For Jeff Coston, golf has been a lifelong journey that began with sneaking onto courses as a kid and eventually led to the PGA Tour, nearly 60 professional victories, relationships with some of the game’s biggest names and more than three decades of teaching at Semiahmoo Golf & Country Club near Blaine.
His career included playing in the U.S. Open and on the PGA Tour Champions, including the Boeing Classic at The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge. But Coston’s story is about more than professional golf. It is also about family, friendships, teaching and finding a home in Whatcom County.
From Sneaking Onto the Course to Jack Nicklaus
Coston’s introduction to golf came through older kids in his Seattle neighborhood.
“I think that a big thing is growing up in my neighborhood. I was the youngest, and so whether it was basketball, football, golf or whatever, these older kids, I would just follow them,” Coston said. “And so, I started caddying at Inglewood.”
In 1965, when Coston was about 10 or 11, the Seattle Open was held at Inglewood. He hoped to caddie for one of the professionals but instead witnessed a moment that would stay with him.
He watched Jack Nicklaus strike a golf ball off the tee and was hooked.
Nearly two decades later, Coston found himself paired with Nicklaus in a PGA Tour event.
“In 1985, I was paired with Jack Nicklaus in a PGA Tour event, the third tournament of my career,” Coston said. “It was like 15 deep. I couldn’t even get to the tee.”
Nicklaus had already won the Masters, British Open and PGA Championship. Coston’s caddie helped settle his nerves.
“He just kept speaking positive vibes to me, like, ‘Hey, remember that shot you hit yesterday? Hit that same shot.’”
Coston shot 71. Nicklaus shot 73.
“So, I beat Nicklaus every time I played with him,” Coston said.
Northwest PGA Tour Legends
Coston also crossed paths with another Seattle golf legend, Fred Couples.
“I went to Seattle University and practiced at Jefferson [now the Bill Wright Golf Complex], where Fred [Couples] grew up, and so we would hit balls together,” Coston said. “So, I called him Gold, because everything he touched turned to gold.”
The relationships Coston developed in the Northwest followed him throughout his career.
Father’s Day at Pebble Beach
With 59 professional wins on his résumé, Coston doesn’t point to a trophy when discussing his most meaningful career memory.
Instead, he remembers the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, where his son served as his caddie. Coston finished 50th while Tiger Woods won by 15 strokes.
“It’s Pebble Beach, 2000, the 100th U.S. Open. The last day is on Father’s Day, and so you know there’s thousands of people around the 18th hole,” Coston said.
After Coston hit his approach shot, his son tapped him on the shoulder.
“Dad, you and me, we did it. Father’s Day, U.S. Open. I love you.”
“I started to cry,” Coston said.
Coston still had a birdie putt. Thinking of childhood hero and broadcaster Johnny Miller helped him refocus.
“My thought was, ‘Johnny Miller, I’m going to make this. What are you going to say about this?’ to get my head straight,” he said.
He made the putt.
“And so, then we went that night and played basketball.”
Choosing Family
Coston eventually faced one of the biggest decisions of his career. Despite having a PGA Tour card, he chose to leave professional tour life and move his family from Orlando to Blaine.
“The hardest decision of my life was I had a tour card, walking away from the tour, just for family,” Coston said. “Tour life is a hard life for family, so in the middle of having a tour card, we moved from Orlando to Blaine, Washington.”
The move marked the beginning of Coston’s long connection to Semiahmoo.
He started teaching with a bag of teaching aids and a video camera on the driving range.
“It’s kind of like that movie ‘Field of Dreams’: If you build it, they will come,” Coston said. “I just started a bag of teaching aids and a video camera on the corner of the range, and there was no building here. There was nothing.”
That modest operation eventually became the Jeff Coston Golf Academy.
A Home at Semiahmoo
Coston credits Semiahmoo’s ownership and leadership for supporting his vision.
“I’ve been fortunate also that the ownership has really blessed me and believed in me,” he said.
More than three decades later, Coston sees his relationship with Semiahmoo as one of the defining parts of his career.
“I’m grateful to Semiahmoo and the members and the ownership and everybody for putting up with me for 32 years,” he said. “I feel it’s an honor to be able to represent Semiahmoo, the ownership and membership, you know, and the staff and everything.”
The Physics of the Golf Swing
Coston’s teaching philosophy developed through his playing career and time spent around elite players and instructors.
“I’ve been well trained not only through my experiences but hanging out with the best teachers in the world, the best players in the world, and having success myself, but it’s more like physics,” he said.
Rather than simply teaching golfers what to do, Coston wants them to understand why the swing works.
He compares the motion to a tetherball moving around a pole.
“The same thing holds true if I can swing a golf club 90 degrees around my spine, which is the axis of my swing,” he said. “I have more speed.”
Coston also emphasizes controlling the clubface through the hitting area.
“I still hit it far because of that philosophy of the physics of the golf swing and controlling the clubface through the hitting area like a Ping-Pong paddle or tennis racket,” he said. “Those kinds of things, along with sequencing and mindsets, are really the meat and potatoes of what I teach in terms of technique.”
Golf in Whatcom County
After decades in the area, Coston has watched golf grow throughout Whatcom County. He believes the pandemic and the county’s proximity to Canada helped accelerate that growth.
“I think that COVID really helped golf grow 30% perhaps,” he said. “The Canadian influx also close to the border helps golf in Whatcom County.”
Coston points to Semiahmoo, Loomis Trail, North Bellingham Golf Course and Lake Padden Golf Course as examples of the area’s variety.
“There’s lots of great golf courses in Whatcom County,” he said.
His professional relationships have also helped connect Whatcom County with the larger golf world. In 2015, Coston helped organize a pro-am at Semiahmoo featuring 30 Champions Tour players.
“We had a big pro-am for members and outside people to raise money, and so, yeah, so that was a fun day also.”
For Coston, bringing professional golfers to Semiahmoo was another way to give back to the community that had become his home.
A Career Built on Gratitude
Coston’s career has taken him from sneaking onto a Seattle golf course to playing alongside Nicklaus, competing at Pebble Beach and teaching generations of golfers at Semiahmoo.
But when asked what he wants people to know about his career, he returns to gratitude.
“I’ve always said my gratefulness for people trusting me, you know, with their golf and, you know, with their friendships and with their kids and their grandkids and their spouses,” Coston said. “I take that as a privilege, and it’s my passion.”
That perspective has become part of his daily routine.
“Even driving to work every day, when I drive to work, I say out loud what I’m grateful for and thankful for because it’s easy to dwell on the challenges,” he said.
After more than 30 years at Semiahmoo, Coston remains grateful for the place he calls home.
“I’m grateful for 32-plus years at Semiahmoo, and I may have to go for another 32 more.”
For a golfer whose journey began by sneaking onto courses as a child, Coston’s greatest legacy may not be the victories he accumulated along the way, but the people he has taught, the relationships he has built and the game he continues to share in Whatcom County.
