Our Instructors
Eric Alpenfels - Leading The Pinehurst Golf Academy is Eric Alpenfels, a Class A PGA of America professional who has been a part of the Pinehurst family since 1985. As Director of Golf Instruction, Eric is involved in daily instruction with both amateur and professional golfers. His expertise and professionalism have earned him recognition from Golf Magazine as one of the "Top 100 Teachers in America" and Golf Digest as one of "America's 50 Greatest Teachers."
Kelly Mitchum - A lead instructor and Class A member of the PGA of America, Kelly Mitchum has played professionally on the Nike Tour, the Canadian Tour and various mini-tours. His most recent accolades include winning the 2004 and 2006 Carolinas' PGA Section Championships, 2003 and 2005 South Carolina Opens and the Carolinas' Section Player of the Year honors for 2000, 2004 and 2005. Over the past three years Kelly has played in ten PGA Tour events, as well as the 2005 and 2006 PGA Championships.
Paul McRae - With more than 20 years experience, Paul McRae is a Class A member of the PGA of America and a lead instructor at Pinehurst. He's taught LPGA tour players, mini-tour players, U.S. Senior Open qualifiers, U.S. Women's Open qualifiers and collegiate players at top Universities. Paul has also appeared on The Golf Channel and written instruction articles for Golf Magazine.
Geoff Lynch - Geoff's professional career began in 1991 with Pinehurst in the Tournament Operations division. He later served as ass't golf professional at Pinehurst No. 6 for four years, before advancing to the instructional staff at the Golf Academy. He became a Class A professional and a lead instructor during his seven year tenure there. After a brief return to the golf professional staff at both No. 6 & No. 8, he was promoted to manager of the Donald Padgett Learning Center in early 2007. He continues to teach in addition to managing the club fitting and golf equipment operations.
Robert Sweetnam - Drawn to Pinehurst by his love of golf, Rob Sweetnam has been helping golfers improve their clubs and their game for the last four years at Pinehurst. As a certified club repair technician and "Gold Certified" Specialist, Rob works to craft the clubs to the exact specifications of each individual's fitting.