Pawleys Island, SC-based golf school one of only 10 academies to make the list every year

May 16, 2005, Pawleys Island, SC — The Phil Ritson - Mel Sole Golf School scored in the Top 5 of America's 25 Best Golf Schools, according to GOLF Magazine's biennial ranking of the nation's golf schools in the June issue. It is also one of only 10 academies to remain on this prestigious list since it first appeared in 1999. The rankings were derived from GOLF Magazine's critique on quality of teachers, programs and facilities, and from thousands of golf school graduates who were surveyed to rate their experiences. The Ritson-Sole school, headquartered at Pawleys Plantation near Myrtle Beach, SC, also has locations in North Carolina, Georgia, Missouri, New York, Illinois and Mexico.

"We feel honored to be recognized as one of the best schools in the country" said Mel Sole, Director of Instruction. "When our school was included in the inaugural ranking 6 years ago, I established a goal with my instructors to be on that list every time. We strive to help each of our students achieve his or her personal best and it's gratifying to receive such good feedback."

GOLF Magazine also named Mel Sole a "Top Teacher" in North America for the third time in the February 2005 issue. Mel's long awaited instructional book, Golf Step-by-Step, was published in January 2003 and is selling worldwide. Sole teaches mainly at the Pawleys Plantation, SC site, a beautiful resort featuring a Jack Nicklaus signature golf course, luxury villas and a 6500 sq. ft. conference centre.

Launched in 1989, the Ritson-Sole Golf School has been consistently rated by national golf and travel magazines as one of the best in the United States. Teaching principles were developed by Phil Ritson—former coach to Gary Player and other PGA stars—and Mel Sole, a veteran of the South African PGA Tour who has a wealth of teaching experience gained internationally.

The golf school caters to all golfer levels from beginner to advanced, and also specializes in working with corporate clients. Three day programs are most popular for this golf school.

For more information, please call 1-800-624-4653.

Ritson-Sole honored as a "Top 25" golf school in America for 4th consecutive time!

Every two years since 1999, GOLF Magazine reviews and ranks the best golf schools in the country. We are pleased to announce that the Ritson-Sole is ranked in the top 5 of the "25 Best Golf Schools in America" named by GOLF Magazine in June 2005. Our school is one of only 10 academies to remain on the prestigious "Top 25" list since it began in 1999. We also offer the best price and lowest student/teacher ratio of all the "Top 10".

Below is an excerpt taken from GOLF Magazine describing how they select the “Top 25” golf schools.

Every top school touts its roster of teaching aids, from multi-million dollar, computer generated swing models to four camera video analysis and private 60 acre ranges. While such extras are helpful, the backbone of any school is the quality of its instruction and instructors. In our first ever GOLF Magazine survey, 81 percent of golf school graduates say they plan to attend another school, with 55 percent saying they plan to return to the school they had already attended. With so many schools hitting the mark, how did we narrow the field?

First, we went to the experts at ShawGuides, Inc. the largest and most up-to-date publisher of golf school directories in the world. They helped us track down the most current information on every adult golf school in America.

Second, we judged each schools curriculum and instruction facilities. We checked the teachers’ credentials, such as number of years they have been with the school and the percentage who are PGA or LPGA Class A professionals. We also noted how many of GOLF Magazine's Top 100 Teachers are involved and how often they actually teach at the school.

Hotels, restaurants, and golf courses affiliated with the school were not factored into the rankings, nor was the price. We believe the principal reason for attending a school is game improvement, not a five star vacation.
Finally, in conjunction with ShawGuides, we asked graduates to rate their experiences. Thousands of alumni logged on to www.shawguides.com or linked there from our web site www.golfonline.com, to fill out a comprehensive survey. Thousands more completed the same survey in our March issue. We measured the responses to the questions about the quality of instruction. Once all of these factors were tabulated, we produced the list of America's Top 25 Schools.