Ben Paterson- Head Professional
Ben Paterson joined Avondale Golf Club as a Junior Member in 2001 and soon came to realise his passion for golf. From this initial passion, Ben realised he wanted to further this by pursuing golf as a career. He completed his traineeship at Avondale before becoming the Assistant Professional in 2010. In August 2020, Ben became the Head Professional at Avondale Golf Club; an honour he is proud to have achieved.
Ben’s passion for teaching, motivation for success, and drive to improve the game of others has lead him to teach some of Australia’s leading amateurs and touring professionals. Ben’s love for fitness, how the body moves, and the bio-mechanics of golf has allowed him to develop a unique style of teaching. Ben’s approach not only incorporates a focus on improving the technical components of the golf swing, but also caters to the specific needs of each client’s body composition and their strengths.
Ben is a certified Trackman Specialist and utilises this technology with a broach range of his clients. Ben is also a PING Fitting Specialist and is passionate about ensuring his clients have the right equipment that enables them to reach their maximum potential.
Mark Paterson- Professional
Mark Paterson has been at Avondale Golf Club since February 1988 – he was a young 27 year old who originally came from Newcastle. Over his many years at Avondale Mark has become a certified club fitter of PING, Titleist, Callaway and Mizuno.
Mark’s passion for golf and teaching is evident when just teaching and improving the average Club Member. His development of local juniors now sees him teach former Eisenhower Cup winner and Australasian Tour Professional Harrison Endycott. His philosophy is to keep things simple but interesting, to challenge your ability but most of all make your golf enjoyable.
Mark sat on the NSW State PGA Board for 8 years where he served as Vice-Chairman for a 3 year term, he feels it’s important to give back to something you are passionate about. In 2010 Mark was awarded the “NSW PGA Professional of the Year” by his fellow peers which he holds in high esteem.
Nelson Turner – Professional
Some might say it was love at first sight…but since picking up a golf club at the age of 8, Nelson has been well and truly hooked. However, it was only after a brief chat with the trainees at his Club, that he realised a career in the golf industry was his calling.
After completing his degree in Sport Management at Griffith University, it was time for golf to take priority and plunge into the PGA Member Pathway Program. Graduating in 2016, Nelson got the opportunity to live every golfers dream – competing around Australia, Asia and South Pacific with the goal of making the PGA Tour.
Whilst competing with some of the best in Australia, Nelson’s passion for club fitting and teaching grew, by understanding that a golfer’s equipment can not only hinder their abilities but also cause technique errors to form. With this in mind, he believes it’s important to look at the overall picture of each individual; from their physical ability, personality and equipment, we can begin to piece together their transformation. Nelson promises to stay true to his own way of learning, by keeping it simple, direct and easy to understand.
Angus McAllister – Professional
Angus McAllister has enjoyed golf from a young age and developed a passion for the game early on in life. Angus joined Avondale Golf Club as a Junior Member in 2012 and from this his passion grew. Angus soon realised he wanted to pursue golf as a career and completed his traineeship at Avondale in 2021.
During his traineeship, Angus developed an interest in teaching. He is passionate about helping people with their golf game and prides himself on his ability to create a fun and easy to understand environment. Angus is a Trackman Certified Specialist and while he enjoys the use of cutting edge technology during lessons, his teaching philosophy is to keep things simple.
Will Flannigan – Trainee Professional
Will was originally a member of Lane Cove Golf Club before making the switch to Avondale Golf Club as a Junior Member in 2017. Will attended school at Marist College on the North Shore where he graduated in 2020. Will won the Avondale Junior Championship in 2019 and has been a long-time scholarship holder here at Avondale.
Will is currently completing his PGA Traineeship at Avondale. He one day hopes to go down the teaching path where he can continue to help people improve their golf.