ORLANDO, Fla. (Oct. 23, 2017) – The exclusive ranking of the “50 Best Teachers in America” just released by “Golf Digest” for 2017-’18 includes seven Golf Channel Academy coaches, with three in the top 15: Mike Bender at No. 6; Martin Hall at No. 11; and Pia Nilsson at No. 14.
Bender, owner of the Mike Bender Golf Academy in Lake Mary, Fla., is making his fourth consecutive appearance in the top 10. Hall, director of instruction at Ibis Golf Academy in West Palm Beach and host of Golf Channel’s School of Golf, appears inside the top 20 for the ninth consecutive time and has been a mainstay on the list since its inception in 2000.
Nilsson, co-founder of VISION54 at Talking Stick Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., is the top-ranked female on the list. She is one of four female instructors to appear in the top 50, all of whom are members of Golf Channel Academy (GCA), a dedicated network of teaching facilities and top-ranked coaches.
Other GCA coaches appearing in the biennial ranking include:
– (24) Lynn Marriott, VISION54, Talking Stick G.C., Scottsdale, Ariz.
– (42) Kevin Weeks, Cog Hill Golf & Country Club, Lemont, Ill.
– (T-46) Cheryl Anderson, Mike Bender Golf Academy, Lake Mary, Fla.
– (49) Dana Rader, Dana Rader Golf School, Charlotte, N.C.
“It’s a great honor to know that our peers are recognizing the coaching we do to support golfers to play better on the course,” said Nilsson, who also appears on “Golf Magazine’s” list of the “Top 100 teachers in America,” along with Anderson, Marriott and Rader. “Both Lynn [Marriott] and I are proud to represent the GCA network of coaches on this distinguished list.”
Each teacher was selected by a vote of their peers. “Golf Digest” distributed more than 1,000 ballots to instructors last summer and asked them to identify the best teachers in the nation and in every state. The official teacher rankings will be published in the November issue, which hits newsstands Oct. 31.
“We are tremendously proud of all of the Golf Channel Academy coaches on this prestigious list,” said Lorin Anderson, vice president, Instruction for Golf Channel. “These rankings represent the very best of the best in the coaching ranks, and to have so many GCA coaches recognized speaks to both the quality and depth of world-class coaching talent in our network.”
You can also view the list online at www.golfdigest.com/story/the-50-best-teachers-in-america.
For more about Golf Channel Academy, including a full listing of all its current locations and coaches, go to www.golfchannelacademy.com.
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Contact:
Dan Higgins
Golf Channel Communications
407/355-4018
Dan.higgins@golfchannel.com
