Instructors at the Wailea Golf Academy
The Wailea Golf Academy’s staff members are among
the finest trained golf professionals in the world. Only PGA golf
professionals who have completed the PGA of America’s
education standards are on staff at this facility.
Wailea Golf Club’s head golf professional knows
virtually everything there is to know about a golf club, from the
bottom up.
Originally from Alaska, Rusty Hathaway came to Maui on his
honeymoon and fell in love with Wailea. He moved to the islands and
started his golf career as a mechanics helper at the Wailea Golf
Club. A series of promotions and serious study led to his current
position overseeing one of the largest resort golf operations in
Hawaii.
Hathaway has been a PGA Class member since 1991. He served as
head golf professional at the Wailea Blue Course from 1994 through
2005, and was promoted to his current position in 2005. He serves
as a member of the PGA President’s Advisory
Council.
Over the years, Hathaway has taught numerous students including
such notable individuals as Denzel Washington, Dustin Hoffman,
Linda Grey, and Frank Thomas.
Born and raised on Maui, Eliot Gouveia has been dedicated to the
game of golf since the early 1990s. Through hard work and
persistence, Gouveia graduated from the PGA Professional Golf
Management Program, became a Class A1 PGA Member, and rose to his
current position as head golf professional of the Wailea Blue
Course in 2004.
Primarily self-taught, Gouveia teaches his students that
patience and positive reinforcement are the keystones to learning
to play well.
A former LPGA TOUR player, Brenda Rego was the first female
Class A member of the Aloha Section PGA. She has been a stellar
member of the Wailea Golf Club team since 1998, and currently
oversees operations at the Wailea Gold and Emerald courses.
Ranked by Golf Digest as the top golf teacher in Hawaii in 2005,
Eddie Lee has taught at the Wailea Golf Club since 1997. In 2006,
he completed his studies with David Leadbetter and his staff in
Orlando, Florida, and returned to Wailea to help open the new David
Leadbetter Academy at Wailea, the first of its kind in Hawaii.
As a coach, student and player of the game, Lee is dedicated to
continual education, research and hard work to become the best golf
instructor he can be. His teaching philosophy is based upon the
principle of balance – establishing and maintaining a
balanced club shaft and body motion throughout the swing.
Lee’s clients have included the likes of Mike Myers,
Arnold Schwartznegger, Damon Wayons, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Maria
Shriver, but his true passion is in helping beginning to average
golfers improve their game.
Lee graduated from the San Diego Golf Academy and has been a
Class A PGA Member since 1994. He has received numerous honors
including being named Teacher of the Year by the Aloha Section PGA,
and he serves as a Wilson Staff Advisory Member.