Mark L. Hessler
Mark, a native of Columbus Ohio, started his career at Columbus Country Club. He made his way to the Pittsburgh area in 1982 where he became Head Golf Professional at Fox Chapel Golf Club. The membership at Fox Chapel valued Mark's teaching and coaching abilities, as he spent over 26 years with them developing their skills. He was actively involved in clinics for men, women, couples and junior golfers alike. Mark conducted golf schools with renowned Golf Digest Instructors Davis Love, Hank Johnson and Paul Runyan, all the while, keeping his students abreast of the most current swing philosophies. Mark Hessler holds seventeen Open Titles throughout his golf career. He was named the Southern Ohio Section Player of the Year (1979) and was inducted into the Columbus Ohio Golf Hall of Fame (2003). Mark remains active in the Tri-State Section and teaching his grandchildren the game of golf.
J. Paul Hollstein
Paul is a 30-year member of the PGA of America with extensive experience in playing and teaching. He is a native of the North Hills of Pittsburgh and attended West Minster College. Golf has been his passion and through dedication to the game and a hard work ethic, forged his career before leaving school. Following his BS degree in Business Administration, Paul began his career in golf at The Lounge Vue Club in Verona, PA, becoming a PGA Member in 1980. In 1985, Paul became the Head Golf Professional at Butler Country Club, Butler, PA. There he spent 25 years serving the membership. Paul has given instruction to thousands of students of all ages and has focused on junior golfers to grow the game. Some of his accomplishments include:
- Tri-Sate PGA Horton Smith Award winner for contributions toward education of PGA members.
- Tri-State PGA Junior Golf Leader Award for contributions toward junior golf development.
- Pittsburgh Youth Golf Coordinator for 10 years, introducing golf to inner-city students.
- 8 Holes-in-one.
Jim Villani, PGA Lifetime Member
Jim entered Purdue University with an athletic scholarship (football, not golf.) Upon graduating in 1965, he decided to go into the golf business. He was hired in 1967 as an Assistant Golf Professional at Wildwood Golf Club. In 1970, he became a Class A PGA Member. That same year, he was hired as the Head Golf Professional at Wildwood Golf Club. In 1974, after much thought and determination, Jim decided to build his own teaching facility. It became a reality in 1976 and was named, Golf-In.
Jim resigned from Wildwood in 1980 so that he could devote all of his time and energy into the success of Golf-In. As a result, Golf-In became one of the finest teaching facilities in Western PA. It consisted of a fully stocked Pro Shop, driving range and complete teaching facility, including private lessons and clinics for juniors and adults. Jim has given over 70,000 lessons in his 44 year career as a golf professional. He believes that he has never "taught" anyone to play golf but that he has shown a lot of people how to "swing" a golf club.
Jim continued teaching until 1996, then decided to retire. After a short retirement, he realized that being a golf instructor was not a "job", but a hobby and something he enjoyed doing very much. Jim joined the staff at Pine Creek Golf Center where he has been teaching for the past 15 years. One would think that he has had enough golf by now, but with the new ownership at Pittsburgh National Golf Club, and since Jim lives on the 13th hole, joining forces seemed a good fit, and Jim has become one of the new, "old" pros for the 2012 golf season.