Barrie Naismith Jeffcoat (1949- ) was born to George Naismith (1919-2004) and Mary Helen Campbell (1920-2012) in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. She attended middle and high school in Norfolk, Virginia, where she learned to golf from her mother. In 1970, she worked as an assistant golf professional at the Druid Hills Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia, where she gave golf lessons to women and children. In 1972, she moved to the Country Club of Roswell, continuing as an assistant, although she also started training men and helping them get professional jobs. In 1974, she went to the Standard Club in Johns Creek, Georgia, where she worked part-time while she attended school. In 1978, she returned to the Country Club of Roswell. While giving lessons to Judge Joel J. Fryer (1928-2006), he advised her to challenge the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) about her inability to get a job as a female golf professional. When the PGA failed to address the issue, she sued them and won by settling out of court. Naismith met John Phillip Jeffcoat (1948- ) in December 1979, and they got married in March 1980 in Norfolk, Virginia. While her husband was in the Navy, she worked as an assistant golf professional at the Army Navy Country Club in Washington, D.C. They relocated to Norfolk, Virginia, where she left professional golf to work in banking.