Palm Beach North Sports - March 2023

M a r c h 2 0 2 3 | P A L M B E A C H N O R T H SPORTS 11 COVER FEATURE COVER FEATURE The intensity and level at which he played though was anything but “standard”. Patterson grew up playing golf, baseball, soccer, football, everything you can think of. By the time he was 10 years old, he was playing four competitive sports at the same time. While many kids that age would get burnt out after a while with that type of sports schedule, Wes thrived. “I never really got burned out,” Patterson said. “I was athletic enough to be good at a lot of things and I enjoyed competing. I still enjoy competing 30 years later.” Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Wes played basketball, baseball, and golf at the high school level. After high school, he had the opportunity to play both college golf and college baseball, ultimately choosing the baseball route, and getting a full ride at the University of Tennessee Martin. A freak accident during his junior year followed by an elbow injury his senior year put his baseball career on hold, but that time period taught him a lot and helped mold him into the person he is today. “After I blew my elbow out, that was a pretty tough, dark 18-24 months,” Wes explained. “Looking back now though it built a lot of character and I probably wouldn’t be where I am today without those trials and tribulations.” Patterson briefly played professional baseball from 2013 to 2015, spending time in the independent Frontier League here in the U.S. and the Australian Baseball League. After his baseball career ended, Wes turned his attention back to golf, turning pro in 2015. Like many professional golfers, Wes made the rounds for about 2 and a half years before the money started to dry out. Seemingly out of options to keep his golf career going from a financial standpoint, Patterson considered going into medical sales before a good buddy of his, Brian Delaney, introduced him to the world of Long Drive. “I went to the 2017 Long Drive World Championships at the Winstar Casino in Oklahoma and qualified,” Wes explained. “I had never picked up a long-drive club ever and I go there and qualify and end up getting beat in the quarterfinals. Afterward, I made the joke that I made more in four or five days doing long drive than I did playing professionally for 2 years.” After that one competition, Brian introduced Wes to Alex Paup who would become his trainer and his best friend to help him be competitive in the world of Long Drive. It was also after that meeting and getting involved with the Golf For Cops Charity, that Wes decided to pack up and moved down to Jupiter. “I came down from St. Louis for Golf for Cops and hit some drives on a hole,” Wes said. “It was 82 degrees here that day and I called my wife and at the time it was like 20 degrees in St. Louis and said ‘hey, let’s move to Florida’. We moved 2 months later.” Training for the competitive world of Long Drive is different than training for not just other sports but even more traditional golf. “For traditional golfers, you are training throughout the year to stay injury-free and to try and hold on to what you had before the season started,” Wes explained. “For Long Drive, the World Championships are in September and October every year so you don’t want to be at your fastest in May or June, you want to be at your fastest in September and October. So compared to a regular golfer, we do much more strength training but also more mobility stretching and dynamic work.” Being successful in life, much like in sports, requires time and dedication. With that time and dedication, Wes won the 2018 GIS Long Drive Championship and got to as high as 11th in the world. Reaching those heights also requires a strong support system, something that Patterson doesn’t take for granted. “Unfortunately, often in life it is you vs the world,” Patterson said. “You have to find a small group of people that actually, truly do believe in you, whether it’s family or close friends. When you find those people and they are going to battle with you, there is no better feeling than having them with you. It took me a while to find the right people but luckily I’m there now.”