Bernie Najar is in his 13th season as the Director of Instruction at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md. Recognized as one of the top instructors in both the Baltimore-Washington D.C. area and the nation, Bernie is one of Golf Digest's 50 Best Teachers and Golf Magazine’s Top 100 Teachers, and has also been ranked as Golf Digest’s No. 1 teacher in Maryland since 2011. He is a multiple-time winner of of the Middle Atlantic PGA Section’s top teachings honor—Teacher of the Year (2023, 2022, 2014, 2004) and Professional Development Award (2011, 2012)—and has completed the PGA’s rigorous Master Professional Program in Teaching in Coaching.

Since his start in the golf business in 1994, Bernie has dedicated his career to teaching and coaching players of all abilities. Bernie’s students have won eight of the last 12 Maryland State Junior Boys Championships, the 2023 USGA Junior Amateur and numerous club championships, college and professional events—including the 2019, 2021 and 2023 World Long Drive Championships won by Kyle Berkshire (right). In 2022 and 2023 alone, Bernie’s students qualified for the U.S. Junior President’s Cup Team (Bryan Kim and Matt Moloney), found success on the Korn Ferry and Challenge Tours (Ryan McCormick and Max Rottloff), won an eighth straight Senior Club Championship (Ilene Garden), took the Maryland State Junior (Owen Newberry) and won the Under Armor National Championship (Landon Rottman). In 2024, McCormick qualified for the PGA Tour, Rottluff made it to the DP World Tour and Matt Oshine won his first even on the European Challenge Tour.

Bernie is the author of the instruction book “The Game,” with foreword by student (and Pulitzer Prize-winning author) Thomas L. Friedman, and his contributions have appeared in Golf Digest and Golf Magazine.