Boys Golf Season is in Full Swing

Boys Golf season starts early and ends fast, with warm weather, blue skies and a packed schedule. The varsity players will compete in 12 tournaments across the Western Slope in only two short months, making sure to give each round their all. 

For the 2025 Palisade High School Boys Golf season there are many new changes. One of the most exciting is a new member of the coaching staff, Alfonso Rivera, or more affectionately known to the Bulldogs as “Coach Fonz.” Rivera is a Palisade alumni who was a qualifying member of the State Competition his Senior year. Rivera has come back once more to play alongside the Bulldogs. He is the 1st Assistant Golf Professional at Bookcliff Country Club as well as a member of the Junior PGA League. The Palisade Golf Program also has another new member to the coaching staff, Volunteer Coach Taylor Cowdrey. Cowdrey is a 2024 graduate coming back to assist the team and provide advice and wisdom to the more novice players. 

Head Coach Jan Norell is coming on her 30th year of coaching at Palisade, and has high hopes for the upcoming season.

The boys are offered lots of off-season practice time, playing for free at several of the local courses as well as Golf Time, owned by Palisade’s Assistant Coach Matt Jones. “I’m really proud of them and they should be proud of themselves. They’ve done a lot of work this off-season,” Norell explains. 

 This year’s bulldog pack is being led by Senior Ozkar Crouch, who has been the consistent first seed so far this season. Crouch only began the great game of golf two years ago, being introduced to it by his best friend of ten years, Senior Jackson Martin. Crouch explains that golf provides a lot of unexpected joys, stating, “My favorite part about golf is all the people that I meet. I make great connections through meeting people on the golf course.”

The boys have played four varsity tournaments so far this season, consistently dropping their scores from past years. One tradition the Palisade Golf Program practices is constantly comparing scores between seasons, to drill the idea that golf is truly only about beating yourself. 

Norell notes on the boys’ drastic improvements in scores. “Today, we had one player in the 70s and four players in the 80s and one player shot a 90. I was hoping for double digits last year and now it’s more like lets everybody get in the 80s and then the 70s. It’s really amazing to see.”

This year’s team also includes lots of young talent, with Freshman Jake Harrington showing great promise. On August 19th, Harrington shot a 79 at the Panther Invitational at Conquistador Golf Course located in Cortez, Colorado. With 31 golfers on the team this year, talent is bound to fester for upcoming seasons.

There are lots more tournaments to compete in, holes to play, putts to sink, and goals to complete this season for the Bulldogs. On August 28th the Varsity players will take on Lincoln Park Golf Course right here in Grand Junction. Great job so far this season Bulldogs and keep up the great work.