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Scottsdale Prep’s Adam Miller defending title
BY AIDAN RICHMOND
Progress Contributing Writer
On March 30, Scottsdale Prep hosted Chino Valley and Payson at the Grayhawk Golf Club, and Adam Miller came off the ninth hole feeling disappointed by his performance.
The junior, who won the state championship last season as a sophomore, still won by three strokes. But he wasn’t satis�ied, even if his head coach and father was. “When you don’t have your good stuff and you win by three or four in golf, that’s pretty awesome,” Scottsdale Prep head coach and Miller’s father Brian said.
Miller said that he was disappointed to start with a birdie, but ultimately end even for the day. He attributed both his success and struggles to the same part of the game: putting. He said that while it’s his strongest, it’s one of many things that he never wants to get too complacent with his progress.
That determination and constantly high standard is one that Miller has held himself to throughout his gol�ing career and is just one of many pieces to his success, both before and during his time at Scottsdale prep, which opened up a new opportunity for gol�ing beyond the high school level: an athletic scholarship to play at the University of New Mexico.
Both Miller and his father describe the offer and commitment as a relief, rather than an additional stressor.
“It was nice to get a good offer from a good golf school and New Mexico is that,” Brian said. “The bottom line is he was excited to get the offer that he got from them knowing that it was a place that he could go and get as good as he wants to get.”
Golf is something that Miller sees as not just an important part of his life, but rather the driving force of it.
Scottsdale Prep junior Adam Miller, the winner of last year’s individual state title, helped lead the Spartans to the team title in 2021 and is poised to yet again make a
run this season. (Courtesy Andy Morales/AZPreps 365)
He began gol�ing at a young age, quickly developing his game, and competing in tournaments by the time he was seven years old.
“I see it as a main part of my life for sure,” Miller said. “Looking forward to New Mexico and college, but obviously there’s another step in the PGA Tour or the Korn Ferry Tour, so de�initely looking forward to trying to get out there and trying to be one of the best.”
Miller is the leading force of a successful Scottsdale Prep golf program, ultimately ending with the best individual score in the 2021 state championship which helped push Scottsdale Prep to its their �irst-ever golf state championship win.
But low scores aren’t the only thing that Miller is contributing to the team.
Senior Talia Gutman described the chemistry of the team as something that leads to their success.
“Building my skills with them, playing
against them, it’s just a lot of fun. I think we have the best team relationship out there,” Gutman said.
The match against Chino Valley and Payson featured a dominating performance not just from Miller, but from the whole Scottsdale Prep team, who made up the �irst, second, third, fourth and sixth place spots.
That’s become a common theme this season for the team. All in all, they have carried over much of the success from last season’s state championship to this year, dominating on the course. Gutman said practices are competitive among the group, which is one reason she believes they have been able to maintain success.
“When we practice, we like to challenge each other, it’s never completely relaxed,” Gutman said. “We challenge each other with every kind of shot, every kind of score so it’s just a lot of fun building skills that way.” Gutman �inished in second place against Payson and Chino Valley, and was also a key part of the team’s 2021 state championship, �inishing second behind Miller.
But as has been the case, they still weren’t satis�ied. That’s become a common theme for this program. Even now, as they near the end of the season with just �ive more matches, including two tournaments, until the state championships, they remain laser focused on constant improvement. The Spartans are con�ident they can defend their state title this season. In their minds, it will take everything they’ve got and not leave anything on the course.
“We all feel like we left stuff out there, even Adam probably feels that way, we all feel that and I think that’s what makes us so great,” Gutman said. “I mean, we never are okay with what we get and we always want to strive for more.”
