July 14, 2009
NEW YORK, NY—Through a direct ballot survey of golf instructors nationwide, Butch Harmon was voted the top teacher in the game for the fifth consecutive time and is No.1 in Golf Digest’s biennial ranking of America’s 50 Greatest Teachers (2009–2010).
Featured in the August issue (on newsstands now), the America’s 50 Greatest Teachers package also includes the Best Teachers in Your State, a state–by–state list of the top teachers around the country. The complete rankings of America’s 50 Greatest Teachers and the Best Teachers in Your State can be found online.
Harmon, whose list of students includes Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Adam Scott, edged out Hank Haney, Tiger Woods’ instructor, by only seven votes, the closest margin since Golf Digest started the ranking in 2000. David Leadbetter, who topped the inaugural ranking, dropped to No. 3. Filling out the Top 10 are: Jim McLean (No. 4), Chuck Cook (No. 5), Stan Utley (No. 6), Jim Hardy (No. 7), Jim Flick (No. 8), Mike Bender (No. 9) and Martin Hall (No. 10).
Golf Digest sorted through 20,000 teaching professionals and another 1,000 LPGA and unaffiliated teachers to determine the country’s best. As part of the nominating procedure, more than 500 teachers representing all 50 states completed ballots. The teachers were asked to nominate the top teachers in the nation as well as rate the instructors in their state. The combined results of the national and local survey generated the list of America’s 50 Greatest Teachers and the Best Teachers in Your State.
Four instructors are new to America’s 50 Greatest Teachers ranking: Dave Phillips (T–35), Bob Ford (39), Mike Shannon (45) and Eric Alpenfels (T–48). The top five instructors in the ranking are exclusive Golf Digest Teaching Professionals, as are: Jim Flick (No. 8), Rick Smith (No. 11), Randy Smith (No. 13), Jack Lumpkin (T–20), Todd Anderson (T–20), Rob Akins (No. 28), Hank Johnson (No. 44), Tom Ness (No. 47) and Dean Reinmuth (T–48).
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