Keith Ori

On Jan. 8 Sun Lakes Pickleball Club Cottonwood (SLPCC) had the privilege of hosting Scott Moore, 2023 Pickleball Hall of Fame Senior Pro, for two clinics and two exhibition matches. Moore earned his Hall of Fame spot by becoming the all-time winningest Senior Pro. He is living proof that great players only get better with time. After 30-plus years as a tennis player, Moore began playing competitive pickleball in 2013 and has since gone on to win the Triple Crown not once, but six times! The pro pickleball Triple Crown is winning all three divisions in the same tournament: men’s doubles, men’s singles, and mixed doubles.

Moore’s aggressive playing style has earned him the fitting nickname, “The Beast.” Widely regarded as the #1 Senior pickleball player in the world, his success expands beyond his age category. In 2018 Moore and his son Daniel won the 19+ Division in the Northwest Regional Tournament in Bend, Ore. And less than a month later, Moore and son Jon won the Italian Open. While he is an outstanding Senior Pro player, Moore is also an author, a national coach, and owner of multiple pickleball clubs and businesses. Moore is an authority on the sport.

Scott coached two instructional clinics for 32 SLPCC members. He had “students” dinking, driving, and dropping that third shot right in the kitchen. He did mention, though, that he has been asked a number of times “if this is the drinking clinic.” Well, no, sorry, but “this is the dinking clinic”! Dinking, for those who are not pickleball obsessed, is hitting the ball right over the net so it falls in the kitchen, which is only seven feet long. And the kitchen? We’ll save that for another day.

Scott Moore Pickleball Bio

• 21 time USAPA National Champion (six gold medals in six events in 2016. Won 12 straight Nationals events from 2015 to 2017), 12 time U.S. Open and 10 time TOC Champion.

• Seven time Senior Pro Triple Crown Winner

• 2015 Pickleball Rocks co-founder. 2016 co-founder of Pickleball Trips

• 2020 co-founded High Performance Pickleball

• 2021 U.S. Open Champion in Senior mixed and men’s doubles

• APP Icon recipient

• 2023 inducted into the Pickleball Hall of Fame

At the conclusion of the day, Moore played two exhibition matches with SLPCC members Leif Lindgren, Jerry Strom, Jeff Dunn, Sheila Parkinson, Patty True, and Mary Kay Hobby. Special thanks to all the club members who signed up for this great opportunity and for making Scott’s visit so memorable.