Bernie Najar, who was recently ranked the No. 2 coach in Maryland by Golf Digest, was playing against Scott Shingler in the 1990s when Najar was at American and Shingler was at George Mason. Now, Najar is helping fine-tune the game of the 2009 Virginia State Golf Association’s Player of the Year.
The two have been working together for more than 10 years, and Shingler says he sees Najar every four to six weeks during the golf season.
“He’s got a great mind for golf — he knows his stuff,” Shingler said. “He wants to see me play the best golf I can play. He’s got a great resume.”
Indeed, Najar, the PGA director of instruction at Woodholme Country Club in Baltimore, also has coached other top-flight players, such as Matt Bassler, the 2009 Maryland Open Champion, and Chris Navarro, who qualified for the 2009 U.S. Kids World Junior Championship.
And he’s hoping for big things from Shingler in 2010.
“If [Scott] needs to do something from a training perspective, he’ll do it,” Najar said. “Even though he might not have as much time … he’ll make the most [of it]. Really, what it comes down to is he’s got to get through a few qualifiers.
“I like for him to have a successful 2010,” Najar said of Shingler.
