Top 25 Ranking fits Ritson/Sole Golf School to a "Tee"

By Shane Sharp,
Contributing Writer

Pawleys Island, S.C. - We are all accustomed to GOLF Magazine's annual course rankings, including the "Top 100 You Can Play", and the Top 100 world-wide course rankings. But in the spring of 1999, America's leading golf publication produced its first Top 25 ranking of Golf Schools, and Pawleys Island's Ritson/Sole Golf School made the cut with the ease of an Ernie Els iron shot.

"I think the way that we got the ranking was that we only hire instructors that have ten years instructing experience or more," says Ritson/Sole co-founder Mel Sole. "I look for a certain personality style with my instructors."

And whatever personality style that may be, it must be working overtime in the South Strand. Unlike GOLF Magazine's course rankings, the golf school Top 25 was determined exclusively by former pupils voting on-line.

"The way the Top 25 was selected means the most to me," adds Sole. "When the final analysis came out, I felt it was worth a lot because it was not picked by a panel."

So what is it about the Ritson/Sole Golf School that not only appeals to students of the game, but also keeps them coming back? How about simplicity for starters.

"Some students feel that some golf schools have gone way over their head," says Sole. "The program that we has is very, very good. According to the students, that is the strongest part of the program. Its not complicated . . . its nice and simple and fits all calibers of golfer."

While rankings such as GOLF Magazine's are explicitly designed to steer consumers toward the best product, the same rankings implicitly can have monumental affects on popularity and demand for a product. For now, Ritson/Sole is riding this wave of credibility - one that is according to many who have matriculated at the school, overdue.

"After that rating came out, it did a lot for our golf school," says Sole. "Being ranked by GOLF Magazine carries a lot more weight than local rankings, or rankings by travel magazines. When people phone us and ask us how we compare to other schools, we mention the ranking at let it speak for itself."

According to Sole, the ranking has bolstered attendance at the school quite significantly. Sole and his team are tracking how future students hear of the school through surveys in order to measure what the true impact has been.

And aside from the understandable teaching techniques used at Ritson/Sole that appeal to beginners and high handicappers, just what is the teaching philosophy espoused by one of the nation's best instructional schools?

"The philosophy centers on controlling the golf swing with the big muscles and eliminating the little muscles," says Sole. "The idea is to eliminate superfluous moves. It helps golfers to understand that you need to use the upper torso and upper legs in the golf swing."

Asked to equate the Ritson/Sole teaching philosophy to a swing on the PGA Tour, Ritson cites Ernie Els, Payne Stewart, and Nick Faldo as examples.

But to think that Sole is satisfied with this groundbreaking achievement is like thinking that Phil Mickelson is completely satisfied to go on winning non-major tournaments west of the Mississippi.

"I attend the PGA golf show every year and try to stay up with the latest teaching aids," says Sole about his quest to keep the school on the cutting edge. "When new teaching philosophies come out, I look at them to see if there is anything worth using. We are constantly introducing new teaching aids to help our students."