Mel Sole makes Sea Trail second Grand Strand golf school location

The Mel Sole Golf School has opened a second location on the Grand Strand to go along with a new location at the Tupelo Bay Golf Center in Garden City.

As of Monday, the 25-year school operated by South Africa native Mel Sole is doing business at Sea Trail Golf Resort & Convention Center in Sunset Beach, N.C.

The school was forced to find new locations after being displaced from both Pawleys Plantation and the Grande Dunes Resort Course this spring.

Sea Trail Resort includes three golf courses, two clubhouses and two practice facilities.

PGA of America Class A teaching pro David Olberding, who has been with the Sole Golf School for more than 20 years and was recently running the Grande Dunes school, is the Sea Trail lead instructor.

Instruction will be available year-round, and include one- to three-day programs focusing on all aspects of the game. Sole emphasizes keeping the swing as simple as possible and working with each individual’s unique capabilities, and video analysis is included.

The Sole school has been ranked among the “Top 25 USA Golf Schools” by Golf Magazine since 1999. Sole began teaching on the Strand in 1989 with his own swing instructor and teaching mentor Phil Ritson at the Phil Ritson Golf School at Legends Resort. He moved the school to Pawleys Plantation in 1991.

There are five Mel Sole Golf School locations, including Furman University Golf Club in Greenville, Holiday Valley Resort Golf Course in Ellicottville, N.Y., and Club de Golf Malinalco in Malinalco, Mexico.

This story was originally published August 1, 2016 at 9:30 PM with the headline "Mel Sole makes Sea Trail second Grand Strand golf school location."