Coming to Auburn ‘The best decision I’ve ever made’ for incoming WGCA CEO Courtney Trimble

Auburn women’s golf alumna Courtney Trimble has made a lifelong impact on others through the sport of golf. After a successful collegiate career, her impressive résumé includes coaching stops at Auburn, UCF and Louisville. Retirement from coaching, however, was just the beginning of her mission to help young people flourish in the game.

The then-Courtney Swaim was well recruited out of high school, where she was a Class 4A state champion at Duluth High in Georgia. Despite living close to the Plains, she had very little familiarity with the school she would later call home.

“I really didn't know about Auburn, and I only lived an hour and a half up the road,” Trimble said. “My uncle had gone to Auburn, but my dad was a football player at Georgia Tech. I spent a lot of time following Georgia Tech, so I knew Coach Kim Evans from the Georgia Tech days. She was really all I knew about Auburn University.

“I visited a lot of schools when I was going through the recruiting process — a lot of SEC and ACC schools — and ultimately ended up visiting Auburn in the middle of the week. There was no big football game. I just came during the middle of the week, had a great meal at Niffer’s and a great time with the team and the coaches. I felt like it was home, and I'm so glad I did. It was the best decision I've ever made.”

The Suwanee, Georgia, native had an accomplished playing career with the Tigers from 1998-2002. Trimble was a three-time second-team All-SEC selection, won 11 individual tournament titles and played in every team tournament during her time at Auburn. She was also a member of Evans’ 2000 SEC Championship team as a sophomore. During her senior season, she finished with nine top-10s and helped lead the Tigers to the program’s best postseason finish — national runner-up at the 2002 NCAA Championship.

“That year, we ended up losing the SEC Championship to South Carolina, which totally stunned us,” Trimble said. “They came back and beat us. We had a huge lead after the first round, and they came back and beat us after the third round, but I don't think we finished worse than second the entire year.

“That whole year was just amazing. It was so much fun. We obviously ended up a little bit short, but to be second in the national championship was still something we were really proud of.”

After graduation, Trimble made a decision during her professional career that landed her back on the Plains.

“I played professionally for about two and a half seasons. I had gotten married and ultimately decided that I didn't want to leave home one time,” Trimble said. “I had never felt that way before. I didn't want to pack my bags and go. That was the turning point when I suddenly didn’t want to grind or practice anymore. I had stayed in touch with Coach Evans, and ultimately the assistant job at Auburn came open when I was 26 — a couple of years after I had graduated. At that time, I was ready to hang up my clubs and coach. I had more to give than just my golf game. I wanted to impact more people, and that was ultimately why I decided to go down the path of coaching.”

Trimble provided an immediate impact at her alma mater, helping coach the team to two SEC Championships in 2006 and 2009. She then left Auburn to take the head coaching role at UCF, where she led the Knights to their first NCAA Championship appearance in program history and coached six All-Conference USA selections.

 

In 2012, Trimble accepted the head coaching job at Louisville. Under her tenure, the Cardinals earned five straight NCAA Regional bids and made an NCAA Championship appearance in 2018. She also won the American Athletic Conference team title in 2014 and earned conference coach of the year honors that same season. Trimble retired from collegiate coaching in 2019.

“Just as much as the game is a grind as a player, it's a grind as a coach as well,” said the 10-year collegiate head coach. “The more kids you have, the harder it is to travel with them. It was doable with one, but when you have the second, you have to have a lot of help. I knew that when I retired from coaching, I wanted to stay involved, but I wasn't sure in what capacity.

“As I left coaching, we started a mentorship program for the Women’s Golf Coaches Association, and I headed that up, so it kept me engaged. I would say to someone who's maybe changing jobs or retiring — whether it’s volunteer work or paid — staying connected to organizations you've been a part of is so important. I didn't just cut myself off.”

Around this time, Trimble saw the need to start her mentorship organization, ForeHire — a boutique talent and recruitment firm focused on helping current and former collegiate golfers launch their careers.

“I just had wondered what was happening to all these great players who had come through college golf,” said Trimble, an Auburn University Harbert College of Business graduate. “Where were they going? And particularly, why weren't they staying in the golf industry? I think there are a lot of misconceptions around the only jobs in golf being college coaches, teaching pros and assistant golf professionals. I just knew that wasn't true, so that was the premise of it.

“I had a lot of conversations with Kim Evans because she was really involved with the PGA of America and trying to create a pipeline of former golfers into the PGA. I just wanted to be part of the solution of helping athletes with that next stage.

“It's been a lot of fun to be on the other side of the business. It's so rewarding to see someone advance their career outside of their sport and have the confidence to go out and pursue something that maybe they never would have thought of.”

The next step in Trimble’s business career will be a big one. She was selected by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association Board of Directors to be the next CEO of the WGCA. She will begin her tenure on Jan. 1, 2026.

“It's certainly an honor,” Trimble said. “We are the association that represents around 750 coaches from across all divisions. Women's golf is in a great place right now, but it ultimately means I will be overseeing all areas of our association. We work with the NCAA, the USGA and other partners to make sure they can get in front of our coaches. And we also offer education for our coaches — that’s really a big piece of what we do.”

Throughout Trimble’s career in golf, both as a player and as a coach, Evans has been by her side every step of the way.

“I can, without a doubt, say that I would not be where I am today without Kim Evans from start to finish,” Trimble said. “But one thing she taught us was to love Auburn. It gets me choked up talking about her because she's really impacted me that much. I still talk to her on a weekly basis, and she's still impacting coaches who are coaching currently, as well as some who are just coming into the game. She's just really special.”

Evans taught Trimble to love Auburn well — a place where she owes much of her athletic, personal and professional growth.

“It's just such a special place,” Trimble said. “It set the foundation for relationships with people. When I still go back to Auburn for events like Auburn Golf Day, we still see the same men and women who have been supporting the program, whether they give $1 million or $100.

“I feel like Auburn people are just different. Not that people at other schools are bad, the relationships between Auburn people are really tight and they stay connected. And that's what I love about being an Auburn Tiger.”