Iowa Native, Mike Bender, Named Recipient of 2009 PGA Teacher of the Year Award

Contact: Shannon Boozman
561/624-7671
sboozman@pgahq.com
Michelle Kruchowski
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mkruchowski@mastrocomm.com

NORTHERN FLORIDA PGA PROFESSIONAL MIKE BENDER
NAMED RECIPIENT OF 2009 PGA TEACHER OF THE YEAR AWARD

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Mike Bender, the owner and Master Instructor of the Mike Bender Golf Academy in Lake Mary, Fla., has been named the recipient of the 2009 PGA Teacher of the Year Award.

Bender, 53, is an 18-year member of The PGA of America and is the second member of the North Florida PGA Section and first native Iowan to be named recipient of the national PGA Teacher of the Year Award. The award was established in 1986, honoring outstanding teachers of golf among The PGA of America membership.

Bender will be recognized at The PGA of America Awards, Jan. 28, 2010, during the 57th PGA Merchandise Show at the Orange County Convention Center’s Linda W. Chapin Auditorium in Orlando, Fla. The program also will honor the following recipients:
•    Jack Barber of Indianapolis, Ind. – PGA Golf Professional of the Year
•    Derek Hardy of Santa Ana, Calif. – Horton Smith Award
•    Dennis Satyshur of Timonium, Md. – Bill Strausbaugh Award
•    Vikki Vanderpool of Murfreesboro, Tenn. – PGA Junior Golf Leader
•    Kyle Heyen of Arvada, Colo. – PGA President’s Plaque
•    PGA Merchandisers of the Year –
-Brian Morrison of Flossmoor, Ill. – Private Facilities
-Nevin Phillips of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands – Public Facilities
-Caroline Basarab-Dennison of Hilton Head Island, S.C. – Resort Facilities

The PGA of America also will honor the recipients of two additional national awards, Nov. 14, at the 93rd PGA Annual Meeting at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in New Orleans, La.

•    Andy Weissinger of Portsmouth, Va. – The Patriot Award
•    The Midwest PGA Section – Herb Graffis Award

Born in Waterloo, Iowa, Bender was the 1986 Iowa PGA Player of the Year, and later earned the 1995 North Florida PGA Player of the Year honor. He is a four-time North Florida PGA Teacher of the Year, being recognized in 1995, ’96, ’98, 2005 and ’07.

Since 1996, Bender has been recognized as one of GOLF Magazine’s Top 100 Teachers, and is currently ranked No. 9 on Golf Digest’s Top 50 Greatest Teachers. Over the past two years, GOLF Magazine has rated the Mike Bender Golf Academy one of the Top 25 Golf Schools in America.

“Our 2009 award winners reflect the best of our Association,” said PGA of America President Jim Remy. “The recipients have each left an impact upon the game long before they were designated for this past year’s accomplishments. By their example in benefiting the lives of others, working with their members and inspiring both juniors and young professionals they have made us very proud to say that PGA Professionals are experts in the game and the business of golf.”

Bender’s award-winning teaching style comes from a childhood as “tinkerer.” He would dismantle, then reassemble, radios, televisions, bicycles and anything that could be taken apart and put back together. It was this mechanical aptitude, an eye for detail and a passion for golf that have combined to allow him to become one of the top instructors in the game.

Today, Bender can efficiently assemble a better golf swing for golfers from beginners to the game’s top touring professionals. He has combined his knowledge of the golf swing with communicating the necessary fundamentals in a clear and concise manner.

“This honor has not sunk in yet,” said Bender. “It’s hard to imagine. It’s nothing that I have tried to accomplish. I want to be a good representative of the Association. We have been fortunate to have had a very high success rate for such a small golf academy and my staff and I are always striving to improve what we do.”

Bender began playing golf at age 12, having encouraged by his father.

“One day my dad asked me if I wanted to go fishing or play golf,” said Bender. “I said, ‘fishing,’ but we couldn’t find the fishing gear, but there was a set of golf clubs in the garage. So, my dad said, ‘We’re going to play golf.’

“We started playing out of one bag and the pro came out and told us that we each needed a set of clubs. So, we finished that day with my dad playing out of his bag and I had to watch. That was torture to me. I really wanted to try to play.”

Bender began playing in earnest at age 13 at the same nine-hole course where he and his father had visited earlier. This time he entered the Cedar Falls (Iowa) Junior Open. I finished with a 100 and watched the young boy who won the tournament and thought to myself, ‘Next year, that’s going to be me,’ ”said Bender. “I came back next year and won the tournament.”

Bender further developed his skills at California State-Stanislaus, a Division III program. During his three years competing for the school, he won back-to-back NCAA Division III national individual titles. In 1979, Bender’s Division III national champion status earned him a berth in the NCAA Division I Championship. He finished third, beating players including Fred Couples, Bob Tway and Joey Sindelar.

Bender turned professional later that year and played on the mini-tours for several years. In 1985, he worked for PGA Professional Ed Schumann at Sunnyside Country Club in Waterloo, Iowa, where he held his first teaching position.

At the 1986 PGA Tour Qualifying School, Bender earned his playing privileges and went on to play on the Tour for three consecutive seasons, 1987-89.

While he was competing, Bender spent significant time with teaching professionals Mike Adams, Ben Doyle, David Leadbetter and Mac O’Grady, all of whom have been ranked among the 50 Greatest Teachers in America by Golf Digest. It was while working with these teachers that Bender’s swing theories were refined.

“I got to see how these instructors communicated with their students, and at the same time I learned more about my own game,” said Bender. “Mac O’Grady, without a doubt, had the greatest influence on my career and in my opinion, has the best understanding of the golf swing.

“His research based on science and physiology as opposed to anecdotes and opinions was right in line with my type of thinking.”

After his PGA Tour career, Bender returned to Iowa for two seasons to pursue a teaching career as PGA Director of Instruction at Brooks Resort in Spirit Lake, Iowa. Bender ran the junior golf program, group clinics and golf schools. In 1992, he opened his own academy at Timacuan Golf and Country Club in Lake Mary, Fla.

In 2006, Bender opened the Mike Bender Elite Golf Academy at Sarabande Golf Club in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., for competitive junior golfers from around the world. Earlier this year, he opened the second Mike Bender Elite Golf Academy in Korea’s largest practice facility, the Sky72 Dream Range, near Seoul, South Korea.

Bender also has taught nearly two dozen PGA, Champions and LPGA Tour professionals. Leading this list is his decade- long coaching relationship with Zach Johnson, the 2007 Masters Champion.

Other Tour professionals who have utilized Bender’s counsel include: two-time U.S. Open Champion Lee Janzen, Mark Hensby, Jonathan Byrd, Robert Damron, 2008 Futures Tour leading money-winner, Vicki Hurst; four-time LPGA Tour winner Seon Hwa Lee and Nationwide Tour standout D.J. Brigman. Bender’s expertise also has crossed into other professional arenas, attracting major league baseball greats Jim Kaat and Hal Morris; and NBA stars Matt Goukas, Brad Dougherty and Jason Williams.

“There are a million ways to hit a golf ball,” said Bender. “But some ways are more efficient than others and what I try to do is reduce the excess moving parts that make it harder to repeat the swing. As a teacher, my goal will always be to work towards giving each student the most efficient swing that they can attain.”

Bender and his wife, Mary Anne, live in Lake Mary, Fla., and are parents of Jason, Emily and Hannah.

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