As part of the fun surrounding our 50th anniversary, Golfweek will walk down Memory Lane with a number of former employees who helped make the brand what it is today.
We continue the series with Jay Coffin, who worked with Golfweek for more than a decade in a variety of capacities.
When did you work at Golfweek?
1997-2008
What was your Golfweek title, and give us a brief description of what you did.
Scoreboard Editor (in charge of all scores and rankings), Senior Writer (women’s golf beat), Editor of Digital Media (editor of the website)
What’s your current title and company?
President, Coffin Corner Media
What’s the one moment you’re proudest of while working with Golfweek?
The two that stick out the most — Payne Stewart’s death in 1999, when we worked around the clock on reporting to deliver a wonderful product for an extended deadline the next morning … and in 2006, helping to launch GolfweekTV and the digital studio, taking the website to the next level by increasing traffic with high-quality video content.
What’s the ‘hair-on-fire’ moment you remember most vividly?
I don’t have hair! But covering the 2003 and 2006 U.S. Women’s Opens, where there were Monday playoffs. That meant having little time to craft a lengthy, creative game story to meet the Monday deadline. (Quick note: the 2006 U.S. Women’s Open was where I handed the baton to Beth Ann Nichols on the LPGA beat, where she’s done an amazing job for 20 years. Proud of her.)
What’s your favorite golf course you’ve played and why?
Admittedly, this is an embarrassment of riches, but being picked in the media lottery to play Augusta National in 2008, my last year covering the Masters for Golfweek. However, over the past two years, I’ve played the Old Course and Pebble Beach with my teen son, and it’s hard to believe anything could top that. But I’ll keep trying.
(Editor’s note: We appreciate all the former employees who have contributed time and effort to this feature. The golf journalism community is a small one and we’re proud of the achievements of all our former colleagues.)
