Happenstance is defined as a “chance or a chance situation, especially one producing a good result.” In many ways that word is what sums up Kellie Costa’s long and successful career in golf.
“I didn’t grow up around golf. My parents were involved in tennis,” said Costa, a Rhode Island native and current Massachusetts resident. “But my first job out of college was for Scorecards USA, a small golf company in Rhode Island, to be a graphic designer and create scorecards and yardage books for golf courses all over the country.”
Unbeknownst to Costa at the time, her three years at Scorecards USA would be the beginning of a career in golf. Costa has stepped away from the industry a couple of times, but both times she felt the inevitable pull to come back.
The first time Costa left was to work for North Safety Products (now North by Honeywell) as the director of marketing and communications. It was during her tenure there her love for the game grew. Though she had played only sparingly after graduating from the University of Rhode Island, she joined a golf league and really enjoyed it.
Enter happenstance. While working at North Safety Products, Costa moved from Rhode Island to Massachusetts, where her husband, Preston, lived. Her new home was located just minutes from the Acushnet Company, home of the Titleist brand.
“I remember thinking after I moved that it would be great to work at the Acushnet Company,” Costa remembered. “Then one of my co-workers at North Safety Products who used to work at Titleist told me I would be a great fit.” From that moment on Costa kept a watchful eye on the job listings, waiting for an opportunity to present itself.
Finally, in 2005 Costa joined Titleist as a marketing manager, beginning a nearly 17-year journey that culminated in 2021 as the senior director of content and creative.
“When I first joined Titleist, people asked, ‘Why after being a director are you going to go back to being a manager?’ But I really wanted to get back into golf and Acushnet is a fantastic global company,” Costa explained. “They are a huge company and for me it made sense to get back into golf. I didn’t necessarily care about the title but rather the work that I would be doing.”
Back in golf and working close to her new home, Costa thrived. Working in golf ball marketing throughout her tenure, Costa rose through the ranks while also rubbing shoulders with some of the best players in the game.
Over the years Costa acquired a treasure trove of stories, but one stands out among the rest.
“We always try to set up shoots before big tournaments started, so one time we were shooting at a course in New Jersey and there was a really tight time frame to have Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. In order to make the shoot Spieth and Thomas on their own dime paid to have a helicopter fly them to the course. It landed on the driving range and when the shoot was over they flew back so they could make a dinner they had to attend.”
“‘I love the community aspect of golf and how authentic it is.”
— Kellie Costa
Costa continued to excel at Titleist, but in 2021 she joined a former colleague and became the vice president of brand and communications at Inovalon, a technology company in the healthcare industry. Her time there was short-lived, however; in 2023 she was laid off as part of downsizing across the tech industry.
Enter happenstance once more. With a strong desire to return to golf, Costa had numerous conversations with people in the industry. One of those conversations, with Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund Executive Director Colin McGuire, changed everything.
Costa saw an open marketing position with the Massachusetts-based fund and applied. That position had been filled, but McGuire liked her résumé and set up a lunch. Impressed, McGuire filed Costa’s résumé away and when the director of development and donor relations position opened a few months later, the job was Costa’s.
Costa, an avid antique collector, dog owner and volunteer at the Humane Society and Shelter South Coast, has now been back in the golf industry for a year and she couldn’t be happier.
“After Inovalon didn’t work out, I thought this is my sign to get back into what I love,” Costa said. “When I look back at my time in golf I remember at first not feeling as connected, but that has changed because of all my experiences. I love the community aspect of golf and how authentic it is. I was an outsider and now it’s completely different and I’m just so grateful for what golf has done for me in my life.”