In part 3 of “Fundamentals for a Better Game,” golf pro Scott Sackett explains how to strike the ball for the best spin This is the continuation of my series titled “Fundamentals for a Better Game.”  The aim of this is to provide ball flight and impact fundamentals any player can use to become better, regardless of skill level. In part 1 of this series, we discussed “Maximizing Distance.” Part 2 was “Smash ...

Ashley Busch hops on the horse again for polo championships By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Photography by Cailtyn Keesler   As one of the world’s top female polo players, Ashley Busch has toured the world, played with Prince Harry and graced the cover of a slew of magazines. But the wife of NASCAR driver Kurt Busch especially loves Scottsdale and the Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships, set for Saturd ...

In part two of fundamentals far a better game, golf pro Scott Sackett explains why inconsistent contact across the club face translates into lost yards. By Scott Sackett In part two of this 10-part series on fundamentals for a better game, I discuss smash factor. It's important for golfers to understand what smash factor is, how it contributes to distance, and what you can focus on to increase yours. First, ...

Maximizing Distance  Part one of the fundamentals for a better game. By Scott Sackett I’m beginning a series surrounding the fundamentals for a better game. The aim is to provide ball flight and impact fundamentals any player, regardless of skill level, can use to become better. In part one of this series, we discuss maximizing distance. Previous Misconceptions It was long thought that the length of a drive ...

Putting Probabilities Golf pro Scott Sackett talks putt data points. There’s no hiding that putting great can lead to lower scores. How good are PGA professionals from various distances? Am I going to three putt? What are my chances of making a putt? I recently read the book, Every Shot Counts, by Mark Broadie. This book outlines the strokes gained statistics from driving, iron play, short game, and putting ...

Are Your Wedges Costing You Strokes?  By Scott Sackett As many of you may know, I spend the summers as director of instruction at Park Meadows Country Club in Park City, Utah. Each summer, I do on average four golf schools. The schools are three days, with 18 holes of golf each day and a maximum three-to-one student teacher ratio. This past summer, I partnered with short game legend Stan Utley and put on tw ...

Innovation TrackMan Performance Putting unlocks a wealth of data about your entire putt. By Scott Sackett The last 15 years in golf has brought incredible innovation in everything from equipment to ball flight radar. A lot of the focus has been on the long game. How high can you launch it and how low can it spin are common questions. Smash factor, club path, attack angle, and ground pressure are now measura ...

Setup  Golf pro Scott Sackett talks course management from the lesson tee. I spend a lot of time on the lesson tee teaching fundamentals like grip, posture, alignment, ball position, and spine tilt. It’s my belief the setup influences most of what happens in the golf swing. I’d like to take a recent lesson in which I worked on swing mechanics and weave that into an on-course example as to how that might ben ...

Plane & Backswing  Golf pro Scott Sackett on why the initial part of your golf swing is important to a successful shot. Vertical swing plane is something that has been looked at since the advent of video, V1, and now smartphones. You can instantly film a swing, draw a swing plane line, and immediately have a general idea of where things stand. You can ask any one of my students how much I focus on the i ...

On the Mark  Improve your putting stroke with this simple exercise. By Scott Sackett We all want to make more putts and do so from every length. There are many theories out there regarding how to improve your putting stroke and drills that help with distance or directional control. What I’ve found is there isn’t a whole lot in putting you can take from the practice green out to the course that will help rig ...

Off-Center Golf pro Scott Sackett talks straight shots. With the help of Trackman, we’re going to examine how much an off-center hit affects the curvature on a golf shot. In the picture below, one of my students hit a shot that, if hit in the center of the face, should have gone relatively straight. This is because where the golf club was traveling through impact (club path) is close to 0 and where the face ...

Reliable Shot The stinger fade with a driver is a versatile shot to add to your game. By Scott Sackett Having a reliable go-to shot off the tee is always a weapon worth equipping your game with. The stinger is a shot that not only can be extremely reliable but also versatile enough to be used in many scenarios you might run into during your round. Contrary to what popular belief might say, hitting the ball ...

Grand Canyon University debuts its North Valley golf course. By Cassandra Johnson This year brought a new player to the local golf scene: Grand Canyon University debuted an updated golf course. You may know the Grand Canyon University Golf Course as the former Maryvale Municipal Golf Course, part of the City of Phoenix Department of Parks and Recreation. Phoenix has a new 30-year partnership with GCU, which ...

The 80 Percent Myth  Golf pro Scott Sackett on why putting a percentage on how hard or soft you’re trying to swing is a bad approach. I often hear announcers and range patrons alike provide swing tips to golfers of all skill levels and one I hear frequently is, "Swing at 80 percent, that's what all the great players do."  I never really questioned this myself until I started using TrackMan during each lesso ...

Bad Lies Golf pro Scott Sackett with suggestions on how to play out of an imperfect lie. When playing golf there are a lot of times when you won’t have a perfect lie. You might be in thick rough, mulch, pine straw, wet dirt, firm bare, or one of 100 different types of lies. This tip will focus on what adjustments to make in your golf swing to ensure solid contact from one of the most unfortunate lies there ...