Duke Nicholls, PGA Teaching Professional at Mountain Valley Golf Center, a playing and teaching facility in Woodland, CA, has been named the 2000 PGA Teacher of the Year by the Northern California Section of The Professional Golfers’ Association of America.

Nicholls is the owner and operator of Mountain Valley Golf Center, a facility he designed and brought to fruition in 1997. "At our golf center, lessons and clinics are provided to all levels of golfers from beginners to advanced, " states Nicholls. "We are especially proud of the increased number of juniors who are also taking up the game."

When Nicholls provides golf instruction, he utilizes a hi-tech computer system that measures twenty-eight aspects of the student’s swing and also presents a computer-generated image of the swing to the student.

In an effort to involve the community in golf, Nicholls has entered into a partnership with a local community college, where local students can take golf instruction at the 36-acre golf center. According to Nicholls, local high school and college teams are also utilizing the practice and teaching facility.