For our Palisade golfers, there’s only two seasons in a year, winter and golf season. Our boys came into the season strong having worked on their game all summer. Season officially started August 5th, with the boys playing a full 18 holes at their home course, Chipeta Golf Course. The following day Head Coach Jan Norell took the top eight players to Adobe Creek National Golf Course in Fruita. These two qualifier rounds gave the boys their seeds for the beginning of the season, with seed one being Junior Jackson Martin.
The boys team is led by three amazing coaches, Head Coach Norell, assistant coach Cara Korte, and assistant coach Matt Jones. Jones and his family own an indoor virtual local golf simulator called Golf Time, making him an excellent help in adjusting our golfer’s swings. The team consists of over 20 golfers this season, most of which being on the younger side and several new players to the team.
“We are a very young team, but I feel as though we have a lot of room to grow,” says Martin. This golfer has been playing for Palisade all three years of high school, and is constantly competing with Senior Taylor Cowdrey for the number one position.
The boys practice Monday through Friday from 3:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. They start off every practice with 100 putts, putting 20 balls from 1 foot up to five feet. Every week the boys will compete in a qualifying round at their home course, which helps determine which golfers will be attending which tournaments.
The boys had their first tournament of the season on Monday, August 12th, at Adobe Creek National Golf Course. Palisade played seventh overall out of the nine teams that attended, with Senior Taylor Cowdrey placing 21st overall with an 88 for the individual score.
Our golfers woke up bright and early to travel to Devil’s Thumb Golf Club in Delta, Colorado on Thursday August 15th. Palisade shot 10th overall out of the 14 schools attending with Cowdrey placing 17th out of 92 golfers with a final score of 82. Travel tournaments are great for the team to experience other courses around the Western Slope, and gain some more experience under their belts.
On Monday, August 19th the Grand Junction Tigers hosted an invitational at Bookcliff Country Club here in Grand Junction. The Bulldogs placed ninth for the team score with Cowdrey again placing first for Palisade, with a final score of 86. Martin had an incredible shot this round, explaining that his “favorite shot of the season so far was [his] chip-in from the sand on hole #5.”
Yesterday, August 21st, the boys traveled to Montrose to compete against 13 other schools at Black Canyon Golf Course. Palisade placed 11th overall with Martin placing first for Palisade and 42nd overall with a final score of 87.
The boys season is incredibly short, with many tournaments per week. The varsity Bulldogs travel to several courses around the Western Slope while the Junior Varsity plays locally every week as well.
Today the Bulldogs will take on Cobble Creek Golf Course. Make sure to cheer on our Varsity boys team, and good luck to our golfers! Go Bulldogs!
