brand” golf
• Why golf is one of the most accessible lifetime sports

Travis Key joins Chris and Gregg to talk about growing up around golf, falling in love with competitive golf later in life, and how a frightening dehydration incident on the course led to the launch of Strokes Gained. Travis shares the origin of the brand, how they developed the product, what makes it different, and what it has been like building a golf business while raising a son who is now deep into junior golf. This is a conversation about golf, fatherhood, entrepreneurship, and the realities of trying to build something in the game.

Show notes

This week in the Cart Barn, Chris and Gregg welcome Travis Key, co-founder of Strokes Gained, for a conversation that goes far beyond hydration.

Travis talks about:

• how his dad introduced him to the game
• why competitive golf hooked him later in life
• what he has learned from watching and caddying for his son in junior golf
• the frightening on-course dehydration incident that sparked the idea for Strokes Gained
• how he and his partner built the brand, developed the formula, and secured the trademark
• what it has been like scaling from a startup idea to placement in clubs around the country

This episode is part golf story, part founder story, and part reminder that the game has a way of teaching lessons well beyond the scorecard.

Short episode description

A dehydration scare on the golf course led Travis Key to build Strokes Gained. He joins Chris and Gregg to talk golf, fatherhood, competitive golf, and what it takes to build a brand in the industry.

Keywords

Cart Barn Podcast, Travis Key, Strokes Gained, golf hydration, junior golf, golf business, golf entrepreneurship, competitive golf, Alabama golf, PGA Show, golf founder story, hydration for golfers, golf lifestyle, golf stories