Golf Academy Professionals

The most important goal for the Three Rivers Golf Academy is to maximize your enjoyment of the game of golf. The Three Rivers team of experienced teaching professionals offers a full progression of lessons for golfers of all ages and skill levels. A wide variety of options has been developed to help anyone fit golf instruction into their schedule.

Get to know the golf staff through their profiles and schedule private lessons online (online scheduling not available for Cleary).

Golf Pros

Photo of Corey Carney

Corey Carney

Photo of Cleary Golf flag

Corey Carney

| Cleary Lake Golf

Teaching Professional

Corey has worked in the golf industry for the past 19 years in retail, public, and private club settings. Prior to working with students at the Three Rivers Golf Academy, he was an assistant golf professional at Bent Creek Golf Club in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Currently, Corey is the golf coach for the Prior Lake High School Girls’ Golf Team. He also has worked for Cleveland Golf as a technological representative and 2nd Swing Golf as a sales manager.

Corey believes that each lesson should be tailored to the individual student’s needs and goals. Through observation and a brief interview, the needs and goals of students will be identified and incorporated into the student’s lesson plan. Corey is also a licensed school teacher and uses this expertise in teaching strategies that are proven to be successful with a variety of students.

Call Cleary Lake Golf at 763-694-7777 to schedule.

A man in a navy Adidas hat smiles for the camera in front of a golf course.

Bryan Christensen

A white sign made of wood and brick says Glen Lake Golf and Practice Center

Bryan Christensen

| Glen Lake Golf

Teaching Professional

Bryan's golf career began at Willow Creek Golf Course in Rochester, Minnesota, at the age of 15. "I remember falling in love with the golf world then, and knew that it was the career path for me," he says. His passion for the game eventually propelled his career to the Kapalua Golf Academy on Maui, Hawaii, where he taught for five years. "There I was fortunate to work with two recognized 'Top 100' instructors, which really helped me develop the effective teaching style I have today," Bryan says.

Bryan recently left the Kapalua Golf Academy to pursue further instruction closer to family here in Minnesota. His enthusiasm and knowledge of the game, combined with a passion for instruction, has lead to great success for his students: "I'm all about the smiles and excitement. There's nothing more rewarding than seeing a big smile after one of my students discovers new talent."

Positivity is another important component to Bryan's teaching style. "Lets accept the fact that we're all going to hit bad shots from time to time, but what you do next is what truly matters. Let's set some reasonable goals, and together, we can achieve them!" he says. "Don't be too hard on yourself and remember, you're here to have fun!" 

Schedule a lesson online.

a golf club sits near a golf ball on grass.

Greg Curtis

photo of eagle lake youth golf

Greg Curtis

| Eagle Lake Golf

PGA Teaching Professional

Greg began his career at Eagle Lake as a volunteer in 2011. The following year he earned a certification with the National Registry of Professional Golf Instructors. He continued his education becoming USGTF Certified and is currently a PGA Apprentice. He enjoys teaching group lessons as well as individual lessons and is able to work with all levels of golfers. Greg is a fundamental coach who has the ability to simplify the game and make it easy to understand. Greg has been mentored by one of the top golfers in Minnesota golf history and can show you how to hit a variety of specialty shots.

Schedule a lesson online.

photo of Chad Fortney

Chad Fortney

photo of chad teaching lessons

Chad Fortney

| Eagle Lake Golf

Teaching Professional

Originally from West Salem, Wisconsin, Chad competed at the Div. III collegiate level. With 12 years of teaching experience, he is excited to start his fifth year with the Golf Academy at Eagle Lake. Along with a huge emphasis on the short game and course strategy, Chad feels that hitting the ball solidly is an important aspect to enjoying the game, which, in turn, leads to a better score. He teaches swing awareness, alignment and key positions to promote a consistent, solid swing.

Schedule a lesson online.

Photo of Greg Hanson

Greg Hanson

A red flag waves on Hyland Greens golf course.

Greg Hanson

| Hyland Greens Golf

Golf Instructor

Greg is very happy to be part of the Three Rivers Golf Academy Program at Hyland — it's where he learned to play golf when his family moved to Bloomington in 1965. His dad took him to play at Hyland after his work day and they enjoyed the great game together.

Greg, who retired from dentistry in 2021, plays as much as the weather and his 68-year-old body allows. He continues to be a student of the game and loves learning from his own swing coach, as well as coaches he's followed online.

In 2023, Greg had completed his first season as a volunteer coach for the Jefferson boys golf team. His hope is to share his love of the game with you and pass on a bit of new knowledge so that the game of golf becomes a passion for you as well.

Schedule a lesson online.

photo of brian pabst

Brian Pabst

photo of eagle lake youth golf

Brian Pabst

| Eagle Lake Golf

PGA Director of Instruction 

Brian is the Director of Instruction for Three Rivers Golf Academy. During his tenure, he has given thousands of lessons to golfers of all ages and abilities. Brian is passionate about First Tee, and enjoys teaching juniors golf and life skills as a recognized First Tee Coach.

Brian’s students range from new golfers to club champions. Brian works with students to help them control the club face, club shaft and club head. “If you can control them, you can control the ball.” As the leader of the Golf Academy, Brian works hard to ensure that Golf Academy participants have a great experience while learning the wonderful game of golf.

Schedule a lesson online.

a golf club sits near a golf ball on grass.

Ron Park

A red flag waves on Hyland Greens golf course.

Ron Park

| Hyland Greens Golf

Teaching Professional

Ron was introduced to game of golf when in high school in Los Angeles, California, in the '70s. He played many tournaments over the years. He began teaching golf in the late '90s when his daughter was serious about playing. He worked with all kinds of people including about dozen kids who ended up getting Division 1 scholarships. Ron puts a lot of emphasis on fundamentals and course management, and enjoys working with anybody who is willing to practice to reach their goals.

Schedule a lesson online.

photo of Laura Patrick

Laura Patrick

Photo of baker national flag

Laura Patrick

| Baker National Golf

LPGA Teaching Professional

Since 2003, Laura has worked as a Teaching Professional for the Golf Academy of Three Rivers Park District at Baker National Golf Course. Laura conducts private, semi-private, group lessons and golf schools to adults and children of all skill levels. She is a teacher and a coach in every aspect of the game and dedicates her career to creating an environment that is comfortable and welcoming to everyone. She also enjoys working with all levels of golfers, ranging from competitive golfers to those who have never played before.

In addition to teaching at Baker National, Laura works with programs of The First Tee, is the Co-Site Director for an LPGA-USGA Girls Golf Chapter and is the Volunteer Coordinator for The First Tee of Three Rivers Park District. Before moving to Minnesota, Laura was an instructor for several junior golf camps and women’s clinics while an Assistant and Teaching Professional at Mt. Hawley Country Club in Peoria, Illinois.

Schedule a lesson online.

Photo of Sarah Qian

Sarah Qian

photo of eagle lake youth golf

Sarah Qian

| Eagle Lake Golf

Teaching Professional

Sarah was introduced to the game of golf 19 years ago, simply to find a way to spend quality time with her 5-year-old son, and fell in love with the game. She is a self-taught golfer who began teaching friends and family many years ago, and was able to bring her son up to competitive level junior golfer. Sarah is passionate about developing women golfers. The past several years, she has been working on bringing more female golfers into the game through community volunteer coaching. She likes to create fun and comfortable learning environments to help beginner golfers. Her love of teaching golf led her to pursue a United States Golf Teachers Federation certification in 2021.

She is also a registered nurse working in emergency room and a former middle school teacher in China. She is fluent in Chinese and Korean, thanks to her Korean Chinese heritage. She is looking forward to help beginner and intermediate golfers to learn proper fundamentals to improve their game and have more fun.

Schedule a lesson online.

a golf club sits near a golf ball on grass.

Dan Williams

A white sign made of wood and brick says Glen Lake Golf and Practice Center

Dan Williams

| Glen Lake Golf

PGA Teaching Professional

Dan became a PGA Golf Professional in 2011 after graduating from Arizona State University. He has worked at some of the finest golf and country clubs in Arizona where he has focused on learning how to help golfers increase their enjoyment of the game.

The amount of information available to golfers today is overwhelming, and the content itself can be very complicated and confusing. When golfers try to apply this information to their own games, they often apply it incorrectly, which leads to more confusion and much more frustration. Dan's main focus is making the game of golf easy to understand, which makes it easier to play and enjoy. He aims to help golfers truly know what is going on with their games and give them tools to continuously improve.

Schedule a lesson online.

A man in a blue half-zip shirt smiling at the camera. He has short brown hair and is standing in front of a golf course.

Andrew Wituszynski

a red flag that says Baker National bows in the wind as a woman in white swings a golf club behind it.

Andrew Wituszynski

| Baker National Golf

PGA Teaching Professional

Andrew began his career in golf at Brookridge Country Club in Kansas City while attending the University of Kansas. There, he mentored under Director of Instruction, Robert Usher and started learning how to effectively turn recreational golfers into great players. After graduation Andrew and his wife moved to Maui, Hawaii, where he honed his craft and earned PGA membership while managing the Kapalua Golf Academy.

At Kapalua from 2009–2018, Andrew developed a simple yet effective teaching philosophy: help the golfer build a repeating swing through an understanding of proper fundamentals. Effectively, train these fundamentals to develop the trust to execute the basic golf shots of putting, chipping, pitching and full swing. A quick pre-shot checklist of ball position, posture, grip and alignment (BPGA) specific to the shot type ensures the body is preset to make the proper motion. 

From 2015-2017 Andrew was the head coach at Maui Preparatory Academy and coached high school golfers to league championships and state championship appearances. Andrew has helped multiple high school golfers achieve their dream of earning college scholarships for golf. Andrew's main influences in teaching are Golf Magazine Top 100 teachers Mike Adams, Jerry King, Tim Mahoney and Ben Hongo, who Andrew worked with during his time at Kapalua and through co-leading Aloha Section PGA Teaching & Coaching Summits. 

In 2018, Andrew and his family moved to Minnesota to be near family, and he teaches at the PGA Tour Store in Minnetonka during the winter months.

Here at Baker National, Andrew offers private lessons, playing lessons, a variety of camps and clinics and expert club fitting. Andrew's extensive teaching knowledge and patient style appeals to golfers of all ages and skill levels.

Schedule a lesson online.