Logan Heath is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Betty Fairfax High School for AZPreps365.com

A good coach can change a game. A great coach can change a life. That’s what Betty Fairfax golf coach Chris Hazelton has been doing for nearly two decades.

For Hazelton, who has coached the golf program since the school’s inception in 2007, coaching means more than just seeing success on the course. 

“What it means to me is an opportunity to help someone get better at something they endeavor,” Hazelton said.  “It’s very gratifying to see the success and effort pay off as I’ve coached over the years. I find building relationships with the players to be just as important as coaching techniques.” 

Golf is unique from other sports being that it is individual and significantly more demanding mentally than physically. This has affected Hazelton’s philosophy and approach to coaching over the years 

“In team sports you can guide a team toward a common goal and have more of a collective effort,” he said. “With an individual sport like golf I really have to be tactical in the approach I take with each golfer and know what resonates with an individual.”

Hazelton also believes in always looking to improve as a coach.

“I listen to a lot of podcasts and read a lot of books on coaching,” he said. “It helps give me new ideas and strategies going into new seasons.”

Rudy Barron, a 2015 graduate and former player coached by Hazelton, highlighted how he was able to get the best out of the team. 

“One of the best things Coach was good at was reminding us to consistently play our game, no matter who we were playing or what course we were playing at that time,” Barron said. “In matches, he would check on every player and seemed to know what to say and what we needed to adjust. Or, even when at times he knew one of us was playing well and needed no words, he would observe from afar.”  

After graduating, Barron went on to play golf at a collegiate level and credited Hazelton’s great coaching skills to helping him get to that point. 

“One of my biggest goals in high school was to get a scholarship to play sports, but in baseball, not golf,” he said. “He made it a reality in the sport I never thought I would even have a chance to play at the next level.

 “Hazelton told me I had the potential to play at the collegiate level and encouraged me to commit to practicing with him over the summer. Then, when the potential showed on the course, we kept pushing, and eventually that became a goal, and it was achieved when I got my golf scholarship to Benedictine University in Mesa.”

During his 18 years with Betty Fairfax, Hazelton has coached a variety of golfers with different skillsets. Some were very new to the sport, such as Braeden Stroop, who graduated in 2023. 

“When I first met him, I was a beginner and did not really know the basics of golf and the mechanics of my swing,” Stroop said. “But he always told me that my swing was so athletic that I kept swinging my swing. During matches, when he could see I was struggling, he would always come up to me and tell me to reset and take it one shot at a time.”

Stroop also summed up Hazelton’s legacy as a coach. 

“Legendary. As simple as that,” he said. “In my four  years, we were so dominant that it routed us to four Phoenix Union championships in a row.

 “I have had a ton of coaches in my lifetime. Coach Hazelton is easily one of the best coaches I have ever had. One day if I start coaching, I want to be able to coach like him and I will model my work after his.

“He is very patient with every player and always focuses on the whole team, not just the top five playing in matches. He is a coach everyone wants to be around.”

Hazelton has considered retiring from coaching but is unsure as to whether or not he will return next season. 

“I feel 50/50 as to whether I will come back or not,” he said. “It’s difficult to walk away when parents tell me that I’ve been a good influence for their son and that I’m one of the better coaches they’ve had.” 

Whether he decides to return or retire, Hazelton’s 18-year tenure at Betty Fairfax stands as a testament to the power of coaching — not just to win, but to inspire.