ZACHARY STORM SARDINA

 
 

Why My Coaching Looks the Way It Does

I didn’t come to golf through shortcuts —
I came through injury, rebuilding, and learning the hard way.

That experience shapes everything about how I coach.

It Started With Baseball — And a Reset

I grew up as a baseball player, competing year-round on multiple travel teams. The structure, repetition, and performance demands of competitive sports were ingrained early.

Then a hip injury ended that chapter.

Golf wasn’t the backup plan —
it became the obsession.

I improved rapidly and became fully invested in understanding why things worked, not just what worked. By my junior year of high school, I was ranked among the Top 20 high school golfers in Arizona and reached the Quarterfinals of the Arizona State Amateur.

Another injury — this time to my shoulder — forced me to adapt again.

That pattern of adaptation would define my career.

Junior College: Where Precision Took Over

I walked on to the golf team at Scottsdale Community College and earned a starting spot immediately.

By my second year, I was leading the team and competing at a high level:

  • 6 consecutive rounds under par

  • 5 rounds in the 60s

  • All-American honors

This is where I learned something critical:

Talent gets you started. Structure keeps you improving.

That principle still drives my coaching today.

Division II Golf: Mental Toughness & Consistency

I earned a scholarship to play at Chico State University, a highly competitive Division II program in Northern California.

Traveling and competing at this level sharpened two things:

  • My understanding of pressure

  • The importance of the mental and decision-making side of the game

This wasn’t about chasing swing changes.
It was about executing under demand.

That lesson is baked into how I coach golfers now — especially professionals who need performance to translate to the course, not just the range.

Professional Golf: Where Reality Sets In

After college, I trained and competed professionally, playing on the Pepsi Tour and earning money through tournament golf.

That experience gave me a real-world understanding of:

  • Performance accountability

  • Preparation without excuses

  • The gap between “looking good” and scoring

Shortly after turning professional, life shifted.

I met the woman who became my wife and the mother of our three kids — Enzo, Zoey, and Zaya. Competitive golf took a back seat, but the commitment, discipline, and standards didn’t disappear.

They became the foundation of my coaching.

Why I Coach the Way I Do

I don’t coach from theory.
I coach from experience.

I’ve:

  • Rebuilt my swing after injury

  • Played under real pressure

  • Competed at multiple levels

  • Seen what actually holds up over time

That’s why my coaching is:

  • Impact-driven, not position-driven

  • Individualized, not method-based

  • Measured, not guessed

  • Educational, not dependent

No band-aids.
No confusion.
No wasted reps.

The Goal

My job isn’t to give you a better lesson.

It’s to give you:

  • Clarity

  • Confidence

  • A repeatable process

  • Improvement you can actually see

If you value structure, accountability, and long-term progress —
you’re in the right place.

 

Accomplishments

  • Quarter finalist in AZ Amateur as a Junior

  • All-American at Scottsdale Community College

  • Played for Chico State University, a top DII golf school

  • Played on the Pepsi Tour

Highlights

  • Lowest 18-Hole Round: 63 (twice)

  • Lowest 9-Hole Round: 29

  • 3 Hole-in-Ones

  • Longest Holes Streak without a Bogey (52)

  • Made Two Eagles on Par 4s in the same round

 
 
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