2014 SOPGA Teacher of the Year Brad Smith has been around golf all his life and has been in all areas of the business. He is now the Director of Instruction at Heatherwoode Golf Course after being at The Golf Club at Yankee Trace in Centerville, OH (Dayton area) for 9 seasons. He does lessons during the winter at Heatherwoode and sends his students to GAC fitness to work with a TPI instructor. He does video analysis with all his private lessons to help show the student what's needed to be worked on and then send the lessons to them. Brad is always looking for new ways to help his students with training aids, club fitting, mental work or physical training. He is the only pro in the Dayton area to teach with the high tech teaching tool the K-Vest. With over 25 years as a Golf Professional and a College Coach he understands all types of swings. In the spring of 2012 Brad went internationally giving hundreds of lessons each month by the internet and has made it affordable for anyone to learn the game. Ask him how you can get unlimited golf lessons for a year for a fraction of what lessons are. He also runs a club fitting and repair business. Schedule your online lessons from anywhere in the world or in personal lesson online at www.golfdronline.com.

Matt Ristine is a golf writer from Seattle, WA. Before becoming a writer, Matt worked in the golf industry doing everything from teaching lessons and playing in tournaments to cleaning clubs and picking up range balls.

My journey in golf has been a long one. When I think about the totality of my experiences, they really really do spread far and wide. I've worked in just about every job in the club/course world, from cart boy to assistant professional. Whether it was teaching a beginners clinic, or managing a small staff, the course management world always presented new opportunities to learn about the golf industry. I've also worked for one of the largest junior golf tournament organizations in the world as a tournament director and director of tour development and marketing. Being privy to the inner workings and personalities of the games top junior talent was something I took great joy in. In my own world, my golf game has developed into one I feel could eventually take me to the professional ranks. As a teenager I could barely break 100. Over the last 20 years I've worked hard, taken my lumps, studied the great players and teachers of the game, and currently have a handicap of 0.6. I look forward to sharing my experiences and hopefully bettering your game, your understanding of the golf world, or just providing you with some entertainment.

Born in Alabama, raised in Illinois. Graduated and received my teaching certificate from the Golf Academy of America in 2004 and I've been teaching ever since. I've given almost 1,500 lessons now and i'm still learning something new everyday. If I had to sum up my teaching philosophy in one word it would be technology. I use a lot of video analysis, Trackman data and negative feedback devices/drills to get my students making the correct moves as quick as humanly possible. I've worked with players ranging from complete beginners all the way up to the mini-tour and elite collegiate player. A lot of what I teach (especially short-game) was heavily influenced by my teacher and 5-time PGA Tour winner Buddy Allin.

Alvarez is the third daughter of Alex Alvarez (PGA Golf Professional) and Pamela McMinn (legal assistant). She became a golfer at the age of four. She has qualified for several national championships, including the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links, the U.S. Girls' Junior and the PGA's National Junior Championship. As an 11-year-old, she won the New Mexico PGA state tournament in the 13–16 age category. In high school (Tulsa, Oklahoma), she never finished worse than 4th in the state tournament, which she won in her junior year (2nd, 4th, 1st, 2nd). She also played in the 2011 NCAA Women's Division I Golf Championship. She graduated from the University of Washington in March 2011 and turned professional. At the University of Washington, Anya hods several records, one of which is the most under par at a tournament (2010 Las Vegas Women's Invitational, where she shot 13 under par (68-66-69) for a 203. As a professional, Alvarez qualified for the 2011 U.S. Women's Open in her first try, and using a local caddy, made the cut, finishing the tournament with an ever-par round of 71. She also qualified for the LPGA's final stage of the LPGA Qualifying School (Q-School) and now plays on the Symetra Tour. In 2012, Alvarez qualified for the U.S. Women's Open for the second year in a row, played the Symetra Tour and finished her season with a 64 at the Champions Golf Club, in Daytona Beach, Florida. She has again qualified for Stage III of the Q-School. In December 2013, with her dad as caddy, Anya earned conditional status on the LPGA Tour for the 2014 season by finishing 29th place at the final stage of Q-school. Alvarez had rounds of 73-69-73-71-71. At the beginning of 2014, Alvarez played the ALPG Tour. In her fourth tournament, the ISPS Honda New Zealand Women's Open, she had the lead going into the last round, with scores of 70 and 66. She finished with a 73 to finish in a tie for third. Her performance qualified her for the 2014 ISPS Honda Women's Australian Open. Alvarez is an advocate for troubled youth (girls in particular) who have been abused, either physically or sexually. She has been a speaker in several fronts and represented nationwide companies such as Clairbone in a program called "Love is not Abuse". She belongs to several organizations that help children; one of them is KidSafe Foundation. She also writes a weekly column for Twodaymag.com. While living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alvarez was a contestant on Big Break Atlantis, finishing in fifth place. Alvarez is usually listed as being from Tulsa, Oklahoma, because that is where she graduated from high school and where her mother lives, but she now lives and teaches golf in Bradenton, Florida. Her father is a PGA Club Professional and also lives in Oklahoma.