Michael LaBella Named 2026 Tri-State PGA Teacher & Coach of the Year
Updated: Jul 29
Michael LaBella, PGA, has been named the 2026 Tri-State PGA Teacher & Coach of the Year, the Section's top honor for excellence in golf instruction, coaching, and player development. It's his second time receiving the award in three years. He also was awarded it in 2024.
Quick Facts
Award: Tri-State PGA Teacher & Coach of the Year, 2026
Recipient: Michael LaBella, PGA
Roles: Owner, MLaB Golf; Director of Golf Performance, Butler Country Club; Co-Owner, Golf Back Method
Previous win: 2024 Tri-State PGA Teacher & Coach of the Year
What it recognizes:
Excellence in teaching and coaching, player development from beginners through elite competitors,
innovation in coaching methods,
leadership within the PGA and golf community, and
contributions to educating fellow PGA Professionals
What the Award Recognizes
The Tri-State PGA Teacher & Coach of the Year Award goes to a PGA Professional judged on teaching excellence, player development results, coaching innovation, leadership, and service to the game.
Candidates are evaluated on excellence as a teacher and coach, success developing players from beginners through elite competitors, innovation in coaching methods and player development, leadership within the PGA and golf community, contributions to the education of fellow PGA Professionals, and professionalism, character, and service to the game. The Section's winner becomes eligible for the PGA of America's National Teacher & Coach of the Year Award.
Recorded winners going back to 2020: Gene Walter (2020), Jody Barrett (2021), Dave Gedris (2022), James Brod (2023), and Stephen Flash (2025), alongside LaBella's own 2024 win. Each of those years went to a different Professional, which makes LaBella's two wins in three years, 2024 and 2026, stand out against that recent pattern.
Building the Tri-State Section's Teaching Program
In 2026, LaBella established the Tri-State PGA Section's first Teaching and Coaching Committee. Under his leadership, the committee launched a monthly education series with guest instructors including Dr. Andrew Dulak, Preston Combs, James Leitz, Will Robbins, Devan Bonebrake, and Dr. Rick Sessinghaus.
He and fellow board members are now preparing a two-day Teaching and Coaching Summit for the Section at the close of the 2026 season.
He also serves on the Section's Mentorship Committee, formed in 2025, and has mentored students in the Penn State PGA Golf Management program for the past decade.
"If I am no longer learning, I am doing a disservice to my clientele and membership," LaBella says. "Through continued learning, I can offer them the highest standard of instruction and experience."
That approach extends to fellow coaches: he keeps an open-door policy at Butler Country Club, inviting Section professionals to observe and take part in lessons throughout the year, and maintains an active network of coaches and former instructors nationwide to share solutions and support students together.
Leading Instruction at Butler Country Club
LaBella became Director of Golf Performance at Butler Country Club in April 2025. Since then, he has built out junior, ladies', and men's instructional programs. Club figures show operational staff lessons grew 30 percent year-over-year through the start of 2026, and Butler has become one of the more sought-after clubs in the Pittsburgh area for coaching and instruction.
The programs he's introduced range across technical, mental, and physical development:
Play and Practice with the Coach: Weekly supervised practice sessions paired with playing rounds alongside LaBella, focused on course management and individualized coaching plans.
Mindset Fittings: A five-step mental game curriculum using the FocusCalm neurofeedback device to track focus and calm states during on-course and range work, building course management and pre-shot routines without changing swing mechanics.
Fireside Chats: Discussion sessions on the habits and strategies of elite players, on and off the course.
Golf 101: Foundational sessions on rules, etiquette, and the basics of the game.
2:2 Performance Coaching: Joint sessions with golf performance coaches and functional movement specialists, combining technique work with physical conditioning.
½ & ½ Full-Swing Assessment & Less: A 90-minute session split between assessment and targeted instruction.
360 Assessment: A two-hour evaluation covering full swing (7-iron and driver, with video, force plate, and Trackman analysis), wedge distances, putting, on-course play, goals, and mental and physical movement screening.
New Golfer Bootcamps: Low-barrier introductory sessions for beginners, including a ladies-only track, covering course navigation, rules, and the basics of putting, chipping, and full swing.
Golf Functional Assessment Days: Pairing physical conditioning with instruction to help golfers understand their own bodies and reduce injury risk.
Complimentary mental game webinars: Delivered in 2024 and 2025 to the PGA Section, universities, and local clubs.
He has also built a "Pyramid of Growth" for club members across every age group, ability, and commitment level, established regular coaching meetings and one-on-one sessions with the club's PGA staff and interns, and worked to bring back lapsed and low-interest members through instructional programming.
Butler also broke ground on the Butler Performance Center, a year-round practice and instruction facility for members. Most recently, LaBella partnered with Dr. Andrew Dulak, a physical therapist and movement specialist, to build the Golf Back Method.
It is a program addressing back pain in golfers 45 and older who have played for a decade or more, using TPI functional movement screening, BioSwing Dynamics screening, 3D and 2D swing analysis, and ground reaction force analysis. The program is set to expand beyond the local market in July 2026.
A Track Record Before Butler
Before Butler Country Club, LaBella was Director of Instruction at Nemacolin Golf Academy, where he transformed the academy into a nationally recognized training facility. He earned it a 2022 Golf Digest Editors' Choice award for Best Schools & Academies in America.
He built out staff, added new programs, and grew both club sales and private and group lesson revenue while serving a range of students from beginners to aspiring touring professionals.
At Nemacolin, he launched Premier Golf Schools, bringing in nationally recognized instructors to collaborate with staff, which grew resort revenue and gave staff and interns networking and professional development opportunities.
Program records show his Ladies Developmental Program there, launched in 2023 as the resort's first member-exclusive program, generated $10,000 in revenue in its first year and helped sell four sets of golf clubs, on top of a 16-week curriculum, monthly on-course sessions, and an end-of-year banquet for participants.
Earlier in his career, LaBella built the Junior Golf Academy and a complimentary weekly clinic series for the nine-hole ladies league at St. Davids Golf Club in Philadelphia to drive more visits to the club.
During his time in Texas, he delivered private instruction to as many as 35 juniors a month and led group sessions for up to 50 juniors a month. He also continues to coach golfers across the U.S. and Canada through virtual lessons.
Continuing Education and Professional Development
LaBella has stayed active in national and Section-level education throughout his career. Recent National workshops and summits he has attended or conducted include:
2023 and 2025 National PGA Teaching and Coaching Summits
2025 PGA Teacher and Coach of the Year Summit
PGA Magazine's Coaching and Teaching Trends workshop (2023)
Wedge Matrix seminar with James Ridyard
Scoring School with Kevin Weeks, Bernie Najar, and Mark Sweeney.
His certifications include:
Titleist Performance Institute Level 1
Smart 2 Move BioSwing Dynamics Level 1
Smart 2 Move Level 2 certified
Scott Cowx Levels 1 and 2
K-Coach Level 1
Game Like Training
Swing Catalyst Level 2 Certified
Boditrak Level 2 Certified
FlowCode Master Coach
Golf Digest Certification
US Kids Golf certification
Operation 36 certification
Penn State's "The Biomechanics of Golf" introduction to 3D motion analysis.
Recognition Beyond the Trophy
The 2026 Tri-State honor adds to a run of recognition. LaBella has earned Golf Digest's Best Young Teacher distinction in every cycle since 2021 (2021–2022, 2023–2024, and 2025–2026), the 2022 Golf Digest Editors' Choice award for Best Schools & Academies in America for Nemacolin, a 2024 Western PA Golf Choice Award for Best Instruction, 2019 recognition as a Top 50 Coach by Operation 36, and a 2014 U.S. Kids Golf Honorable Mention as a Top 50 Kids Teacher.
His writing and coaching have appeared in PGA Magazine twice, in GRAA best-practices coverage, in a Golf Digest "20 Tips You've (Probably) Never Heard Before" issue, and as a feature on outlets including the First Call, Pennsylvania Golfer, Wisconsin.
Golf, Swing Clinic, Golfin Around, and local Fox Golf Tips coverage in Rochester, NY. From June 2022 through January 2024, he was the lead written and video contributor for Easier Golfing/Body For Golf LLC across their website, newsletters, Instagram, and YouTube channel.
He continues to run instructional content on the MLaB Golf YouTube channel and the @mlabgolf and @golfbackmethod Instagram accounts.
Growing the Game
LaBella works closely with Butler Country Club's Junior Golf Director on a full pipeline of junior programs: Birdie Basics for ages 3 to 6, Operation 36 for ages 7 to 11, PGA Junior League 13U, Team Biggy for ages 11 to 13, and Team Simons, the club's PGA Junior League 17U program for high schoolers.
He personally runs Play and Practice with the Coach for juniors who compete and consistently shoot under 90, and supports Team Biggy and Team Simons directly.
On the ladies' side, he runs New Golfer Bootcamps twice a month, a three-hour introduction to full swing, chipping, putting, and basic rules and etiquette for complete beginners, along with weekly Skills and Drills clinics led by the professional staff.
At Nemacolin, his Ladies Developmental Program was the resort's first member-only offering, built around a 16-week curriculum, monthly on-course sessions, and an end-of-year banquet.
Winning the Tri-State PGA Teacher & Coach of the Year Award for a second time in three years reflects a decade of work across three facilities, two states, and a growing list of PGA Professionals he's helped train.
LaBella says the goal now is the same one that got him here: keep learning, and keep passing it on to the golfers and coaches he works with.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Tri-State PGA Teacher & Coach of the Year Award?
It's the Tri-State PGA Section's top honor for a PGA Professional who shows excellence in golf instruction, coaching, player development, leadership, and service to the game. The Section winner is eligible for the PGA of America's National Teacher & Coach of the Year Award.
Has Michael LaBella won this award before?
Yes. He won the Tri-State PGA Teacher & Coach of the Year Award in 2024 and again in 2026, his second win in three years.
What is the Golf Back Method?
It's a program LaBella co-owns with Dr. Andrew Dulak, a physical therapist and movement specialist, aimed at reducing back pain in golfers 45 and older who have played the game for at least ten years. It's set to expand beyond its local market in July 2026.
Where did Michael LaBella coach before Butler Country Club?
He was Director of Instruction at Nemacolin Golf Academy, where he earned the resort a 2022 Golf Digest Editors' Choice award for Best Schools & Academies in America. Earlier in his career, he coached at St. Davids Golf Club in Philadelphia and Jeff Isler Golf in Texas.
What other awards has Michael LaBella received?
He has earned Golf Digest's Best Young Teacher distinction in three cycles since 2021, the 2022 Golf Digest Editors' Choice award for Best Schools & Academies in America, a 2024 Western PA Golf Choice Award for Best Instruction, a 2019 Top 50 Coach recognition from Operation 36, and a 2014 U.S. Kids Golf Honorable Mention as a Top 50 Kids Teacher.
How is Michael LaBella involved with the Tri-State PGA Section beyond coaching?
He founded the Section's first Teaching and Coaching Committee in 2026, which runs a monthly education series and is organizing a two-day Teaching and Coaching Summit. He also serves on the Section's Mentorship Committee, formed in 2025, and has mentored students in the Penn State PGA Golf Management program for the past decade.
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