Our exclusive 2015-16 ranking of the best instructors as ranked by their peersIf our teacher survey were the Ryder Cup, they'd be adding all of Europe to the Great Britain & Ireland team (like they did in 1979) to try to make it competitive. That's how tough it is to unseat Butch Harmon.Related: The best teachers in your stateHarmon dominated the voting for the eighth time in nine surveys since 2000. This year he finished with almost twice the votes (a combination of raw votes and top-10 ratings) of No. 2-ranked Chuck Cook. Harmon didn't coast after his record winning margin on the 2013-'14 survey. His students won more than a dozen events worldwide in the past two years, including Phil Mickelson at the 2013 British Open and Rickie Fowler at the Players Championship earlier this year.Acclaimed teachers Jim McLean, David Leadbetter, Mike Bender, Mike Adams, Jim Hardy, Martin Hall, Todd Anderson and Hank Haney fill out the top 10. Jordan Spieth's rise didn't go unnoticed by the voting panel of more than 1,100 teachers nationwide. Cameron McCormick, Spieth's coach, made the highest debut at No. 17. He's joined by newcomers James Sieckmann, Chris Como, James Leitz and Joe Hallett. This list is the first since 2001 without Ben Doyle, the famous California teacher who passed away last December.2014 Ranking in parentheses★ New to the ranking
Instruction
The 50 Best Teachers In America
BUTCH HARMON (1)
CHUCK COOK (6)
JIM MCLEAN (3)
DAVID LEADBETTER (5)
MIKE BENDER (4)
MIKE ADAMS (9)
Robert Snow 2012
JIM HARDY (7)
Photo By: Robert Snow 2012
MARTIN HALL (10)
TODD ANDERSON (8)
HANK HANEY (11)
SEAN FOLEY (2)
Stephen Szurlej/Golf Digest
BOB TOSKI (12)
Photo By: Stephen Szurlej/Golf Digest
MICHAEL BREED (13)
STAN UTLEY (14)
DAVE STOCKTON (16)
PIA NILSSON (17)
CAMERON MCCORMICK ★
MIKE MALASKA (15)
JIM SUTTIE (18)
DAVE PELZ (24)
MANUEL DE LA TORRE (21)
CLAUDE HARMON III (34)
06.03.2013
CRAIG HARMON (23)
Photo By: 06.03.2013
CRAIG SHANKLAND (22)
T-25) MICHAEL HEBRON (T-28)
2015 J.D. Cuban
T-25) LYNN MARRIOTT (25)
Photo By: 2015 J.D. Cuban
2008 US PGA TOUR
MAC O'GRADY (19)
Photo By: 2008 US PGA TOUR
RANDY SMITH (27)
JAMES SIECKMANN ★
T-30) JIMMY BALLARD (T-28)
T-30) RICK SMITH (20)
GARY WIREN (26)
PETER KOSTIS (31)
JACK LUMPKIN (30)
CHRIS COMO ★
DAVE PHILLIPS (33)
BRIAN MANZELLA (40)
MIKE MCGETRICK (38)
DARRELL KESTNER (43)
JAMES LEITZ ★
MIKE LABAUVE (35)
BRIAN MOGG (36)
ANDY PLUMMER (39)
JOE HALLETT ★
MIKE SHANNON (37)
PHIL RODGERS (49)
GARY GILCHRIST (32)
KEVIN WEEKS (45)
2015 Getty Images
SUZY WHALEY (48)
Photo By: 2015 Getty Images
T-50) MIKE BENNETT (T-41)