Golf Professional Bios

Cortney Miller    

Cortney is the PGA Head Golf Professional for the Winnetka Golf Club. Prior to his role as Head Professional he was the first assistant for the club for 7 years.  Cortney has given over 3,000 private lessons, with the focus on helping players reach their goals and his student’s results have been dynamic.  “I believe in the Socratic method with the instructor’s role being to help the student learn. I am a strong believer in setting goals (whatever they may be) this provides purpose and acts as a measuring tool for improvement.” Cortney was born and raised in Leawood, Kansas. He graduated from Texas Christian University in 1987. After college, Cortney attended Trinity Evangelical Divinity School where he received his Masters of Divinity. Cortney and his wife, Lorraine, have four children: Madeline Lauren, Noah Samuel, Jake Hobbs, and Cooper Bernard.

Jeremy Olds    

Jeremy is currently the Winnetka Golf Club's first assistant in charge of operations.  “Jerry” as he is affectionately called, has a distinguished playing record, including qualifying for the Illinois Open three of the last five years, 2003 finished 2nd in Illinois PGA assistant’s points, 2006 finished top 20 in assistant’s points.    Jeremy’s teaching philosophy is “Everyone has his or her own body type and abilities.  I am here to help maximize those abilities and help the student improve.  This will make the game more enjoyable while building a solid foundation to a consistent golf swing and lower scores.” 
Jeremy worked from 1996 to 2001 at the Gates Golf Course in Waterloo, Iowa and the Burlington Golf Club in Burlington, Iowa. In January 2001 Jeremy and his wife, Carrie, moved to Chicago and Jeremy started at Winnetka.  They are expecting their first child this summer.

Matt Johnson

Matt is the Director of Instruction and Winnetka Academy coordinator.  He spent 5 seasons at the Glencoe Golf Club, where he served as Teaching Professional.  Prior to working at Glencoe, Matt was an Assistant Professional/Director of Instruction at the Winnetka Golf Club from 1993-2000.
Matt is a PGA Member and has taught countless private and group lessons.  He regularly attends PGA Seminars and teaching summits in order to stay current on the latest philosophies and techniques.  Matt was born and raised in the Chicago area.  Matt qualified and played in the Illinois Open two of the last three years. He played college golf and graduated from Hillsdale college in 1991.  Matt and his wife Anne have a daughter, Emma, and reside in Glenview.

Dan Leonard    

Dan is currently in his seventh season as an assistant professional at the Winnetka Golf Club. He also serves as the Director of Tournament Operations for the club.  Previously, Dan was the Men's Club Liaison and the Ladies' League representative.  He has completed Level 2 in his PGA apprenticeship and is a Callaway Golf Select Staff member.  Dan has always said that he cares more about your golf game than he does his own.  This is why Dan now spends a majority of his time in our outstanding instructional programs and  with private lessons.  He is also the co-founder of the Junior Break, Parent/Child and Spring Swing programs.  One of Dan's other true passions is remembering names and faces.  Some say he has a photographic memory.  Test him -- he's good.  Dan attended New Trier High School and the University of Missouri.  In the off-season, Dan coaches an All-Star basketball team for the Winnetka Park District.

Chris Happ

Chris is in his fourth season at Winnetka Golf Club. A Winnetka native and PGA member, Chris has an exceptional playing record as a professional. He has played in the Illinois Open Championship four times, making the cut in three of those outings. In 2007, Chris won both the Illinois PGA Assistant’s Championship (72-68=140) and the final major of the tournament season, the Illinois PGA Fall Classic at Eagle Ridge Resort (76-65=141). He also qualified for the 2007 National PGA Assistant’s Championship where he made the cut in his first attempt at the four-round event.  Before joining the staff at Winnetka Golf Club, Chris played Division 1 golf on scholarship at the University of Missouri from 1998-2003, and was captain/MVP of the 1997 state champion New Trier High School golf team.
During the season, Chris is an instructor in the Club’s award-winning junior golf program and has helped coach several competitive juniors to tournament victories on the local, high school and IJGA level.
Additionally, Chris is entering his fourth year as Assistant Golf Coach for the New Trier varsity golf team. He is able to provide the student-athletes with an intimate knowledge of top-level competitive golf as well as guidance for golfers interested in continuing their playing career beyond the high school level.
Chris graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in Journalism, and currently lives in Lakeview with his wife Sarah.

Kris Ford       

Kris has been part of the Winnetka staff for the past 10 years.  Prior to coming to Winnetka, Kris was an assistant at Innisbrook Golf and Resort in Tarpon Springs, Florida and the Evanston Golf Club in Skokie, Il.  Kris is currently our independent teaching contractor and can be found teaching at the east end of the range daily from March through November.  Kris has been a PGA member for twenty-one years, as well as, a Titleist Staff member since the early 80’s.

Jeff Drogos

Jeff graduated from Loras College, Dubuque, IA in 1999 with a B.A. in History.  He moved on to DePaul University and graduated in 2001 with a Masters in Education.  He played four years of Hockey for Loras, and one year on the golf team.
Jeff taught social studies and English for the Chicago Public Schools, DeDiego Academy and Clemente H.S.  from 2002-2004.
Following his service as a teacher, Jeff worked as an Assistant Golf Professional for Blackberry Oaks.

Matt Swan

Matt is entering his seventh season at the Winnetka Golf Club.  However, this will be Matt’s first season as a member of the Winnetka Golf Club’s professional staff.  In addition to teaching in the Winnetka Golf Club Academy’s prestigious camps and clinics, Matt will be managing the golf club’s website (winnetkagolfclub.com) throughout the 2008 season.   Matt is a recent graduate of the University of Michigan and is very excited about the prospects of “getting into the business.”  Currently, Matt is working extremely hard on his golf game, so he can pass the PGA’s Playing Ability Test this summer.  Matt’s thirst for golf knowledge is strong, and he looks forward to teaching and learning from his students throughout the season