Bernie Najar, PGA,Director of Instruction,Caves Valley Golf Club,Owings Mills, Maryland
Building junior players’ golf swings requires mechanical knowledge, but technique is just one piece of the puzzle national 2026 PGA of America Teacher & Coach of the Year Bernie Najar is helping his young clients put together.
Najar’s junior player development program is one of the most successful in the U.S., with dozens of eventual Division I scholarship players and notable national success stories like 2023 U.S. Junior Amateur champion Bryan Kim. What makes Najar’s curriculum stand out is its integration of physical training right from the start.
“The fitness element is especially important for junior players because you have to pay special velocity,” says Najar (pictured), who is the Director of Instruction at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Maryland. “They might be in a growth spurt, or just coming out of one. Without measuring where they are and having a specific plan for fitness, you can go down the wrong road very quickly.”
Najar starts every new junior student with a comprehensive evaluation of his or her swing, physical capabilities and personal and competitive goals. He then builds a specific fitness routine that compliments and supports the ongoing swing work they do.
“Many junior players come in with their biggest power source being their lower body,” says Najar. “But they run into timing issues when they can’t match the leg power with upper body power. My job is to improve that sequencing, but also make sure each body segment has the strength to handle what’s being demanded and generated in the swing.”
Najar’s studio at Caves Valley has a dedicated fitness room with machines and free weights, but the programs he builds for students are simple enough to be done at home with minimal equipment – often just stretch bands, hand weights and weighted balls.
The fitness component is especially important in an era where virtually every young player is chasing the speed that is required to play at more competitive levels. Najar works with parents, private trainers and school fitness leaders to make sure all the work a player is doing is always serving the same set of goals.
“I give homework for a player to complete for their fitness just like I do for the time they need to spend on the range or on the course,” says Najar. “That accountability piece is important, but I find that most players – once they understand how much better they can be – are motivated to do that work right away.”
