Patti Benson gave everything to golf, and in return, the game provided endless memories, happiness, and love.
The former player and past LPGA Professionals National President passed away on June 3, 2023. She was 64.
Destined to leave her mark on the game and those who cherish it, Benson was first introduced to golf the moment she was able to walk by her parents and late golf professionals Bob Prentiss (PGA of America Life Member) and Betty Prentiss (LPGA Life Member). Learning the game soon turned into traveling across Ohio with her mom to play in junior tournaments. As it turned out, these road trips were just the start of an unforgettable journey through golf.
Benson turned pro and became a member of the LPGA in 1979 thanks to some encouragement from Bobby Strickland, the director of golf at Northdale Golf Club. Benson always credited Strickland with seeing something in her that she didn’t know existed. Upon turning professional, Benson started competing on the LPGA Futures Tour, now known as the Epson Tour. Despite loving the game, Benson quickly found the tour life was not for her.
“When I played on the Futures Tour, I was so homesick,” Benson shared in 2010. “I eventually learned that I couldn’t travel like that week after week by myself, but I found something I really loved in teaching golf.”
In fact, this passion sparked more than just a career. Benson met her future husband Bobby Benson in 1982 when the Class A PGA Professional was looking for an LPGA Teaching Professional to join his team at Palm Beach Country Club. Within a year of getting the job, Benson earned her LPGA Class A status as a teaching professional, and shortly thereafter, the two got married.
The pair quickly became known as two of the best professionals in the area due to their honesty, kindness, and passion for the game. Benson’s love for the industry would continue to grow, and she eventually took on larger roles at the national level.
She served as an LPGA National Evaluator from 1989-2000 and then as National President of the LPGA Professionals from 2002-2009. As a leader, Benson wanted every member to feel appreciated, understood, and included.
“I still remember the first time I saw her,” recalled Carole Clark, who met Benson in 1999 and later became a close friend. “She spoke to pretty much everyone in the room, including myself, which I thought was impressive. She looked everyone in the eyes and shook their hands. You have to be confident in who you are to do that.”
Despite serving in several leadership roles, Benson always found time to fulfill her passion of teaching. Each lesson offered something new, and Benson thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to get to know her students.
“Good teachers have fun and truly care about their students,” Benson said in 2010. “It has to be about serving others. If we always put their interests ahead of ours, that’s what makes a good teacher.”
This mindset clearly left a lasting impression on her students, as Benson was consistently celebrated as one of the game’s great teachers. Her accomplishments included being recognized as the 1997 LPGA Southeast Section Professional of the Year and receiving the 2002 LPGA Southeast Section Eagle Award (given “to those who lead so that others may succeed”) and the 2009 Nancy Lopez Golf Achievement Award. The final, and greatest honor of all, came in 2010 when Benson was inducted into the LPGA Professionals Hall of Fame.
“Patti Benson was a shining example of courage, strength, faith, and love for all,” said Marvol Barnard, National President of the LPGA Professionals. “My first experience with Patti was in our National Team Championship when I was a very nervous new member, and adding to my fear was being paired with the National President! Patti immediately set my partner and I at ease, and we had the most wonderful day playing with this amazing woman.
“Patti lived her life in just this way… making sure those around her felt welcome, encouraged, and cared for. Her journey through illness was a breathtaking example of faith and courage in the face of overwhelming odds. As Patti battled, she shared her heart and soul with her legion of friends and followers, whether her family, her LPGA family, or her legion of friends and admirers. Hers was a Hall of Fame life well lived. She will be so missed, but her shining legacy will live on in the LPGA and all who loved her.”
An inspiration to many on the course, Benson motivated those off it as well. Diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1998 at 38-years-old, she endured several rounds of chemotherapy and eventually had surgery to remove the cancer. Surviving that battle empowered her to change her lifestyle and help others.
“I just think she’s a winner,” Clark said. “She thought of everything as a competition, and that’s how she treated her battle with cancer. She wanted to win, and she did.
“We called her a Benson bulldog because she was. She was fiercely passionate. Even in her time at the end, she was more concerned with everyone else. That’s her heart. She was a giver and I’m glad to have been her friend.”
Benson dedicated her life to changing lives, and she ultimately did that and much more.
“In our lifetime we have very few people who are true people,” said Clark. “They don’t always tell you what you want to hear, but what you need to hear, and that was Patti. She could speak the truth in love. She didn’t just give you a pat answer. If you were looking for insight, she would take time to analyze things for you. She was someone who would always give you the truth.”
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