pga of australia
PGA Member Profile
Gavin Campbell
- Career Coach
Ramsay McMaster Education Scholarship winner Gavin Campbell knows the benefits of hard work
– and the joyous feeling of helping his clients achieve their best. By KALON HUETT
A
t 15 years of age, well past what
might be considered the ‘industry
norm’, Gavin Campbell quite literally
stumbled into golf for the first time.
“Like most kids back then I was always
outdoors. I had mates who played golf so I’d
walk with them through the bush of the old
Pines, which is now known as the Peninsula
Link, to the Centenary Park golf course,” he
says. And that’s where it all began.
Campbell had plenty of talent, especially
for a relative latecomer, but in his 20s he took
an extended break from playing. It may have
appeared a defining moment where a young
man had reconciled that a lifetime in golf was
not the path for him, but it turned out to be
nothing more than a dogleg in the fairway to
success for Campbell.
He made a serious return upon hitting
30 and has hardly looked back. Now 38,
Campbell is relishing his role in the game
more than ever. He can still be found at
Centenary Park, only now he walks into the
clubhouse as the Head Teaching Professional.
He became a PGA Member in 2006 but says it
feels like yesterday.
“There’s no such thing as Mondayitis when
you’re the boss. But I absolutely love going to
work. This is where I started as a kid and the
people I work with are fantastic.
“I really enjoy it. It gives me a huge buzz
seeing how people can play following lessons
compared to when they started. When
students show improvement, coaching golf is
the b \