Graduating senior Kourey Patterson is continuing his golf career at Alabama A&M University. He helped the Palisades Charter High School boys golf team win CIF City Section Championships in 2021 and 2022.
“I just had a really good time being with my team,” Patterson said. “These past four years, that’s been the most enjoyable moments I’ve ever had in the game of golf. I’ve had really good teammates, I’m thankful for that.”
Patterson was the team captain this past season, he had to do tasks to ensure the wellbeing of the team. By being a leader on the squad, he learned the importance of being kind and having respect.
“Being a team captain in general, it’s shown a lot of things, it’s given me a lot of responsibilities I have to uphold and take care of,” Patterson said. “I had to persevere and stay true to myself and not other people’s opinions.”
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Being a member of Tee Divas & Tee Dudes Golf Program also enhanced his leadership abilities. Because of the program, Patterson became more vocal. Learning how to be more outgoing helped Petterson as a senior.
“We were introduced to a lot of little kids as well,” Patterson said. “We had to know how to help them out, coach them a little bit.”
Patterson practiced everyday throughout his senior year. When he did not have time to go to his coach, his father would coach him. One way he worked on improving his game was by competing in tournaments.
“You’ll see what the other kids are doing, other good kids,” he said.
Along with improving his game, Patterson has been trying to work on the mental aspect of golf.
“It’s been a challenge trying to keep calm and everything throughout my whole round,” Patterson said. “Once a big mistake happens, I kinda get a little angry and that’s where my game messes up.”
Being a student athlete, Patterson knows the importance of maintaining good grades. Before his mom drives him to the golf course after school, he works on his homework. While he had fun in his marine biology class, his favorite class is photography.
“There’s a lot of my friends in my class,” Petterson said. “The teacher actually sees a lot of potential in me being a really good photographer.”
Patterson was also a member of the Black Men’s group at Palisades. The group would meet once a week, according to Patterson.
“We talk about everything, we say how our day is going, we just talk about what we need to do to improve our community,” he said. “We recently had a canned food drive for the homeless around school.”
