pronunciation

In many courses for Spanish that I have seen, the "a" is said to be pronounced like in the English word father. This seems incorrect to me. It sounds like it should be pronounced like last, past, apple. Please comment

Well, I suppose there may be some regional differences, but I've always heard the "a" pronounced like the a in father, not like the a in apple. I'm talking not only about Spanish courses but about native speakers speaking Spanish in the movies, on television, and in person.